The chance to see the X-Men join Marvel's movie universe just got a whole lot better, now that Disney and Fox shareholders have approved their merger. And with Marvel Studios barreling towards the payoff to their first major villain in The Avengers 4, there's no better time to inject Fox's mutants into the MCU. According to Disney, there's no question that the X-Men will be joining the MCU (and making plenty of Marvel fans' dreams come true).
There's just one problem: if Marvel is going to reveal that the X-Men have been alive and well in the same universe this whole time, it won't be easy to explain why they haven't been seen. Unless they intend to scrap every bit of Fox's mutant lore, and start over from scratch by recasting the X-Men for an MCU reboot. But there may be a way for the studio to merge the worlds together... without having to sacrifice the chance of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine returning, for instance.
And it may be Avengers 4 that sets the stage for a shared X-Men movie universe.
HOW SOON CAN THE X-MEN JOIN THE MCU?
First things first, and this reality check may not be what fans want to hear. But even if Fox shareholders have approved the merger, it won't mean that post-credits scenes can suddenly be shot and edited into Avengers 4, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, or any other finished (or even in-development) feature film. The two universes can be merged sooner rather than later, but fans will need to exercise some patience so Marvel Studios can execute the merging of plots just as well as properties.
The reality of a $70 billion corporate merger is that there is a LOT of business and restructuring to be done before Kevin Feige or any other Marvel producer would even dream of setting plans into stone, let alone production. As we explained before, seeing X-Men join the MCU before 2020 isn't likely. Fans can still wonder if Marvel will adapt comic stories like Avengers vs. X-Men, or any other epic mutant sagas in the meantime. But before the two Marvel universes can join forces in one team-up, they have to occupy the same version of America, Earth, the Universe, etc....
Which is where the probable events of Avengers 4 come in.
AVENGERS 4 CAN ADD X-MEN TO THE MCU (WITHOUT SHOWING THEM)
For the reasons we mentioned above, fans are best off NOT hoping for a substantial bombshell introduction of the X-Men - at least not on the scale of Nick Fury's cameo in Iron Man's post-credits scene. If that changes, we're almost guaranteed to hear about it beforehand. But for the time being, the odds are better that the plot of Avengers 4 will help to explain the arrival of the X-Men. Or, perhaps more accurately, the events of Avengers 4 will eventually be pointed to as the CAUSE of the X-Men suddenly appearing in the world.
Or, if Marvel wishes, as the reason why the X-Men have existed in Marvel's world all along... just not the universe that movie fans have been watching until now.
WHEN AVENGERS 4 CHANGES REALITY, X-MEN CAN BE BORN
By now every comic book movie fans knows the shock of Infinity War's ending, and probably entertained at least one of the fan theories focused on what comes next. Whichever theory proves to be true - that Tony Stark visits Avengers memories and not actually the past, or that Thanos time traveled after his snap - most fans know that the mass slaughter will be reversed sooner rather than later. And Avengers 4 is the soonest solution.
Regardless of exactly how the filmmakers decide to undo the events of Infinity War, the fact remains that they will have messed with the regular order of things (as much as Thanos set out to, and eventually achieved). And any fan of time travel stories knows that messing with the past makes almost anything possible. In fact, both Marvel and DC have counted on rewriting of history to introduce new characters, or incorporate alternate timeline events and stories into canon. And sometimes, even fold one universe into another.
And whether the residents of either universe are even aware that things used to be different is also up for a vote. But it's important to remember: this will still be Marvel's Cinematic Universe we're dealing with. Which means a few things should be expected.
THE X-MEN WILL BE THE ONES TO CHANGE, NOT MARVEL
If Avengers 4 sees Doctor Strange and Iron Man's plan play out perfectly, and the trillions of dead are restored to life through either changing reality or history, then Marvel has its opportunity to turn two properties into one. If the Avengers were to celebrate in one giant group hug, only to be interrupted by the X-Men, even casual audiences probably have enough experience with science fiction films and alternate-timeline stories to understand what has taken place.
Again, we're not saying that will happen, or that it's even likely. But if that scene were to transpire in a future film, the characters would probably start their search for an explanation with the way they "saved the day" in Avengers 4. In changing history to prevent Thanos from winning, they sent a ripple through time that saw mutants (and eventually, the X-Men) born in this reality, too. Or by changing reality, the world of the Avengers and that of the X-Men were folded into one.
If this were the comics, then we might expect to see both continuities honored, and either both or neither of the characters aware of the larger narrative hand at work. But since it's Marvel Studios and the MCU at the wheel, the smart money is doing whatever it takes to fit the X-Men into Marvel's plan and structure... whatever that may be.
With Marvel handling the fate of the X-Men, X-Force, and Deadpool, do you think they should simply inject the current stars into MCU continuity? Or should the characters with the most baggage be completely rebooted from the start alongside Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest of the Avengers?