Marvel just made the X-Men announcement we've all been waiting for

I hope you're ready to see more of the X-Men. I know I sure am, along with millions of people across the world who have been eagerly awaiting their arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It sounds like that time is, well, now.

Ever since Disney acquired Fox, Marvel Studios has been subtly referencing the mighty mutants via lines of dialogue, scores of music, and an apparent cameo in WandaVision (that was simply a wink to the fans of the franchise instead of the confirmation we all thought it was). But then the Multiverse Saga rolled on, and we got a cameo from Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier and now we have Hugh Jackman's Wolverine returning to co-headline a full movie.

The X-Men movie is on the horizon, as Marvel has already begun plans to bring it to life, but it sounds like we could be seeing a lot more X-Men a lot sooner than that.

Kevin Feige confirms the era of the X-Men is about to begin

There is no denying that we are in the MCU's era of the X-Men, and even Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige won't deny it either. When speaking with Entertainment Weekly to promote the upcoming Deadpool and Wolverine, he reflected on the history of the X-Men franchise, as well as Hugh Jackman's Logan and Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson.

Though he wouldn't reveal if either actor would return to the franchise after this movie, or give away any details on Marvel Studios' in-development X-Men movie, he did confirm that Deadpool and Wolverine is "really when it all starts" for the saga of the mutants.

"July 26 is really when it all starts, when Deadpool & Wolverine comes out."

- Kevin Feige

This certainly isn't the most surprising of news to the most devoted of MCU fans as it's been common knowledge that Deadpool and Wolverine would feature nods and references to the classic X-Men film series for some time, and it's also been heavily speculated that it could pave the way for the MCU's X-Men saga. It is, however, extremely exciting to hear it officially confirmed by the president of Marvel himself.

While the upcoming movie will obviously feature X-Men's Hugh Jackman back in the role of Logan and Deadpool's Ryan Reynolds (the Deadpool films were spinoffs of the X-Men movies set in the same universe), it will also feature a number of cameos from the franchise, too. We know that X2's Aaron Stanford will be reprising his role as Pyro, while other classics characters such as Toad, Azazel, and Lady Deathstrike will also make their presences felt.

This could have been a standalone adventure that pays tribute to the Fox universe of Marvel characters, but Feige's comments suggest otherwise. The all-out X-Men in Deadpool and Wolverine doesn't sound like it will be a one-and-done nostalgia trip that celebrates the classic X-Men movies, it will be the beginning of the franchise's exploration of mutants and their stories.

The X-Men movie is still a long way off, and it likely won't take place in Phase Six, meaning that it will come after the Multiverse Saga concludes. To know that Deadpool and Wolverine is just the beginning for the mutants in the MCU gives us all hope that we'll see and hear plenty from them well before that X-Men movie makes its way to theaters.