‘Kevin Feige Knows What He’s Doing With the MCU,’ Longtime X-Men Producer Says

Marvel fans are anxiously waiting for the X-Men to play a larger role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and some fans are still wondering if the MCU will bring back any X-Men characters from Fox’s series of X-Men movies, like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.

In an interview with IGN for his upcoming film The 355, director and longtime X-Men producer Simon Kinberg said he trusts Feige to make the right decision on bringing the X-Men, old or new, to the MCU.

“The honest answer is, I have no idea,” Kinberg said when asked if we could see some old X-Men faces pop up in the MCU. “And the other answer is, Kevin knows what he is doing with the MCU. I would argue he’s the greatest producer in the history of cinema. Truly. I mean, if you look at it pound for pound in terms of quality and in terms of obviously commercial success, there’s no question the latter is true. So I don’t know.”

Kinberg did however go on to say he can’t imagine anyone but Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine.

“I love those actors. I love them as human beings, and I love them as the characters,” Kinberg said. “So obviously, there’s a part of me that would be incredibly nostalgic and would be excited to see them. And certainly, I can’t imagine another person playing Wolverine, but I also couldn’t imagine another person playing James Bond. And I think that there’s an aspect of some of these characters where it’s like, there are a lot of great Hamlets over time. And I think even Hugh felt that with the end of Logan.”

Kinberg started his X-Men career as a writer on X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past. He went on to produce every X-Men movie since, including Deadpool 1 & 2. Kinberg made his directorial debut with X-Men: Dark Phoenix.

Jackman last donned the adamantium claws in 2017’s Logan, which was a sendoff film for the character. In 2020, Jackman said he was on board with the MCU rebooting Wolverine with a different actor. “Somebody else will pick it up and run with it,” Jackman said. “It’s too good of a character not to.”

While the X-Men aren’t set to make their feature MCU debut anytime soon, Feige has previously said it’s been a “fun exercise” figuring out how to add the Fantastic Four and X-Men to the MCU. For now, it’s still a big year ahead for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To see all the upcoming projects, check out our roundup on what to expect from Marvel in 2022.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.