The X-Men's upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe debut makes the return of a Marvel team that previously appeared in live-action far less likely. The famous Marvel mutants first came to the big screen in 2000's X-Men, with several X-Men movies set in different continuities — the one of the original team and the one established in 2011's X-Men: First Class — following. Now, the X-Men franchise developed by Fox ended with 2020's The New Mutants, with Disney buying the studio and the rights to the mutants returning to Marvel. Deadpool 3 will be the first movie with X-Men characters in the MCU.

Deadpool 3 will bring back mutants like Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, and Colossus, with the film rumored to include several returning X-Men actors from the Fox franchise. The film will serve as the first taste of the X-Men in the MCU, with Marvel set to debut its own version of the classic team in the future, likely after Avengers: Secret Wars concludes the Multiverse Saga in 2027. While things look promising for future MCU movies with the arrival of the X-Men, the upcoming debut of the mutants makes the return of a forgotten Marvel team less likely.

The X-Men's Return Makes The Inhumans Redundant

Before the MCU TV shows on Disney+, Inhumans was released in 2017. The Marvel series focused on a team from the comics that shares many similarities with the X-Men. Both the Inhumans and the X-Men are secretive groups that happen to get their special abilities from their DNA — mutations for the X-Men and the Terrigen Mist for the Inhumans. Recent X-Men comics have heightened their similarities, with the X-Men and the Inhumans having their own secure city-countries, Krakoa and Atillan, respectively. Both the X-Men and the Inhumans also suffer from similar prejudices from humans. All those factors make the Inhumans' return in the MCU less likely with the X-Men's debut.

Why The Inhumans Have Been Missing From The MCU For So Long

Inhumans was not well received, with many aspects of the series getting criticized, which led to the show's cancellation after just one season. The show's bad reception appeared to be a great blow to Marvel's plans, as Inhumans and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. both set up the lore surrounding the Inhumans for the characters to play a major role in the MCU. With the show's failure, the Inhumans' further impact in the MCU has been limited to Black Bolt actor Anson Mount returning for a brief role as a variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, being killed by the Scarlet Witch.

The Inhumans only getting a small cameo after their show got cancelled seems to be a calculated move on Marvel Studios' part, as a new report claims that Marvel is actively blocking ties to Inhumans in new projects. According to the MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios book, the Eternals team was told not to use Hawaii as a setting due to the location being where the Inhuman Royal Family escaped to in Inhumans. With Marvel seemingly wanting to make fans forget the existence of Inhumans and the X-Men soon debuting, the Inhumans will most likely remain a forgotten part of the MCU while the X-Men thrive.