The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga is one of the most epic events in movie history. The plot, which saw Josh Brolin’s Mad Titan Thanos collecting all six Infinity Stones and using them to wipe out half of all life in the universe, was the culmination of eleven years of filmmaking between 2008 and 2019. One fan theory suggests it also occurred in Fox’s X-Men movie universe.
How Did This X-Men/Infinity Saga Theory Come To Be?
A scene inspires the theory from 2023’s The Marvels. It’s the mid-credits scene in which Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau wakes up in an alternate universe and is greeted by Kelsey Grammar’s Beast and a variant of her mother. In this universe, her mother, Maria Rambeau, goes by the codename “Binary.”
The Marvels’ executive producer, Mary Livanos, spoke to Entertainment Weekly and told the publication that, in Binary’s reality, the events of 2019’s Captain Marvel played out differently in the X-Men universe:
“The notion that Monica ends up in an alternate universe with the hope that it could tie in with the X-Men was something I always had on my to-do list. I love how in the comics, Carol Danvers as Binary spends some time with the X-Men in space, and I love the idea that in an alternate universe, it was Maria who beat Carol Danvers to the hangar back during the events of Captain Marvel, so she won and got those powers. That was something that was always really intriguing.”
Given that this universe is the X-Men movie universe, and the events of Captain Marvel occurred in it – albeit differently – it stands to reason that other events from the Marvel Cinematic Universe happened in the X-Men’s reality, too (a theory backed up by the fact Binary is wearing her universe’s versions of the Quantum Bands, which are also in the MCU).
The theory then posits that, given the franchise’s multiversal nature, Marvel Studios will reintroduce Fox’s X-Men universe as an alternate version of the MCU going forward. The idea was made possible by 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, which erased the events of the original X-Men trilogy, meaning what happened in the X-Men universe between the years 2008 and 2023 isn’t known (besides what happened in 2016’s Deadpool and 2018’s Deadpool 2). Given that that’s when most of the events of the Infinity Saga took place, they could quite easily have occurred in said universe.
A few aspects of films in the X-Men franchise suggest the universe was an alternate MCU, which aids this theory’s cause. There was a Helicarrier in Deadpool; Ajax is released from the Raft in a deleted scene from the same movie; Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix featured power-inhibiting collars similar to the one placed on Wanda Maximoff in Captain America: Civil War, and the characters who put the collars on mutants in Dark Phoenix were flunkies of the “Mutant Containment Unit” (“MCU,” hint, hint).
While those things were probably merely fun nods to the MCU at the time of their inclusion in said movies, they can now retroactively be used to confirm the X-Men universe is an alternate MCU without question.
What If The Infinity Saga Took Place In The X-Men Movie Universe?
Imagining how the X-Men universe might have played out as an alternate version of the MCU is interesting. With the superhuman gene being prevalent, there would have been no need for Project Rebirth or the Avengers Initiative, which explains why neither exists. Magik could be the Sorcerer Supreme; the Starjammers could guard the galaxy; Super Soldiers weren’t needed in World War II because of mutants like Wolverine and Sabertooth; Storm could have become the Mighty Thor, and Master Mold could’ve been Ultron’s superhero-killing robot replacement.
It has to be said that defeating Thanos may have come a lot easier for the characters of the X-Men franchise. What the Avengers and their allies sorely lack in the MCU is telepathy. With Professor X and Jean Grey in their ranks, getting into the Mad Titan’s mind and compelling him to remove the Infinity Gauntlet and abandon his quest shouldn’t be too difficult, given Mantis almost managed to get him under her control. Moreover, Magneto controls metal on a molecular level, so physically taking the glove from Thanos should be easy.
There’s no denying this is an interesting theory; it’ll be fun to find out if it’s true. Regardless, all movie fans should be excited about the X-Men’s imminent introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
