Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has finally put a clear order on one of the company’s longest-running questions. The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not anytime soon. After years of hints and side appearances, Feige confirmed the mutant reboot will land after Avengers: Secret Wars, which is set for December 2027.
The update came during a live appearance at BilibiliWorld in Shanghai, where Feige laid out the timeline in plain terms. First comes Avengers: Doomsday. Then comes Avengers: Secret Wars. Only after that will the X-Men step into the spotlight.
“I can’t wait for all of you to see Avengers: Doomsday, we have a movie after that called Avengers: Secret Wars, and after that the mutants are coming and the X-Men are coming and that’s been a dream of mine,” Feige said. “I started with the X-Men many, many years ago and to bring a new version into the MCU is going to be very exciting.”
The timeline puts a likely release for the X-Men reboot in 2028 at the earliest. That date lines up with the 20th anniversary of the MCU, a milestone Disney will likely treat as a major event. Marvel has not announced an official release date, but the project itself is already in motion. Director Jake Schreier is attached, and Oscar-nominated writer Michael Lesslie is working on the script. Still, details remain thin, and Marvel has kept casting and story under tight control.
This is not a new direction so much as a firm restatement. Feige has pointed to a post Secret Wars debut before, calling that film a reset point for the MCU timeline. The idea is to fold the mutants into a single, clean continuity after years of split rights and alternate versions.
There are signs Marvel may shift focus within the team. Feige highlighted female characters during his remarks and said they will arrive very soon. That comment has fueled speculation about a female-led roster, though no casting has been confirmed. Names like Kitty Pryde have surfaced in reports, but nothing official has been announced.
Some fans are pushing back on that direction. Online reactions show concern about potential changes to legacy characters. Critics argue the X-Men already offer a wide range of diverse characters and warn against altering core identities for modern trends, saying the franchise should stay true to established roles.
Before she was abruptly fired from Marvel Studios, Victoria Alonso, who at the time was the President of Physical, Post Production, VFX, and Animation at Marvel Studios, had not only has she promised more transgender superheroes in the MCU, but she said that also thought the name “X-Men” wasn’t inclusive enough and called the name “outdated” because there were so many great female characters.
“I don’t know where the future is going. It’s funny that people call it the ‘X-Men.’ There’s a lot of female superheroes in that ‘X-Men’ group. So, I think it’s outdated.”
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Marvel now has a chance to address those concerns directly. The studio is set to return to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25. That stage has a long history of major reveals, and a first look at the X-Men cast would fit the moment. Whether Feige delivers that reveal or holds it back, the path forward is no longer a mystery.
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