The Marvel Cinematic Universe has certainly been enjoying its fair share of mutants, but it’s about to get taken to a whole other level. That’s because later this month, Deadpool & Wolverine is out, and according to the present of Marvel Studios, it’s the key to whatever comes next.
“July 26 is really when it all starts,” Kevin Feige toldEntertainment Weekly. “When Deadpool & Wolverine comes out.” What does Feige mean by “it?” Well, the official integration of the X-Men into the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe, of course. It’s an idea that didn’t seem possible in the early years of the MCU but, when Disney bought Fox in 2017, finally became realistic.
In practice though, Marvel has taken it slowly. So far we’ve just seen a few moments, such as Patrick Stewart’s Professor X appearing in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Kelsey Grammer reprising his role as Beast in The Marvels (not to mention the Disney+ animated series X-Men ‘97), but those were mere teases. Fans have long wondered when a full-blown, X-Men movie is going to happen that will make it possible for those characters to appear alongside the likes of Captain America, Black Panther, Thor, Hulk, and others. (Plus, think of the casting rumors!)
Rumor has it that the first X-Men script is already in the works just as another Fox property, Fantastic Four, starts filming later this month, aimed at a 2025 release. Everything is finally kicking into high gear, and it’s about time.
“I don’t want to get into corporate acquisition legal laws or whatever. I don’t understand them, but there’s a lot of ‘em,” Feige said. “It took a long time between whenever [the acquisition] was announced to it all getting done, so [the characters] weren’t really in our sandbox for a very long time after that first announcement happened.”
But it happened, fans got excited, time passed, seeds have been planted, and now, in just a few weeks, the X-Men will begin invading the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “The notion that, all these years later, we’re in a world where [Hugh Jackman] is Wolverine, and Deadpool and all of those X-Men characters are together under the same roof, is a pretty amazing quarter-of-a-century experience,” Feige said.
Read more from Feige, as well as the team behind Deadpool & Wolverine, over at Entertainment Weekly.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
