Nia DaCosta, director of The Marvels, has opened up about speculation that the film’s trailer teased a connection to the X-Men. In the run-up to The Marvels‘ release, several TV spots and shorter trailers have been released to build anticipation for the final 2023 MCU release. One of these TV spots was entitled “What Comes Next” and featured this text appearing onscreen only for Marvel fans to claim that the “X” stays visible for a split-second longer than the other letters shortly after Monica Rambeau mentions different realities bleeding together, potentially teasing Marvel’s upcoming movie slates.
This naturally caused uproar online from fans claiming that The Marvels is actively setting up the MCU’s X-Men, something Nia DaCosta commented on during an interview with Jake’s Takes. During the interview promoting the upcoming film, DaCosta was asked her thoughts on the X-Men franchise in general but also her reaction to the potential Easter egg fans spotted: “I was just like ‘Oh so cheeky, so cheeky’…” Just before this, DaCosta outlined her desire to see a proper Scott Summers/Cyclops and Ororo Munroe/Storm dynamic portrayed on screen, only adding further fuel to the fires of the Marvel rumor mill.
How The Marvels Could Set Up The MCU’s X-Men
After these teases found in The Marvels’ marketing, many are wondering how exactly the film could set up the MCU’s X-Men. The most likely possibility stems from the inclusion of Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. The Marvels will be Kamala’s second MCU appearance after her own show that was released in 2022. At the end of the show in question, Ms. Marvel essentially became the MCU’s first mutant complete with the iconic X-Men: The Animated Series theme tune.
As such, it stands to reason that Kamala Khan’s inclusion in The Marvels is the most likely way the film will foreshadow the X-Men. From the further exploration of Kamala’s mutant genes to her potential ties to Deadpool 3, Ms. Marvel seems like the most likely output for X-Men-related storylines in The Marvels. Given Nia DaCosta’s candid albeit blunt response to the theorizing behind such a concept, fans will have to eagerly await The Marvels‘ November 10, 2023, release date to see if the MCU’s mutants begin to emerge.
