Marvel Studios is reportedly moving forward on another X-Men project, adding to a growing list of mutant-focused titles in development at the studio. For so long, the MCU couldn't access the X-Men because their rights were tied up at Fox, but after Disney purchased the studio, the mutants were finally free to enter the MCU. This began in earnest in 2024, with Deadpool & Wolverine and X-Men '97, which integrated mutant heroes under the Marvel Studios banner for the first time. Since then, Marvel Studios has gone all-in on its efforts to bring the X-Men into the MCU.
Aside from the Avengers, the X-Men are arguably the most iconic superhero team to come out of Marvel Comics, and fans are eagerly waiting to see how they'll be introduced into the MCU. Marvel Studios seems to be working on this on multiple fronts, with a recent report from entertainment insider Daniel RPK revealing a fourth X-Men-related project is in the works at the studio. The report revealed that Marvel is reportedly working on an X-Force project, though it's unclear what form it would take.
The X-Force is a team of super-mutants outside the X-Men, with Deadpool and Cable often part of the roster. Unlike the X-Men, the X-Force is considered a more militaristic team that uses lethal force to get the job done. An X-Force team was jokingly assembled in Deadpool 2, as Ryan Reynolds' hero gathered Domino, Bedlam, Shatterstar, Zeitgeist, Vanisher, and Weasel, to confront Cable, only for all but Deadpool and Domino to die immediately.
While it was the butt of the joke in Deadpool 2, an X-Force project was in serious consideration at Fox for some time. It almost made it into production before the Disney and Fox merger was announced, but now Marvel Studios seems to have its eye back on the X-Force.
It seems this could be a revival of the R-rated film project under consideration during the X-Men era at Fox. Alternatively, this could be the direction that Deadpool 4 is taking, which is reportedly in active development at Marvel, with Reynolds' next headlining film a team-up movie rather than a solo one. Reynolds has previously said that doing another solo Deadpool film "feels redundant" to him, but he didn't rule out a super-team project.
Marvel's rumored X-Force project only adds to a growing roster of X-Men projects currently in development at the studio.
All the X-Men Projects in the Works at Marvel Studios
X-Men '97 - Seasons 2 & 3
The first official X-Men project out of the gate at Marvel Studios since the Disney-Fox merger was the animated series X-Men '97, which itself was a revival of the popular X-Men: The Animated Series from the 1990s.
When X-Men '97 arrived in 2024, it was a hit and still maintains a 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. At that point, Marvel had already commissioned a second season of the show, which will be released in 2026, and a third is confirmed to be on the way. Some indications even suggest that X-Men '97 could be a five-season Marvel series, serving up new X-Men content for many years to come.
X-Men Movie
While X-Men '97 is holding the fort on the animation side, many are naturally wondering when the X-Men will make it to the big screen. Fans will see the return of the legacy X-Men characters from the Fox universe in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday, but this is likely to be the end of the line for these characters as Marvel Studios is seemingly deep in development on its own X-Men reboot.
Last year, Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier landed the job of shepherding Marvel's new X-Men film to the screen, which reportedly cast a whole new array of actors in these superhero roles.
The names of several mutants and the actors who might play them in X-Men have been circulating for months, but Marvel has yet to cast anyone officially.
X-Academy
Another rumored X-Men project in development at Marvel Studios right now is the X-Academy. Jeff Sneider reported that the studio is looking at developing a series based on the Academy X studios, whose lineup included Anole, Dust, Elixir, Prodigy, Pixie, and more. The younger crew of mutant heroes was essentially an evolution of the New Mutants and was introduced in the New X-Men comics.
With the rumor that X-Academy would be a series, Marvel appears to be lining up iterations of the X-Men across all formats right now, with a team-up film, a live-action feature, an animated series, and a streaming series reportedly in the works.
