As things stand, Marvel Studios has no upcoming X-Men projects on their slate, though just this month they announced that a Fantastic Four reboot is on the way, so we know Kevin Feige has definitely started to work out what he’s doing with the new toys he inherited from Fox. And the latest rumor is pointing to an X-Men live-action TV series being in the early stages of development for Disney Plus.
Disney-themed outlet Pirates & Princesses has shared some new intel claiming that this project’s been inspired by the successful launch of X-Men: The Animated Series on D+. The iconic 90s cartoon finally went up on the site back in October and P&P claims that the company has been impressed with its viewing figures so far.
As scooper WDW Pro explains:
“The rumor is that Disney execs were caught off guard with the Disney+ viewership for the old 90’s X-Men animated series, and they are considering / developing a live action series with a huge budget that aims for a similar vibe.”
Similar in style to the classic animated show, it’s said that this live-action series will have a “heavy emphasis on social issues.” There’s no word on any creative minds behind it or even which line-up of characters it could feature at this point, as the scooper says that “this one is in the very early stages,” but apparently Disney has big plans for the show and it’s feasible that it could end up with a higher budget than The Mandalorian.
Of course, this is far from the first time that we’ve heard that Marvel may mostly utilize the X-Men on the small screen rather than the silver one going forward. And considering the enormous scope of the mutants’ world, it makes a lot of sense. Just like The Mandalorian is giving rise to an interconnected shared universe of series, an X-Men show could do the same thing. This specific story might just be a rumor for now, then, but it likely holds more than a grain of truth.