The MCU is reportedly eyeing two X-Men villains to succeed Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in Phases 7, 8, and 9 (rumored to be the Mutant Saga). Marvel Studios found such great success in the Infinity Saga with Josh Brolin's Thanos leading the villainous charge that finding his successor for the Multiverse Saga was no easy task. The studio once planned to follow with Jonathan Majors stepping into the fray as Kang the Conqueror and his many Variants. Unfortunately, the Creed 3 star was fired due to a harassment and assault conviction, but even before then, Marvel Studios had come to realize Kang couldn't carry the Multiverse Saga to the finish line. Instead, the old reliable Robert Downey Jr. was brought back to play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
According to a rumor from scooper Daniel Richtman (via Cosmic Marvel), Marvel Studios is planning to center the MCU's next saga around two major X-Men villains following Doctor Doom's villainous stretch in Avengers: Secret Wars. The studio supposedly has "some actors in mind" to play the MCU's next two big bads, but nobody has been cast in either villainous role at the time of writing.
The MCU is expected to deliver its X-Men reboot in Phase 7, with Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier at the helm and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes writer Michael Lesslie penning the screenplay. Many are expecting the X-Men reboot to hit theaters in 2028, grabbing one of four release dates already mapped out for the MCU's Phase 7 movies.
If, as rumored, these two X-Men villains fill the void of Thanos and Doctor Doom in the MCU's third saga, they are the perfect choices for a mutant-centric tale:
Apocalypse
While many consider Magneto to be the X-Men's greatest foe, largely thanks to his role in the Fox movies, one mutant villain has often united him with Charles Xavier and his heroic team: En Sabah Nur, aka Apocalypse.
The immortal En Sabah Nur was the first mutant, born around 3000 B.C. in Ancient Egypt, and living by a survival of the fittest motto, killing off the weak and pushing survivors to grow stronger. His array of powers grants him control over matter and the ability to create powerful energy blasts to cast his judgment.
Supposedly, Apocalypse will be one of two villains at the center of the MCU's next saga (rumored to be the Mutant Saga), following in the footsteps of Josh Brolin's Thanos and Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.
Marvel Animation will shortly explore Apocalypse on Disney+ in next year's X-Men '97 Season 2. After the freshman season's cliffhanger left Magneto, Professor X, and other mutants face-to-face with En Sabah Nur in Ancient Egypt, Apocalypse is poised to be one of the five villains in X-Men '97 Season 2.
En Sabah Nur has appeared before in live-action in 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaac. Scooper MyTimeToShineHello shared a rumor that Marvel Studios is eyeing Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to play the MCU's Apocalypse, which would mark his second Egyptian superhero villain after DC's Black Adam.
Mr. Sinister
Dr. Nathaniel Essex, aka Mr. Sinister, was a genius scientist in Victorian England who went on to use his genetics expertise to create the perfect mutant race. Much like Apocalypse, his powers include molecular manipulation, while he also has abilities of teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, and shapeshifting.
Mr. Sinister and Apocalypse have often been allies in Marvel Comics, while the former has served as a Horseman of Apocalypse in alternate-reality stories. In fact, the two are rather closely connected, as it was Apocalypse that transformed Dr. Nathaniel Essex into Mr. Sinister, an ageless man with superpowers.
Interestingly, Mr. Sinister is reportedly the villain in the MCU's X-Men reboot script, potentially establishing the next saga-long threats from early in Phase 7.
One could imagine Mr. Sinister being the Loki to Apocalypse's Thanos, appearing early on to tease his master's arrival to come. The MCU has been known to change aspects of the comics and, as such, could utilize Mr. Sinister as one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, along with three other mystery villains.
Fox almost introduced Mr. Sinister in The New Mutants in what would have been the X-Men villain's live-action debut. An 18-time Emmy-nominated actor was attached to the role in Mad Men star Jon Hamm, who still thinks Mr. Sinister "would be a fun person to play," which could tee him up for the MCU reboot.
The MCU Should Go Back To Basics With The Mutant Saga
After the Multiverse Saga struggled to capture audiences' attention, Marvel Studios may go back to basics with what worked in the Infinity Saga for the MCU's third saga, which most expect to be the Mutant Saga as the X-Men enter the fray.
The MCU found success by scattering the Infinity Stones through the saga, secretly building toward Thanos' true arrival in Avengers: Infinity War, albeit with cameos along the way in movies like The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy.
A potential Mutant Saga could copy this approach by introducing the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse as the villains of various movies. The X-Men reboot could start this saga-long trend by introducing Mr. Sinister in the X-Men reboot, and perhaps featuring an Apocalypse cameo in the post-credit scene.
Of course, this theoretical storyline would culminate with Apocalypse being the saga's final villain, likely in X-Men 3 or Avengers 7. It would certainly be strange to have the X-Men's big bad be the final threat for an Earth's Mightiest Heroes movie, but Disney and Marvel Studios may not be willing to let go of their tradition of bringing together their storylines in the ever-successful Avengers franchise.
Find out more about the MCU's plans for a major crossover in the next saga.
