Don’t Worry, There’s Still Time For The MCU To Phase Out The Old X-Men Cast

Marvel Studios" X-Men reboot is approaching, and various actors from Fox"s X-Men franchise still seem too popular to replace. After several years and dozens of projects where mutants were notably absent, the MCU"s own X-Men will finally make their debut once the Multiverse Saga ends. The MCU"s X-Gene was teased in WandaVision and Ms. Marvel, where Kamala Khan and Wanda Maximoff discovered that they had a dormant mutation even before their powers were awakened by external factors. In Phase 7, many Earthlings" mutant gene may be activated, signaling the dawn of the age of mutants.
Before mutantkind are unveiled, the MCU brought back several mutant characters from previous X-Men movies, including Kelsey Grammer"s Beast and Patrick Stewart"s Professor X. Deadpool & Wolverine was the first MCU movie led by mutant characters, and it also introduced Channing Tatum"s now-beloved Gambit and Dafne Keen"s X-23 alongside Hugh Jackman"s Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds" Deadpool. Hence, while the MCU"s first X-Men movie has taken a while, Marvel Studios has offered fans plenty of mutant spectacle throughout the Multiverse Saga.
Deadpool, Wolverine, And Gambit Could Have Starring Roles In Doomsday And Secret Wars The MCU's Multiversal X-Men May Only Have Two Movies To Retire Close A potential problem with mutant portrayals like Hugh Jackman"s Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds" Deadpool, and Channing Tatum"s Gambit is that they could prove so popular that their farewell at the end of the Multiverse Saga could seem too early and abrupt. Deadpool & Wolverine marked the first time Hugh Jackman wore the classic Wolverine suit and the first time Channing Tatum played Gambit after years of waiting. If the MCU reboots the whole X-Men in order to introduce a brand-new mutant cast, movies like Deadpool & Wolverine could seem like the misplaced start of these characters" MCU stories.

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2 Fortunately, upcoming crossovers like Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars could give Wolverine, Deadpool, Gambit, Beast, and X-23 sizable roles that allow them to compensate for their potentially premature farewell at the end of Phase 6. Their interactions with the Avengers and Doctor Doom will be an exciting event more than two decades in the making. Once Fox"s X-Men characters team up with MCU characters on the big screen, they could retire for good.
The MCU Has Proved Characters Don’t Need Solo Movies To Complete A Full Arc MCU Characters Can Retire In Team-Up Movies And Crossover Events Close Even if the MCU"s multiversal X-Men don"t have enough time to have starring roles in their own movies, they can still complete a full character arc before the MCU introduces a new wave of mutants. After all, several MCU characters have had a long and complex journey without having starred in multiple movies or shows. For example, Vision, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury completed their arcs before they got their own solo projects. Scarlet Witch went through a whole villain-to-hero-to-villain transformation across multiple team-up movies and her co-starring role in WandaVision.
Hulk, being a founding member of the Avenger, only starred in one solo movie back in Phase 1.
Multiversal X-Men characters like Hugh Jackman"s Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds" Deadpool, and Channing Tatum"s Gambit could experience a similar evolution in Phase 6"s final crossover events. Characters who had entire trilogies completed key parts or their whole MCU journey in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame: Robert Downey Jr."s Iron Man sacrificed his life to save the universe and Chris Evans" Captain America chose to live the rest of his life in the past with Peggy Carter. Wolverine, Deadpool, and Gambit could play similar roles in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Why The MCU’s X-Men Require A Brand-New Cast The MCU's Mutants Need A Fresh Start Separate From Fox's Franchise

While retconning Deadpool and Wolverine"s backstory in order to help them fit in the X-Men"s new story in Phase 7 could work, establishing a fresh start for mutants may be much more useful for the MCU"s X-Men. Fox"s X-Men movie franchise has already existed for more than two decades in one way or another, and it has gone through several complicated timeline changes throughout the years. Regardless of how Marvel Studios could explain that Hugh Jackman"s Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds" Deadpool have always existed in the MCU"s main timeline alongside other mutants, these actors would always be associated with Fox"s X-Men films.

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2 After the Multiverse Saga concludes and the Mutant Saga begins, a blank slate can help the MCU’s new X-Men stand on their own merits. Famous mutants like Cyclops and Magneto could have different relationships with Wolverine, Professor X, and Beast without causing any confusion about similar actors or changes in the timeline. All members of the MCU"s X-Men and their villains could also be around the same age, and Marvel Studios can have complete freedom over their casting choices.