It's safe to say that Marvel Studios' X-Men movie is one of the most highly-anticipated outings on the calendar. Although the long-awaited reboot doesn't have a date yet, it's high-priority for the studio as it's expected to be one of the first major titles from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next chapter, helping launch the story that fans have now started referring to as the Mutants Saga.
That being said, this new update is still surprising (to say the least). Although Marvel is hard at work on the project, fans might still be surprised to see that things are moving along as quickly as they reportedly are.
The MCU's X-Men movie expected to begin filming in the UK in 2026
According to a report from FilmBase, Marvel Studios' X-Men movie is expected to start filming in the UK at some point this year. The outlet reflects on a number of film and TV productions set to film in the UK over the course of the next year, revealing that "another X-Men movie" is among the titles that could be coming over to the UK for production "either in the next few months or later in the year". They also list the next Jurassic World movie and the next installment in the Fast and Furious franchise as possible productions, too.
If this does turn out to be the case, it would be something of a surprise. While X-Men is indeed in pre-production at Marvel Studios, with Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier set to bring this one to life, casting has not yet been announced - and neither has an official release date. With the MCU commencing its next saga in 2028, that seems like a safe bet for when to expect it - especially as this is expected to be saga focused on the Mutants.
To say that the X-Men have been a long time coming to the MCU would be an understatement. The Marvel Studios franchise commenced at a time when Fox's own X-Men movie franchise was a completely separate entity, one that has been credited with flying the flag for both Marvel Comics and superhero characters at a time when there weren't too many comic book movies out there. A decade later, Disney - Marvel's parent company - bought Fox and, eventually, the slow process of integrating the mutants into the MCU came about through the Multiverse Saga.
Over the course of that saga, we have had a number of references to Marvel's Mightiest Mutants. After a wink-wink reference to Evan Peters' Quicksilver came in WandaVision, 2022 was all about the X-Men nods, with a cameo from Sir Patrick Stewart's Professor Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a reference to mutants in Ms. Marvel, and the first ever mutant in Namor's introduction during Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Deadpool and Wolverine officially brought High Jackman back as Wolverine (along with Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool of course) and, now, Avengers: Doomsday looks to bring back a host of classic X-Men stars.
After Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel is expected to press the reset button on the X-Men to facilitate the upcoming reboot, with reports claiming that they will be casting younger actors in the iconic roles. One actor won't be replaced, however, is Hugh Jackman, as he is now expected to continue playing Wolverine for the foreseeable future. Whether or not he actually appears in the upcoming X-Men movie remains to be seen.
The film is rumored for release on May 5, 2028, but as the ever-changing landscape of the MCU continues to evolve that could just remain a rumor. But if filming is truly set to begin this year, it could indicate that Marvel Studios is treating this one with the same level of care that they are with the next two Avengers movies, getting started early to allow time for reshoots or any potential reshuffling. And given the early positive response to Avengers: Doomsday, this is a very, very good thing.