We think six X-Men that are poised to become central characters in the MCU’s future. Following some recent reveals from Marvel, a select group of mutant heroes is potentially being set up as the first roster of X-Men in the MCU’s post-Secret Wars era.
Right off the bat, it’s important to know that the MCU and Marvel Comics are more connected than you think, especially after Kevin Feige was put in charge of Marvel Entertainment outright in 2019, overseeing movies, television, comics, and more. However, synergy between the page and the screen has long been prevalent since the dawn of the MCU.
Characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy were redesigned to look more like their MCU counterparts, Ms. Marvel was turned into a mutant-Inhuman hybrid to mirror her on-screen status, and characters with upcoming MCU projects are often given an extra spotlight on the page. As such, we think recent Marvel Comics announcements might be teasing the future of the MCU’s X-Men.
Six Key X-Men Are About To Get Their Own Books
Because of the importance that the aforementioned synergies have in the modern industry, it feels like it’s a good idea to watch the comics carefully as we gear up towards the MCU’s X-Men era, which looks to be a big focus for Marvel Studios after Avengers: Secret Wars and the end of the current Multiverse Saga.
For example, Marvel Comics just announced five stories releasing in 2026, focusing on individual X-Men heroes (and one epic duo):
- Cyclops – A series where Scott Summers is cut off from the X-Men and is hunted alone in the mountains by Reavers, without his visor.
- Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant – A new era for Ororo Munroe as she becomes a major protector for Earth.
- Rogue – Skeletons from Rogue’s villainous past return, forcing her to confront them in a series that also features Gambit, Mystique, and Destiny.
- Psylocke: Ninja – A series flashing back to Psyloke’s origins when she was chosen to be a weapon of The Hand.
- Magik & Colossus – Illyana and Piotr Rasputin join forces and return to their homeland as the siblings face creatures from Russian folklore.
With these particular mutants in mind, one has to wonder if any or all of them are potentially being considered to be part of the MCU’s first X-Men roster.
Several Of These X-Men Have Strong Avengers Ties
It’s fun to imagine how these six mutants might debut on-screen, especially considering their connections to the greater Marvel Universe and established elements that already exist in the current MCU. On the page, Storm has strong ties to the nation of Wakanda, while Magik is the Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo, having received magical training from Doctor Strange.
Rogue’s potential MCU ties are also fun to think about. After all, she gained the permanent powers of superstrength, flight, and near-invulnerability from Carol Danvers back when she was a villain, after Rogue held onto Captain Marvel for too long. Obviously, that’s a core facet of Rogue’s origins that Fox’s X-Men movies never touched, but Marvel Studios and the MCU absolutely could.
There’s also Rogue’s relationship with Remy LeBeau’s Gambit to consider, a new version of which just debuted in 2024’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine played by Channing Tatum (who’s also set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday).
Psylocke has connections to the ninja clan known as The Hand and Elektra, both of which were featured in Netflix’s Daredevil and connected MCU shows, while Matt Murdock’s Daredevil has made multiple MCU appearances since, and an ongoing revival series with Daredevil: Born Again.
Essentially, these six mutants in particular could not only debut in the MCU as the X-Men of Earth-616, but also be integrated into the greater interconnected universe at the same time.
Could These Be The MCU’s First X-Men?
Realistically, in a globalized world, we likely aren’t going to get the “Original Five” X-Men as they were in the comics: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, and Iceman. It’s far more likely that we’ll be getting an initial MCU roster that somewhat blends the 05 and Second Genesis: Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Banshee, Sunfire, and Thunderbird.
All things considered, the six aforementioned mutants do seem to fit well as an initial team of X-Men for the MCU, with plenty of room to expand as the upcoming franchise grows.
Things could certainly change, and the roster could be widely different from the characters we’re guessing based on those upcoming Marvel тιтles. Nevertheless, Cyclops is by far the most likely candidate, having been the X-Men’s most consistent leader on screen and on the page (though Storm feels incredibly likely as well).
Regardless, the biggest hope of all is that Marvel Studios will keep Wolverine away from the MCU’s first official X-Men team. It’s going to be far better if Logan is gradually introduced and is integrated with the X-Men over time.
X-Men
- Movie(s)
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X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine (2024)
- First Film
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X-Men (2000)
- TV Show(s)
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X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)
- Video Game(s)
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X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
- Character(s)
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Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
- Comic Release Date
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213035,212968
