Following Kevin Feige’s recent comments about bringing the X-Men to the Marvel Cinematic UniverseI believe we may be seeing the Multiverse Saga completely wrong. It is expected that the next Marvel films will introduce more mutants to the franchise, after the characters from X-Men The films have been slowly introduced into Marvel Studios’ sprawling saga thus far. One of the Marvel films released in 2024, Deadpool and Wolverinetook a big step forward regarding mutants in the MCU, with the titular characters being connected to Earth-616.
With a Marvel studio X-Men film in production, the slow integration of the iconic characters is accelerating. The final step for the X-Men to be part of the MCU is expected to come after the long-awaited story of Avengers: Secret Warswhich has long been rumored to be a soft reboot of sorts for the franchise. Recently, the integration of the X-Men into the MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars was addressed by Kevin Feige, reinforcing the idea of the film rebooting the MCU and making me think that we, as fans, have been seeing the Multiverse Saga wrongly since its beginning.
Kevin Feige revealed that Secret Wars takes the MCU into the age of mutants
Secret Wars Will Pave the Way for the X-Men
In November 2024, Feige made a live virtual appearance at the Disney APAC Content Showcase held in Singapore and was naturally asked about the exciting future of the MCU. When talking about Avengers 6 and the X-Men, Feige’s comments were interesting. The Marvel Studios president first provided an intriguing tease about more mutants appearing sooner rather than later, stating that the upcoming MCU films will include X-Men characters that audiences might recognize.
Avengers: Secret Wars is the sixth Avengers film and is set during phase six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film will see several heroes from previous phases return and fight a cosmic threat to rival Thanos, and borrows elements from the Marvel Comics event of the same name.
- Release date
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May 7, 2027
- Cast
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Kathryn Newton, Jonathan Majors, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Wong, Hailee Steinfeld, Dominique Thorne, Anthony Mackie, Brie Larson, Simu Liu, Benedict Cumberbatch, Iman Vellani, Chris Hemsworth, Xochitl Gomez
Feige went on to say: “Soon after that, The entire Secret Wars story really takes us into a new era of mutants and the X-Men.” These comments aren’t unexpected, as the MCU has been clear about its multiple-saga structure. Many expected the batch of stories after the Multiverse Saga to end with Avengers: Secret Wars will focus more intensely on the X-Men, which Feige’s comments reinforce. Until now, the X-Men The film’s timeline and characters were used across the multiverse, but if Avengers 6 softly reboots the franchise, the X-Men of Earth-616 could come to the fore.
The Multiverse Saga May Have Just Been a Middle Chapter All Along
With this soft reboot in mind, it could be that I, along with many other Marvel fans, have been viewing the Multiverse Saga incorrectly this entire time. Given the epic scope of the MCU’s Infinity Saga, I certainly expected the Multiverse Saga to follow suit. I expected some differences, from a larger scope due to the involvement of other universes to a wider selection of characters, but I expected the MCU to maintain the same sense of interconnectivity, format, and overarching story type. Quickly in the Multiverse Saga, it became clear that I was wrong to expect these things.
The Multiverse Saga, starting with Phase 4 of the MCU, quickly established a different style of storytelling. Yes, I was right in saying that the scope and set of characters increased, but I was incorrect in expecting this expanded scale of the MCU to maintain the level of interconnectivity that the Infinity Saga possessed. This was something that came as a shock to me, as well as the millions of other MCU fans who were expecting the same. However, after Feige’s aforementioned comments about Secret Wars and the X-Men, I’ve accepted that I may have been seeing the Multiverse Saga wrong all along.
By viewing the Multiverse Saga not as a rehash of the Infinity Saga with a definitive beginning, middle, and end, but as a middle part of a larger story, it suddenly makes a lot more sense. Instead of being three individual sagas – the Infinity Saga, the Multiverse Saga, and the Mutant Saga – the three parts of the MCU could be seen as a trilogy of sorts, with the Multiverse Saga being the middle part. The Multiverse Saga, complete with all the terms and words of the MCU multiverse, is much better in retrospect when viewed as a bridge.
As most middle chapters of larger stories tend to do, the Multiverse Saga could simply be a way to fill the gap…
This bridge allowed Marvel to grow its character pool, tell more stories, take more risks, and delve into other media like TV, all while contributing to an overarching, if less focused, story. Just as most middle chapters of larger stories tend to do, the Multiverse Saga could simply be a way to bridge the gap between the Infinity Saga and what comes after. Avengers: Secret Wars. The characters have been established, their stories – whether they worked or not – have been told, in a way they will culminate in Secret Warsand the mutant saga that Feige talked about will be the third installment.
This theory from the middle part of the multiverse saga lines up with Hollywood history
The middle parts are not always so well received
A term often used in Hollywood, and also in literature, is “Mid-Chapter Syndrome”. This phrase is used in conjunction with trilogies, often to denote that the middle installment tends to be the weakest. Of course, it’s important to note that this isn’t always the case, as there have certainly been intermediary installments that have surpassed their predecessors and successors. That said, it is still a common term used to indicate that middle chapters are often less focused and streamlined than other parts of stories, as they have no beginning or end and serve more as a bridge.
It could be argued that this is also true with the MCU. Phase 2 is often considered the weakest phase of the MCU, as are many intermediary installments in individual series, from Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World to Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. If we consider the Multiverse Saga as a middle chapter of the MCU’s broader three-part story, the lack of focus becomes clear when aligning this view with the “Middle Chapter Syndrome” theory. Overall, our view of the Marvel Cinematic Universe It may have been wrong this whole time.