Marvel Already Revealed How The MCU Can Solve Its Biggest X-Men Problem

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Summary

Marvel Studios can explain the absence of mutants and the X-Men in the MCU by having them hidden in their own nation, similar to how Wakanda was hidden in Black Panther.
The multiverse may be used to bring mutants into the MCU, with potential crossovers and colliding realities allowing them to join the franchise.
The introduction of mutants and the X-Men into the MCU has been a slow process, but more mutant heroes are expected to be unveiled in upcoming projects like Deadpool 3 and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Marvel Studios can use one pre-established location in the MCU to explain how mutants and the X-Men have managed to stay hidden for all this time. After Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox was finalized in 2019, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige quickly teased the introduction of mutants into the MCU. So far, this process has been slow, with only a few MCU characters being revealed to be mutants, including Ms. Marvel's Kamala Khan and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Namor. However, as the Multiverse Saga develops with projects such as 2024's Deadpool 3 and 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars, more mutant heroes are expected to make their way to the MCU.
Since Kevin Feige confirmed that mutants and the X-Men will be coming to the MCU back in 2019, several theories have emerged regarding how Marvel Studios could bring these new characters into the pre-established franchise. This has surely been a difficult task to figure out for Marvel Studios, as the MCU currently comprises over forty projects spanning a decade-and-a-half, and there has barely been a mention of mutants. Many of Marvel Comics' mutant characters have rich backstories tied to real-world historical events, which means Marvel Studios will need to be smart about bringing them into the MCU, trying to retain their backstories, while avoiding a retcon of the MCU's history.
Black Panther's Original Hidden Wakanda Plan Justifies How The X-Men Could Hide Close One avenue Marvel Studios could take in explaining the introduction of mutantkind into the MCU is that they could have been living in the background all along, but avoiding the action. Marvel Studios could look to 2018's Black Panther for inspiration, as the Phase 3 project introduced the advanced African nation of Wakanda, with Black Panther's opening animation sequence explaining that Wakanda was formed millennia ago, but was hidden from the outside world. Wakanda is shrouded with high-tech cloaking technology, but the original plan, as explained by concept artist Jackson Sze in Marvel's Black Panther: The Art of the Movie, was to have the nation hidden beneath a jungle canopy.

The essence of Wakanda is that they are a civilization hidden from the outside world. So, how would a country that is as advanced as Wakanda be able to hide itself from everyone else? The idea [originally] was that maybe we could use a jungle canopy to hide the actual advanced civilization and architecture underneath the treetops. And that's the point of this imagery, because from a top-down view, if you were using satellite imagery or flying overhead, you wouldn't be able to tell there is an advanced civilization underneath.

This original idea was integrated into Black Panther, as Wakanda's protective shield takes the appearance of jungle, only shedding away and revealing itself once aircraft get close enough. The same idea may be perfect for explaining where mutants and the X-Men have been hiding all this time, as it's possible they've been residing in their own nation, potentially Marvel Comics' Krakoa or Genosha, with this location simply being hidden from the outside world. This would be an effective - and easy - way to explain why mutants have been missing from the MCU for so long, yet it seems Marvel Studios may be taking this explanation in a different direction.
Krakoa and Genosha are island nations where mutants reside in huge numbers in Marvel Comics.
Why MCU's Multiverse Saga Story Hints At A Very Different Missing X-Men Explanation

While Marvel Studios could explain that mutants have been living in the MCU all along, it seems far more likely that the multiverse will be used to bring these much-anticipated characters into the franchise. A variant of Professor X has already been seen on Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Deadpool 3 is expected to explore Fox's defunct X-Men universe. With Avengers: Secret Wars potentially soft-rebooting the MCU, it's possible that the MCU's main reality could collide with one including mutants and the X-Men, allowing them to officially join the MCU for Phase 7 and beyond.
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