Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were ecstatic when they learned Marvel Studios would be getting the X-Men back due to the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in 2019. After that, however, the Marvel faithful wouldn't hear much of anything from the property for some time, except a minor mention from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con that same year and how they would be "very different."
While there was no word after a year about the X-Men, Feige reaffirmed in an interview that the property "has been heavily discussed." Shortly after that quote, it was revealed that a project with the working title of The Mutants was in development at Marvel Studios.
As for other projects planned for production, it was recently revealed that not only will Thunderbolts be heading into production in 2023, but Fantastic Four and Nova too. In addition, one more project that could potentially begin production, alongside those projects, might involve the X-Men.
X-Men Rumored For An Animated Project?
Appearing on Change My Mind Podcast, entertainment scooper KC Walsh, also known as @thecomixkid on Twitter, spoke about his recent production date scoops for Thunderbolts, Nova, and Fantastic Four, but revealed "one more that I haven't said yet" through a hint:
"I got a bunch of production dates. Thunderbolts 2023, Nova 2023, Fantastic Four 2023, the Okoye series 2023, and there's one more that I haven't said yet, and I'm going to write an article about it, so I'm not going to tell you here, but I'll give you guys a little hint."
The hint that Walsh gave, prefacing it by calling the project "f***ing insane," was him singing and humming the iconic musical theme of X-Men: The Animated Series:
"It's crazy, it sounds so f***ing insane. [Sings and hums beginning of Ron Wasserman's X-Men: The Animated Series Theme]"
However, Walsh wasn't fully certain of this rumor, as he would be "reaching out to more people" to seek further confirmation and clarification on the project, as he was unsure if it was something "new" or if Marvel Studios would be "retooling" something:
"I'm reaching out to more people and being like, 'Eh, is this true?' Cause I don't believe it myself and I don't know if it's something new, if they're retooling something..."
Walsh speculated that it could be related to previous rumors regarding "people involved with that certain theme song" having "conversations" with Marvel Studios and that he did hear about "a possibly animated project going into the works" in 2023:
"There was talk about a year ago that people involved with that certain theme song may have had conversations with a certain studio. And I did hear in 2023 that there's a possibly animated project going into the works."
This may be why Walsh was uncertain of the nature of this project and whether it wasn't just a "retooling" of the original X-Men cartoon series.
Reboot, Revival, or Continuation?
As Walsh speculated, this project he heard about could be a "retooling" of X-Men: The Animated Series, as series producer and director Larry Houston has been vocally pursuing a revival of the series on Disney+. However, early this year, "it's been crickets," according to Houston, and that no further talks have taken place.
That could have changed since then, and talks of a new X-Men series have begun again, but that remains speculation. Regardless, the prospect of any X-Men-related project in the works is exciting, especially since it seems like this differs from The Mutants project revealed earlier this year. Hopefully, Walsh will verify his findings with his various sources, and his upcoming article about it will reveal more to fans.
