Avengers: Secret Wars promises to be an exciting event movie, but it might also be a major problem for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new X-Men.

Marvel’s upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars is rumored to be full of cameos that audiences will probably love, but it may also be a huge problem for the MCU’s version of the X-Men. Since Disney bought Fox back in 2019, the X-Men have been expected to make their appearance in the MCU. Movies and shows have teased Marvel’s mutants, and many expect that the plot of Deadpool & Wolverine will bring some of the X-Men into the universe. At the very least, Deadpool will be crossing over into the MCU.

With a major crossover event like Avengers: Secret Wars on the way, it makes sense that Marvel would want to establish the MCU’s version of the X-Men before that. This is especially true if, as some believe, Marvel will have a soft reboot after Secret Wars. However, as it gets closer to Avengers: Secret Wars 2027 release date, the question of when the X-Men are going to show up is starting to get more pressing. This coupled with Marvel’s slowdown in production could be a bad sign of what’s to come.

Marvel’s X-Men Still Haven’t Really Appeared In The MCU

The X-Men Were Recently Teased In The Marvels

As of now, the only confirmed mutant in the MCU is Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel. Though The Marvels’ post-credits scene featured Beast and Binary, it isn’t clear yet if these heroes will be part of the main MCU X-Men. In the scene, Beast was played by Kelsey Grammer, but Marvel had previously confirmed that it would be recasting all X-Men except Deadpool. Either Marvel is changing their plan, or one out of the two X-Men that have showed up so far isn’t going to be part of the main MCU.

Originally, it was speculated that Deadpool & Wolverine would be introducing the X-Men to the main MCU. However, with reports that Deadpool & Wolverine will include many cameos from previous projects, it seems unlikely that the movie will have room to introduce new X-Men specifically for the MCU. This gives the MCU only three years to introduce its version of the X-Men before Avengers: Secret Wars comes out. With 2025’s slate pretty full and Marvel slowing down, the X-Men likely won’t be getting their own film until sometime in 2026 at the earliest.

Fox X-Men Are Rumored To Appear In Secret Wars

No Official Cast Announcements Have Been Made For Avengers: Secret Wars (2027)

While the MCU’s X-Men are dragging their feet, Fox’s X-Men remain a lingering presence in Marvel projects. WandaVision had a fakeout appearance by Fox’s Quicksilver, Kelsey Grammer’s Beast was in The Marvels, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will be co-starring in Deadpool & Wolverine. Jackman is also one of several actors that are heavily rumored to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars. The current expectation is that Secret Wars will include cameos from all existing Marvel projects that Disney can get the rights to.

The success of Spider-Man: No Way Home is likely partially responsible for the continued cameos by previous X-Men actors. Marvel saw that there was still plenty of nostalgia attached to these older movies, and that they could utilize this for box office sales. Though it is undoubtedly a treat for long-time fans to get to see actors like Tobey Maguire and Hugh Jackman return to their iconic superhero roles, this continued reliance on cameos could end up hurting the MCU’s version of the X-Men whenever they show up.

The MCU’s X-Men Would Be Overshadowed By More Cameos

Marvel Has Still Not Announced Any Recast Versions Of The X-Men

Given that Marvel will only have two or three years to establish the MCU’s X-Men before Avengers: Secret Wars, any cameos by Fox X-Men will likely overshadow the new versions. After all, the Fox franchise ran for almost 20 years, and casual audiences are mostly familiar with the X-Men through those movies. If they return, even for a cameo, it risks keeping these older versions as the definitive ones in viewers’ minds. The last thing Marvel wants is for one of their major IPs to feel like pretenders or less engaging replacements.

With Avengers: Secret Wars still a few years out, Marvel has time to avoid this potential issue. Potentially the best route for the franchise would be to start announcing who will be playing the MCU’s version of major X-Men characters, and what projects they will appear in. Alternatively, Marvel can simply decide not to include any of Fox’s X-Men characters in Avengers: Secret Wars, and just let Deadpool & Wolverine be the main sendoff to that version of the X-Men.