Between the massive slate of upcoming titles, the acquisition of new beloved properties, and the events within the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s safe to say that the universe is facing a high point in popularity.

However, with the impending addition of the X-Men to the universe, bigger things are yet to come. Some fans want to see Feige take the beloved team and flesh them out before they team up as the X-Men. They took to Reddit to voice their concerns.

The X-Men screen journey

While the first screen adaptation of X-Men was the popular cartoon series from the 1990s, the film journey began in 2000 with the embattled Bryan Singer’s hit film X-Men. Since then, the universe has grown more extensive and more convoluted with every sequel, spin-off, and movie that tried to balance somewhere in the middle. 

The X-Men series is notorious for its lack of cohesion and complex structure. Deadpool, for example, was played by Ryan Reynolds in Wolverine’s first solo adventure. However, the outrage regarding the character’s treatment paved the way for the wildly successful spin-off series that’s still going strong and will continue in the MCU. 

From lauded films like Logan to massive flops like Dark Phoenix and New Mutants, X-Men shows the highest highs and lowest lows that tell the superhero genre’s story as a whole—now headed to the most lucrative superhero franchise in history. However, Marvel has the chance to make the critical and commercial smash that also adheres to the MCU’s legendary formula. 

Feige on X-Men 

Kevin Feige spoke about X-Men at an April 2019 event. While some fans wanted Marvel to begin production on an X-Men movie right away, the MCU’s gatekeeper stated that it would be a while. While Warner Brothers and DC notoriously tried to fast-track their universe, Marvel has always taken time to flesh out characters before bringing them together. 

While Marvel has set clear phases until now, Feige said that the most crucial part of bringing the X-Men on board is to think of a new way to do so without retreading old stories and rushing to the significant events that guide them. 

“The slate that we’re building over the next five years [is] not apples to apples,” Feige said. “It is two very distinct things, and I hope they’ll feel very distinct. But there is a similar mentality going into it, which is ‘How can we continue to tell stories with some of the characters that audiences already know and love in a unique way, in a different way, in a surprising way, of which we have a lot of plans and ideas and work already going into it?’ [Then] ‘How can we introduce new characters that even hardcore fans, comic fans, have barely known or barely heard of.’ That’s really exciting, too.”

Fans on Reddit agree. 

Fans on Reddit chime in

A Reddit thread allowed fans to discuss their desires for the X-Men of the MCU. However, rather than starting during a significant event that throws the mutants into the action, many want to see it slowly take form, be it through television series or a few film adaptations.

Like Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man, the fans want X-Men to establish characters before giving them massive stakes, and with a more extensive cast than either of those properties, this could take several years to flesh out. 

In the thread kicking off the discussion, u/KimF29 laid out a plan to do just this.

“Have the day-to-day life of Xavier’s school, and the training of students and Junior X-Men, be presented as a Disney+ tv series (multiple seasons), with the movies being the X-Men going off to save the world and fight their big villains – with the same X-Men line up in both the show and films with the same actor,” the user wrote in the initial thread. 

Other fans agreed. From a series of standalone solo projects that let the mutants have their own identities and stories. Much like the Avengers, Marvel has an opportunity to form their team of mutants over several years. Whether they do so remains to be seen.

Save for rumored appearances by X-Men in other films and a recently-confirmed Deadpool sequel, little is known about the X-Men in the MCU. If Feige has taught us one thing, however, it’s that he’s always working behind the scenes before he announces the ultimate goal.