Marvel Cinematic Universe fans think they might know when the franchise’s highly anticipated X-Men reboot will hit theaters. Recently, Disney secured a December 2028 release date for an untitled Marvel movie. If everything stays as is, it will be the fourth MCU feature to premiere that year. While fans are eagerly awaiting imminent MCU blockbusters such as The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday, they can’t help but speculate about the future. Marvel is in the early stages of developing a new X-Men film, but that project hasn’t been officially added to the studio’s slate yet. Viewers believe that could be Marvel’s big holiday tentpole in a few years.
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“[December] is usually saved for huge blockbusters, so I feel like this has to be X-Men, right?” wrote one user on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Probably the first movie of phase 7, a year after [Avengers: Secret Wars]. Several other people echoed this sentiment, theorizing that the mutants will make their triumphant return to the big screen in December 2028.
As Marvel works on X-Men, they’ve already assembled a creative team for the reboot. Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier will call the shots, drawing from a screenplay by Michael Lesslie. No actors have been cast yet, though there have been rumors about who Marvel is looking at. Back in February, it was said Harris Dickinson, Sadie Sink, and Julia Butters could be up for parts in X-Men. Since then, Sink has been cast in Spider-Man: Brand New Day in a mystery role.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has been adamant that the X-Men are an important part of the MCU’s future. It’s been reported that he has a 10-year plan in mind for the characters, implying that the next big MCU saga after the Multiverse Saga will revolve heavily around mutants.
X-Men coming out in December 2028 wouldn’t be far-fetched. The holiday season has become a landing ground for several high-profile studio tentpoles over the past several years, including the Lord of the Rings films, the Avatar movies, and four of Disney’s Star Wars films. All of those titles achieved a great deal of commercial success, something Marvel should experience for themselves when Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars debut in December 2026 and 2027, respectively. Given the importance of X-Men to the MCU’s future, having it be Disney’s premier holiday blockbuster in 2028 ensures it will be a sizable draw. Making a big splash over Christmas would be a way to make X-Men feel like a cinematic event.
It’ll be interesting to see when Marvel outlines its plans for the post-Secret Wars era. The studio is bypassing a Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con this year, meaning fans will have to wait a bit before learning more about the MCU’s future. This is always the tricky balance Marvel tries to strike, keeping audiences focused on what’s immediately coming out while also teasing the future. Perhaps once Avengers: Doomsday has set the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga in motion, the next Marvel film slate will be unveiled, including X-Men.
