Superhero fans have been wondering how mutants – and therefore the X-Men – would be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since Disney purchased Fox in 2019, but that question has finally been answered thanks to the Ms. Marvel series.
Warning: The following paragraphs include spoilers for the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series.
Early on in the series we learned that the magic bangle worn by Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel herself, only activated something already within her, and we're later told that she's a djinn, a new type of supernatural being for the MCU.
In the sixth and final episode, however, Khan and Bruno discuss her genes further before he comments there's something different about her still, "like a mutation".
While this could still be open to interpretation given how many directions the MCU is currently going, a quick soundbite of the actual X-Men: The Animated Series theme song plays on top of the scene, making it pretty clear that Ms. Marvel is the first stepping stone towards a full mutant and X-Men introduction.
Marvel hasn't said anything about the X-Men's introduction to the MCU previously but it is focusing resources into the franchise elsewhere with the X-Men '97 series that's coming to Disney+ next year. One of Fox's other major franchises, The Fantastic Four, is being introduced as the final film in Phase 4, perhaps leaving Phase 5 wide open for a full X-Men introduction.
This would include characters including Wolverine (a role that's currently being pursued by Taron Egerton of the Kingsman franchise), Professor X (that featured briefly in one of the latest Doctor Strange film's alternate universe), and Magneto.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.