The MCU Mutants Are Coming To The Big Screen…But Not As The X-Men?

In a “take this with a boulder from a salt mine” sized piece of salt, there are new reports of the eventual X-Men reboot. But there is one interesting difference with this report: In the MCU, the movie will be titled “The Mutants” instead of “X-Men.” Now, this seems like a meaningless change, if it is true at all. It could also just be the working title of the movie, the way they used “Homecoming 3” for the new Spider-Man Three title, “No Way Home.” However, there is also some comic book history that makes the change worth taking note of.

Why Calling the X-Men “The Mutants” in the MCU is Significant

Image via 20th Century Fox

When Stan Lee first wrote the X-Men, the name “X-Men” didn’t even cross his mind. When he pitched the idea to Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman, he had a more straightforward title: “The Mutants,” which is what the MCU reboot might be going for. At Wizard World 2017, Lee explained:

I wanted originally to call them The Mutants. said, ‘you can’t call them The Mutants’ and I said, ‘why not?’ He said, ‘our readers, they aren’t that smart.’ He had no respect for comic book readers. He said, ‘they won’t know what a mutant is.”

Well, I disagreed with him, but he was the boss so I had to think of another name. So, I went home and I thought and thought and I came up with the X-Men. I mentioned it to him the next day and he said, ‘that’s okay.”

As I walked out of his office I thought, that was very peculiar. If nobody would know what a mutant is how will anybody know what an X-Man is? But he had okayed the name and I used it.

So, if it is true, it’s a cool nod to the legend himself. But, again, this feels less like a “scoop” and more like a “good guess.”

What do you think? Do you think this report is true? If so, what do you think of the title The Mutants for the X-Men MCU debut? Tell us in the comments below.

Featured image via 20th Century Fox

Roman Colombo finished his MFA in 2010 and now teaches writing and graphic novel literature at various Philadelphia colleges. His first novel, Trading Saints for Sinners, was published in 2014. He's currently working on his next novel and hoping to find an agent soon.