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. [Goodman] 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