Ever since Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, fans can’t wait to see the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After years of waiting, we’ll finally see these mutant heroes appear alongside the likes of Thor, Captain America and the Fantastic Four Avengers: End of the World. The team’s big-screen comeback has made this superhero blockbuster one of the most anticipated films of 2026.
Marvel finally gave audiences a glimpse of some of the X-Men in a teaser trailer Avengers: End of the World. In it we see Professor X’s school dark, empty and destroyed, almost like a haunted house. The trailer also suggests that Professor (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen), two long-time enemies, will once again be allies in the upcoming war against Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.).
To top it off, the trailer shows Cyclops (James Marsden) unleashing his anger with a massive bang while Sentinels march in the background. All of this brings back memories X-Men: Days of Future Pastwhich is probably the best main X-Men film. At this point, it looks like the X-Men will never be the same again End of the worldas the film helped revive the heroes and pave the way for a bold future.
The X-Men embrace their unique comic book origins
I liked how the MCU has reinvented the X-Men in recent years by returning the team members to their roots. We saw Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine finally wearing his iconic yellow super suit in 2024 Deadpool and Wolverine. In the same film, actor Channing Tatum fulfilled his long-time dream of playing Gambit, complete with his own comical costume.
Marvel also restarted X-Men: The Animated Series with the Disney+ series, X Men ’97. This series did a better job of portraying heroes like Cyclops, Jean Gray and Storm than the Fox films ever did, as the latter gave Wolverine the spotlight and his teammates got smaller and smaller roles.
After these two successful projects Avengers: End of the World seems to be following their lead with its depiction of the X-Men. The film’s teaser showed Cyclops in a blue and yellow costume that was very similar to the one the character wore in the ’90s comics. Even the Sentinels seem to be modeled after their comic book counterparts.
However, Wolverine could return with Deadpool End of the worldAccording to the film’s current cast list, the story will focus more on X-Men like Professor X, Magneto, Cyclops and their teammates. The film could do justice to these characters after years of Wolverine being the face of the X-Men film series.
Marvel may be banking on evoking nostalgia with the X-Men to lure audiences back to theaters. Despite it, End of the world shows the MCU continuing to adopt the source material’s more distinctive visual style. Fox’s X-Men films seemed too angsty to be comic book movies. They gave the heroes ordinary black leather suits and mocked their original, colorful costumes.
Not only did this make it difficult for the films to stand out from other science fiction films, but it also seemed to turn off fans of the comic book source material. Although End of the worldThe story will likely have a dark, heavy tone, it has already dared to capture the style and spirit of the comics.
The X-Men could get a proper ending and a new beginning
It seems Avengers: End of the World will end with the deaths of many of Marvel’s most popular heroes, including the X-Men, in a catastrophic event similar to Thanos’ snap-in Avengers: Infinity War. It is unclear whether all of the deceased will be brought back to life Avengers: Secret Warsbut it wouldn’t be the end of the world if we didn’t see Fox’s X-Men again.
This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen the death of the X-Men on the big screen. In fact, we’ve seen Stewart’s Professor X die three times now. However, it appears that this may be the last time we see many of the actors we have associated with the X-Men play their characters. Despite Deadpool’s words, Disney may not be able to let the entire original cast play the X-Men until they’re 90.
Although Fox’s X-Men may die again Avengers: End of the Worldit looks like they’re finally going out in a blaze of glory.
The X-Men didn’t have the glorious ending that Wolverine did Logan. For one thing, most of them were killed off-screen, ruining their intended happy ending Days of future past. They also didn’t receive a satisfying sendoff in the widely reviled series Dark Phoenixwhich was originally supposed to lead into another film that would continue the journey of Jean Gray (Sophie Turner).
While the X-Men may die, it seems like they will be brought back in some form afterward Secret warswhich will reportedly be a “soft reboot” of the MCU. Marvel has already greenlit a solo X-Men film to be directed by lightning* Director Jake Schreier. We could see a new cast of actors portraying the X-Men in the new MCU, which could help the franchise move forward and offer audiences something new.
We may not see Fox’s X-Men together again after this Avengers: End of the Worldbut the way they are presented in the film could help them end their decades-long success story on a high note. The resulting success could also set a new standard for how the X-Men are portrayed in live-action and preserve their legacy in the new MCU.
