Will the X-Men Finally Make It to the MCU? Hey, Anything's Possible in the Multiverse

There are no more lines to cross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With old characters from the Netflix shows making comebacks left and right, and the multiverse allowing the likes of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to cross over with Tom Holland's Spider-Man, the long-running film franchise has free rein to bring heroes from all across the Marvel pantheon into the same universe as the big-screen Avengers. But what do these new possibilities mean for the X-Men? Could they finally come to the MCU?

X-Men films have a longer cinematic history than even the MCU. The various films, which adapt the classic Marvel comics of mutants trying to defend humanity while also fighting adversity and discrimination, span across 20 years. But even across several sequels and reboots, the X-Men have never been able to cross paths with the MCU Avengers in any meaningful way. However, all of that could finally change as new developments in the MCU seek to alter reality as we know it.

When it comes to the films, the X-Men have been kept away from the Avengers for quite some time, thanks to the red tape between Disney (who owns Marvel Studios) and 20th Century Fox (who owned the film distribution rights to X-Men). Marvel Studios couldn't create their own X-Men films while Fox still held the rights to the characters. Meanwhile, Fox released a steady stream of successful X-Men-related films including Days of Future Past, Logan, and the Deadpool series.

Of course, that all changed when Disney bought 21st Century Fox. After the infamous deal closed in March 2019, Marvel Studios then acquired the rights to the X-Men, Deadpool, and even the Fantastic Four. For better or for worse, this deal means that even more Marvel characters could fill out the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fox would go on to release two more critically-panned X-Men films Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants to tie up loose ends before Marvel Studios has their turn with them.

So what does this mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe? After all, they knowingly teased Marvel fans with Evan Peters sort of reprising his role as X-Men's Quicksilver in WandaVision. Wanda herself is even originally an X-Men character before appearing in the Avengers films. Only time will tell how the X-Men could officially arrive, but now there's plenty of precedence for them to slide on in.

The multiverse of the Marvel films has been gaining a lot of traction lately. Not only will the concept of alternate realities come into play as What If...? will soon cross over with Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but the multiverse also paved the way for previous Spider-Men from the Sony films to fight alongside MCU Spidey. Marvel Studios will even soon release a new animated series called X-Men '97. As of now, putting the X-Men into the MCU seems easier than it's ever been.