The X-Men is one of the biggest and most popular superhero teams in comic book history. The films that were made in the early 2000s helped define the comic book film industry, and they still influence movies to this day.
Marvel Studios has already started incorporating mutants into the MCU, with the first being Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel in the Disney+ show of the same name. Technically, Patrick Stewart's Professor X is part of the franchise as well after he appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but that took place on Earth-838, and the MCU timeline takes place on Earth-616.
Fans have clamored for the X-Men to be added to the MCU for some time now, and Kevin Feige has promised that they will be coming at some point in the future. However, while recent reports have supported Feige's statement that the team will be coming, apparently it won't be anytime soon.
The MCU X-Men Movie is Far Away
According to Deadline's Justin Kroll via Twitter, the MCU's X-Men film "isn't happening for a very long time:"
"Speaking of X-MEN, this film isn't happening for a very long time, so outside of a writer being tapped, it's super unlikely any casting decisions get made on that one for some time."
The X-Men '97 animated series is still expected to come out in Fall 2023 and will not be affected by the live-action film.
Mutants Could Crowd the MCU
The MCU has been in an interesting place since the end of the Infinity Saga. There have been projects in the realm of the Multiverse such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, and stories that center around the supernatural, like Moon Knight. At the same time, Hawkeye focused on street-level heroes, and Ms. Marvel dove back into the cosmic realm.
The franchise is trying to juggle a lot of different elements around right now and still find a way to make them all somehow tie together eventually. If a completely new group of characters were dumped into the mix all at once, it may be too much weight for the MCU to hold at one time.
Marvel Studios may go the route of sprinkling in a mutant in one project and another in a different one, and then when the Multiverse conflict is wrapped up, really let the X-Men shine.
Unfortunately for people who really love the X-Men, it seems like they are going to have to wait a while. However, Marvel Studios has proved in the past that it knows how to make the right decisions, and there will be a perfect time and place for one of the biggest superhero teams of all time.
