A new MCU reveal looks to be setting the stage for the rebooted X-Men’s debut. While we’ll soon see the return of Fox’s X-Men in Avengers: Doomsday and likely Secret Wars, Marvel Studios is planning to have its own mutant heroes with newer actors in the near future (and may already be preparing for them).
Releasing at the end of January, Marvel Studios’ Wonder Man is set to star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a struggling (and secretly superpowered) actor named Simon Williams. However, a reveal from the newest Wonder Man trailer may be paving a path for the X-Men in the MCU’s future.
Marvel Just Introduced Another Anti-Superhero Policy
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams in Wonder Man Wearing Red Sunglasses
In the latest Wonder Man trailer, Simon Williams is shown having to sign forms confirming he does not possess any superpowers (though he secretly does). While we’ll likely learn more once the show releases, this appears to be a Hollywood policy meant to keep those with powers away.
This new policy is smaller-scale by comparison, though it does echo New York Mayor Wilson Fisk and his current anti-vigilante crusade seen in Daredevil: Born Again. Although the Sokovia Accords were eventually repealed after Captain America: Civil War, the MCU keeps replacing them with new restrictions and policies from both governments and corporations that still seem to find ways to regulate heroes.
Seen across multiple MCU projects, the Department of Damage Control is actively operating and surveilling superpowered beings and those they view as extraordinary threats (they’ll be appearing in Wonder Man as well). Likewise, the massive anti-alien sentiments seen at the end of Secret Invasion are also worth mentioning.
The MCU Is Already Setting The Stage For The X-Men’s Biggest Storylines
x-men 97 team against an orange sky
The environment that’s being built in the MCU is exactly the kind of environment in which the X-Men can thrive.
Mutant persecution has always been a core theme, and the MCU is already tilting toward fear-driven policies and anti-power sentiments that would naturally pit humanity against the sudden rise of the mutant gene and/or once mutants start stepping into the public eye.
Current projects like Daredevil: Born Again and Wonder Man suggest society is getting tired of romanticizing heroes and has begun to distrust anyone considered to be non-human.
When the rebooted X-Men do arrive in the MCU proper, it should be fairly easy to represent them as a new category beyond a new superhero team, a new race that governments and civilians alike are primed to distrust and even hate (just like in the original comics). As a result, it’s pretty smart on Marvel Studios’ part if they are indeed priming the MCU to fear mutants before they’ve even fully arrived.
Wonder Man begins streaming January 27th on Disney+ from Marvel Studios.
Wonder Man
Release Date
January 27, 2026
Network
Disney+
Writers
Andrew Guest
Franchise(s)
MCU
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Simon Williams
Demetrius Grosse
Eric Williams
Movie(s)
X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
First Film
X-Men (2000)
TV Show(s)
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)
Character(s)
Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
Video Game(s)
X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
Comic Release Date
213035,212968
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.