Ever since Disney acquired Twentieth Century Fox in 2019, fans have been waiting with overwhelming excitement for the X-Men to make their MCU debut. Considering that the X-Men films were already box office successes before they became properties of Disney, the expectations on Kevin Feige to deliver his particular brand of magic to the beloved franchise are at an all-time high. Currently, the big question on everyone's minds is: How will Marvel Studios introduce the X-Men? Well, thanks to a new leak, there may be an answer to that (albeit, a loose one).
According to a report by Marvel insider Daniel Richtman, the upcoming film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will feature a battle between Wanda Maximoff and an unnamed Fox-verse X-men character. Richtman leaked this information on Twitter where he stated that the epic showdown will be far more impressive than the one fans saw between Doctor Strange and Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
Such a rumor has not been confirmed by Marvel as of yet; however, Richtman does have a pretty good track record of making accurate Marvel predictions. Most recently, he correctly estimated when the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer would drop, so he may be onto something with this leak as well. That said, if the rumor is true, the question then becomes: Which mutant from the X-Men films is he referring to?
So far, fans have shortlisted the possible options down to two names, and either one would be an excellent choice to be the MCU's first mutant. The first is Magneto, who is the more obvious choice because he and Wanda share a close connection with each other in the comic books (i.e., he's basically her father). If it is Magneto, fans could be seeing Ian McKellan or Michael Fassbender reprising their roles, and the battle with Wanda would definitely be one for the books.
But it's the second choice that has everyone giddy with excitement — Jean Grey, one of the most powerful mutants to ever exist, is the other frontrunner, and she would make a lot of sense in the Doctor Strange sequel. Firstly, the film is expected to have a lot of reality-warping scenes and mind-bending moments, so Jean, who often engages in psychic stunts and mental manipulation, would definitely fit in. Secondly, she would be a perfect match-up for Wanda, given that her powers are on a similar level of extreme (she is, after all, an omega-level mutant with a strong bond to the Phoenix Force). Should the mystery mutant be Jean, fans could be seeing Famke Janssen or Sophie Turner return to the big screen as the powerful telepath.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled for theatrical release on March 23, 2023.
Source: Daniel Richtman|Twitter