Kevin Feige talks MCU’s future with Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Avengers: Secret Wars

By Dan Girolamo Published November 20, 2024

The MCU is heading into the future with a new class of superheroes. One of the most important factions is the Fantastic Four, who are set to make their MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. At Disney’s APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed that filming on First Steps is nearly complete. After the quartet’s arrival, Feige expects the supergroup to play an important role in the MCU, especially within the Avengers movies.

“Finally, [we’re] bringing Marvel’s First Family into the MCU,” Feige said (via Deadline). “They wrap next week, the movie comes out next summer, and then all those characters go right into the next Avengers movies, so I’m very excited for the future of the Fantastic Four.”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicks off the MCU’s Phase Six and stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Directed by Matt Shakman, First Steps opens in theaters on July 25, 2025.

After the Fantastic Four, all attention will turn toward the arrival of the X-Men. Feige called having the rights to the X-Men a “dream.” The Marvel Studios boss expects some mutants to appear in the MCU over the next few movies. It all builds up to Avengers: Secret Wars, which will kick-start Marvel’s mutant saga.

“I think you will see that continue in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize. Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men,” Feige said. “Again, [it’s] one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back.”

This year welcomed Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine into the MCU in Deadpool & Wolverine. Prior to that, Patrick Stewart’s Professor Charles Xavier appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, while Kelsey Grammer’s Hank McCoy showed up in The Marvels post-credits scene. Additionally, Ms. Marvel revealed Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan was a mutant.

In May, Now You See Me 3’s Michael Lesslie was tapped to pen the untitled X-Men movief or Marvel. X-Men does not have a release date, but it will come sometime after Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027.