James McAvoy Not Sure if X-Men Can Go Into Avengers Universe

One of the things Marvel fans are most eager about when it comes to the merger between Disney and Fox is the folding of the X-Men into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, not everyone thinks it’s a viable possibility — including Professor X himself.

James McAvoy, who plays Charles Xavier/Professor X in Fox’s X-Men films, told Yahoo! that he’s not sure the X-Men would be a good fit in the universe dominated by the Avengers. When asked if he could see himself teaming up with his Glass co-star Samuel L. Jackson in a future superhero crossover film — Jackson plays Nick Fury in the MCU — McAvoy explained his thoughts.

“I don’t know if the X-Men could go into the Marvel universe, I’m not sure,” McAvoy said. “Maybe they could? But I think what’s different about the Avengers universe anyway is you’ve only got a couple of superheroes in the world. There’s a good amount, but there’s like a couple of football teams’ worth, you know what I mean?

He went on to explain that with the X-Men, there’s the potential for millions, something that has very different implications.

“Whereas in the X-Men world you’re potentially saying there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of [superheroes] and the social implication of that is different,” he said.

While McAvoy is correct in that the implication of mutants entering the MCU does have different social implications, it doesn’t necessarily rule out it out. The future of the MCU is, in many ways, something of a blank slate at this point. While many fans assume that the events of the upcoming Avengers: Endgame will somehow undo Thanos’ devastating snap in Avengers: Infinity War, there’s no guarantee that will happen. Even if it does, we already know that the future of the MCU is set to change dramatically after Endgame as the film marks the end of the narrative begun all the way back in Iron Man.

What is certain about the future of the X-Men once they come home in the Disney/Fox deal is that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige will be in charge of the property. Disney CEO Bob Iger told The Hollywood Reporter last fall that Feige will be overseeing the X-Men franchise.

“I think it only makes sense,” Iger said. “I want to be careful here because of what’s been communicated to the Fox folks, but I think they know. It only makes sense for Marvel to be supervised by one entity. There shouldn’t be two Marvels.”

Feige himself has admitted that he’s excited to bring the character into the fold.

“The truth is, I’m excited or all of them,” Feige told MTV News regarding not only the X-Men, but the Fantastic Four as well. “I’m excited, and it’s not just the marquee names you know — there are hundreds of names on those documents, on those agreements. And the fact that Marvel is as close as we may ever get now to having access to all of the characters, is something I’ve been dreaming about for my almost 20 years at Marvel. And it’s very exciting.”

What do you think about McAvoy’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.

The next X-Men film, Dark Phoenix, premieres in theaters on June 7th.

As for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8, 2019, Avengers: Endgame on April 26, 2019, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019.