Former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo says he has “no faith” — at least for now — in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Mutant Saga, citing poor planning, ego-driven decisions, and a lack of respect for the X-Men’s legacy.
In lengthy Twitter posts, DeMayo broke down why he doesn’t trust the MCU’s approach to the X-Men, pointing to missed opportunities, questionable introductions, and recycled Fox-era characters.
Feige’s X-Men and “new age of mutants” starts after Secret Wars. The Fox Marvel legacy X-Men characters are also returning in Avengers: Doomsday.
“Not Yet, No”
DeMayo says fans ask him often whether he believes Marvel Studios can deliver a proper X-Men reboot.
“Now, do I have faith in the MCU’s Mutant Saga? Short answer: Not yet, no.”
He explained that telling great X-Men stories requires “deep planning,” careful rollout, and respect for canon — something he hasn’t seen from Kevin Feige’s leadership.
“You also need to suppress your ego to ‘make it your own’ and focus on meeting the mutants on THEIR terms… deeply respecting their canon and the emotional investment that fans have.”
Criticizing the MCU’s Mutant Teases
DeMayo took aim at how the MCU has introduced mutants so far:
Ms. Marvel Retcon:
“Our first intro to the X-Men in the MCU is… a YA retcon that Kevin forced onto the franchise to ‘make it his own.’” He called it a “f-ck you to fans” and ego-driven, saying a better choice would have been to debut Jubilee.
A retcon and musical sting in Ms Marvel that she’s now somehow a mutant. Literally, our first intro to the X-Men in the MCU is not one of the decades worth of mutants but a YA retcon that Kevin forced onto the franchise to “make it his own” and out the “MCU spin.” And it is a tease and retcon that they still have not paid off.
To the above, for DECADES X-Men fans have waited for teenage mutants like Jubilee and Kitty Pryde to get their justice and due in film. Kevin knows this, but just like Fox shoved a teenage retcon’d Rogue down our throats, Kevin and Marvel are shocked Khan down our throats when far more interesting mutants would do. It’s a f-ck you to fans, and having been in the room with these guys it is absolutely all ego. Even having a newly cast Jubilee show up at the end of Ms Marvel to recruit her would’ve been better than the instantly forgettable tag we got.
Doctor Strange 2 Cameo:
Using the animated series sting for Professor X, only to “brutally murder” him again, which DeMayo called “weird nostalgia.”
A weird nostalgia cameo of Professor X in Doctor Strange 2 that used the animated series sting, where Kevin thought it’d be fresh and cool to see the revered leader and activist visionary of the X-Men’s entire creed get brutally murdered…AGAIN.
The Marvels Post-Credit Scene:
Monica Rambeau meeting Beast “from the worst X-Men movie ever made,” with no story connection, which he compared unfavorably to Phase 1’s Avengers tags.
Next, Monica Rambeau somehow finding herself transported back to meet Beast from THE WORST X-MEN movie ever made. Add that these two characters have ZERO history or irony to having met one another in the same way that say Nick Fury coming to meet Tony Stark had in Phase 1. All the tags in Phase 1 begged a clear exciting story — the creation of the Avengers. What the hell does Beast and Monica tease? Nothing. It’s just a desperate play to make us care. Want a better tag? What if the film ended with Monica or Carol waking up to meet….Anna Paquin’s Rogue? Now THAT does what the MCU’s phase one tags did.
Deadpool & Wolverine Reliance:
Reprising Fox’s Wolverine and Deadpool “to tell a fan-pandering story of Reddit wishlists.”
the retries of Wolverine and Deadpool from the Fox franchise that the MCU and Kevin had zero to do with, to tell a fan-pandering story of Reddit-wishlists that seemed to say farewell to the Fox universe. Again. And yet again, the MCU being like Fox in this lazy reliance on Wolverine as the face of the X-Men.
Adamantium Plot in Captain America 4:
Calling it a “contrived MacGuffin” that raises timeline questions.
A contrived MacGuffin plot of adamantium in Captain America Brave New World that has amounted to nothing, and begs timeline questions where I guess Ms Marvel is a mutant before Wolverine entered Weapon X.
Recycling Old Fox Characters:
Bringing back characters “we thought were gone” as “artificial interest.”
Lastly, all the Fox characters we thought were gone and dead, are being brought out YET AGAIN to manufacture artificial interest and distract from Kevin and @MarvelStudios decade long flailing of frequent failures…
Kevin is introducing new concepts like adamantium and mutant Ms Marvel while simultaneously recycling old Fox characters all before telling us they’re going to reboot everything anyways? Like, what the fuck?
“No Room for Ego”
DeMayo accused Feige and his “Parliament” of undermining X-Men ’97’s success because fans saw it as a model for fixing the MCU.
“I was told… Kevin resented my work and the show because FANS… were using it as a referendum on how Kevin’s MCU is failing.”
He said Marvel even censored crew members from praising his leadership and stopped an IGN interview for “giving me too much credit.”
“All of this is ego, and the X-Men have no room for ego. Their legacy and the investment so many of us made into it is what’s the priority, not making your mark.”
“My Mind Can Be Changed”
Despite his criticism, DeMayo says he’s open to being proven wrong — but only through story, not PR.
“Not by PR and stunt casting and nostalgia grabs — but by someone actually… talk[ing] about the comics, and the themes and the stories… doing right by them.”
He contrasted Marvel’s Phase 1 Hall H panels, which focused on characters and themes, with what he sees now:
“There’s no talk of the actual heroes or characters or story… Kevin and his brood are just star-f-cking at this point.”
Like, I don’t mean to be a hater, but who looks at this and says this is the care and respect and serious thinking that the X-Men characters deserve? Hell, who looks at this and says this is competent leadership from a studio that is in no way alarming?
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) August 15, 2025
Kevin is introducing new…
