With Disney making a groundbreaking deal to buy most of the assets of 20th Century Fox, it’s now only a matter of time before Marvel fans have their wildest dreams realized and the X-Men are introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But how will this monumental merging of two distinct franchises be achieved?
Well, it may all hinge on the studio’s upcoming Eternals movie, which we know is moving forward, as two writers were recently hired to pen the script. Plot details remain non-existent at this early, early stage, but a tipster on the SHH forums – the same one who’s been spilling all those juicy X-Men leaks – claims that a big part of the film will be something related to the introduction of mutants in the MCU.
Beyond that, we don’t know much, but it’d be a good guess that whatever this individual’s referring to has to do with the Celestials, one of whom we’ve already met back in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in the form of Peter Quill’s father, Ego. Put that together with the fact that a recent X-Men comic teased the involvement of the aforementioned race with the creation of mutants, and it wouldn’t be too crazy to think that this is the path Marvel’s headed down, giving the characters a slightly different origin story in the process.
Then again, there’s always the possibility that the X-Men movie universe will be left in tact. Previously, Disney CEO Bob Iger has spoken about his wish to keep the brand separate from the MCU, likewise for the R-rated Deadpool. Although, we’re also hearing that Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants may be scrapped now, so who knows?
With the results of the merger likely not being felt until 2019 – at the earliest – fans still have a fair while to keep on theorizing on how the X-Men will ultimately be introduced into the MCU, but don’t be surprised if Marvel’s Eternals movie takes the first steps towards making it happen.