Marvel's Kevin Feige: Deadpool & Wolverine Is "Just the Beginning" of Mutants in the MCU
"This is the beginning of mutants finally, finally arriving into the MCU."
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is officially entering its mutants era. In 2019, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige — whose first credit as an associate producer was 2000's X-Men under Fox — alluded to his plans for Marvel's mutants at San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H. In the five years since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and the X-Men film rights, Feige-produced projects including Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Marvels have slowly integrated mutantkind into the MCU.
After soft-launching mutants — confirmation that Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) carries the mutant X-gene, introducing the mutant Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), and crossing over with the Fox X-Men movies for multiverse cameos from mutant telepath Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and the blue-furred Beast (Kelsey Grammer) — Deadpool & Wolverine is hard-launching the live-action X-Men under Marvel Studios.
"It's just the beginning," Feige told Marvel Live on the Deadpool & Wolverine world premiere red carpet. "I've said that mutants are coming, and it all starts with this movie. I can't wait for people to see what [Deadpool & Wolverine] has in store and know that this is the beginning of mutants finally, finally arriving into the MCU."
The MCU's "mutant era," as Feige calls it, is a full-circle moment for the Marvel Studios president. Feige serves as producer on Deadpool & Wolverine alongside his former boss, longtime X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner.
"I was there for [X-Men] a quarter century ago," Feige said. "That's pretty remarkable. I had thought that that part of my film career was behind me. Those first few X-Men movies are really important to me and started me on this journey. But when we started Marvel Studios, we didn't have the rights. I thought I would just be a fan watching them. And now here, at the premiere with Hugh [Jackman, who plays Wolverine], it's remarkable."
Before Feige launched the MCU with Marvel Studios' self-financed 2008's Iron Man, Feige served as co-producer on such Fox-made Marvel movies as 2003's X2 and 2005's Elektra, and as executive producer on 2005's Fantastic Four and 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. Feige, who also produces Marvel Animation's X-Men '97, is currently developing the live-action X-Men reboot and The Fantastic Four reboot as part of the upcoming MCU Phase 6.
Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters Friday.
