Why X-Men Must Headline the MCU’s May 2028 20th Anniversary

Alright, so we're barely halfway through Marvel Studios' current mega-arc, but everyone — fans, industry insiders, Marvel itself — is already looking past Phase Six and wondering what's next. And honestly, it's not hard to see why. After all, the MCU as we know it is rumored to hit the big reset button with Avengers: Secret Wars (coming December 2027). That film is supposed to change everything. But what comes after that — and just as importantly, what movie gets the honor of kicking off the next era, Phase 7?

Before we get to that million-dollar question, here's where the MCU stands timeline-wise:

• Phase Six is winding down — with only three titles officially on the schedule: Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and, finally, Avengers: Secret Wars in late 2027.
• After Secret Wars, Marvel just shifted their next big movie from February 2028 to July 26, 2028
• The next MCU film post-Secret Wars lands May 5, 2028. It's smack in the middle of prime summer movie season, and just three days after Iron Man's 20th anniversary — yes, 20 years since Marvel kicked all this off and Tony Stark said 'I am Iron Man'.

This Should Be the X-Men's Moment — Here's Why

There are plenty of reasons why that May 5, 2028, release slot needs to belong to the X-Men:

First, for the folks at Marvel, there's a big, fat sense of poetic justice. Back in 2008, when Iron Man launched the MCU, Marvel didn't even own the X-Men film rights. Now, two decades later, starting the next era with an X-Men movie would be a flex — showing just how far Marvel has come. They went from cobbling together movies with B-list heroes to rolling out their own take on one of the biggest brands in comics, a team whose first movie actually kicked off the 2000s superhero craze. (Yeah, X-Men walked so the MCU could run.)

Then there's the 'fresh start' factor. Think about it: launching Phase 7 with another legacy hero sequel feels like just wrapping up the old saga. (Sorry, Black Panther 3 and Doctor Strange 3.) An X-Men reboot, on the other hand, gives Marvel a clean slate, even while nodding to the Fox-era versions — who are apparently making a 'last hurrah' in Secret Wars. Audiences get something new, but with built-in nostalgia and massive potential for spin-offs and storylines.

Let's be honest, Marvel could probably dedicate an entire era just to covering X-Men stuff — there's that much material. And if all the rumors are true, Phases 7 through 9 are going to be branded The Mutant Saga, following on from previous mega-storylines like the Infinity Saga and Multiverse Saga. If that's the future of the MCU, how could you start it with anything but X-Men — right at the anniversary of the franchise?

Back in 2018, Marvel threw a big 10th anniversary party by dropping Infinity War — the first act of their giant crossover climax. Now for year 20, they might as well go even bigger and start fresh with the mutant team, especially now that Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios can play with the whole X-Men toybox. This would also signal to fans (and probably investors) that Marvel has serious plans and plenty of gas left in the tank, even as the old guard (Tony, Cap, etc.) moves aside.

'The X-Men, once Marvel's most popular comic, finally getting their own MCU film would be the perfect film to celebrate 20 years since Iron Man hit theaters, launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe and changing movies forever.'

Who Else Is Lining Up for 2028?

The X-Men are the obvious choice for May, but 2028 is shaping up to be a busy year for the MCU in general. Here's how things might shake out the rest of that year, if the tea leaves are to be believed:

Black Panther 3 seems almost certain. The timing would line up with the first film's 10-year anniversary (February 2018), and Disney loves to stack its biggest movies in December, right before Christmas and awards season. Considering Black Panther is still the only MCU title to ever land a Best Picture nomination, Marvel will probably give a Coogler trilogy-capper a prime prestige slot — maybe December 15, 2028.

Fantastic Four also comes to mind as a contender, either summer or the following spring. The next movie after First Steps could anchor the July 28, 2028 spot — or maybe, in a fit of numerological cuteness, Marvel waits for May 4, 2029, to release a Fantastic Four movie on the 4th of May. Hey, it's the kind of thing Marvel marketing loves to do.

If they hold off on a Fantastic Four sequel, other heavy-hitters are definitely waiting in the wings: Shang-Chi 2 (it's been overdue for a sequel), Young Avengers, Doctor Strange 3, or maybe even a fifth Thor movie if Marvel still has Hemsworth's number on speed dial.

And let's not forget the eternal wild card — the Blade reboot. It was first announced way back in July 2019, then hit a multi-year string of delays worthy of its own miniseries. But if it finally arrives in July 2028, it would be just in time for the 30th anniversary of Wesley Snipes' original Blade (which, by the way, and the Fox X-Men movies, are both directly responsible for making Marvel movies a thing in the first place). So it would be kind of perfect for the opening acts of MCU's 20th-anniversary year to be X-Men and Blade — a full-circle moment for superhero cinema if there ever was one.

The X-Men Lineup: What We Know (Or Think We Know)

If you're looking for actual behind-the-scenes details, Marvel is finally moving on their take. Jake Schreier (of Thunderbolts* fame) is apparently directing, Michael Lesslie is writing the script, and Sadie Sink is rumored to be playing Jean Grey — she's reportedly making her first appearance as Jean in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Feels like the table is set for this to be the next big franchise launch.

Everything after Secret Wars is still kind of murky, but the general roadmap is becoming clearer: MCU Phase 7 will probably open with the mutants front and center. It's the biggest swing Marvel can take — and frankly, it's what the anniversary deserves.