Draft:Mutant (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

The mutant species is a fictional race in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Based on the concept of the same name from the Marvel Comics, a mutant is a human being who possesses a genetic mutation which grants them superhuman abilities. They were first referenced in the MCU in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel (2022).

Concept and creation
Mutants were first introduced to the Marvel Comics in 1963, when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby launched the comic book series The X-Men in September. The protagonists of the series, the X-Men, were mutants led by Charles Xavier / Professor X who carried a genetic trait known as the X-gene and were granted with superhuman abilities that manifested during puberty. Lee conceived of the idea of characters with natural-born superpowers after growing weary of developing separate origin stories for each one. Lee had initially named the X-Men "mutants", but altered the team's name after his publisher expressed concerns that children did not know what the word meant. Marvel would eventually introduce several other mutant superhero teams, including the New Mutants, the X-Factor, Excalibur, the X-Force, and Generation X.

In 1979, Lee sent his subordinate Alice Donenfeld-Vernoux to pitch a live-action X-Men film to film studios across the globe. Nelvana, a Canadian animation studio, agreed to produce the film in 1982, hiring Chris Claremont to pen the screenplay and striking a deal with Orion Pictures for them to distribute the film. Claremont was later replaced by comic book writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas, and the film fell apart following financial turmoil faced by Orion. Lee and Claremont then turned to Carolco Pictures, with James Cameron in talks to produce and Kathryn Bigelow in talks to direct. The film once again failed to be realized after Cameron instead became interested in a Spider-Man film. In 1992, Marvel discussed developing a live-action X-Men film with Columbia Pictures. The following year, 20th Century Fox acquired the film rights to the X-Men, and in July 2000 the film X-Men was released. The film launched a film and television franchise surrounding the X-Men and its associated characters, which concluded two decades later with the release of the film The New Mutants (2020).

In May 2008, the Marvel Studios film Iron Man was released, kickstarting the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. In an alternate cut of the film's post-credits scene, the character Nick Fury references mutants, though the line did not come to fruition due to Fox's ownership of the race's film rights. The MCU film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) features the characters Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, who are mutants in the comics. Marvel Studios, who shared the film rights to the two characters with Fox, had to avoid any reference to mutants and developed a new backstory for them. In December 2017, The Walt Disney Company, parent company of Marvel Studios, announced that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, parent company of 20th Century Fox. If successful, the acquisition would allow Marvel Studios to regain the film rights to X-Men and other mutant characters. In September 2018, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the company intended to introduce the X-Men into the MCU, and all Marvel films in development under Fox were placed on hold after the merger was completed in March 2019. At Marvel Studios' San Diego Comic-Con panel in July 2019, president Kevin Feige confirmed that mutants would eventually join the MCU, adding that the MCU's approach to mutants would be vastly different than Fox's films. The MCU film Black Widow (2021) includes a cameo appearance by Ursa Major, a mutant in the comics. Olivier Richters, who portrays the character, stated that the character was a mutant, but he is never identified or categorized as such onscreen.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Stewart reprises his role as Xavier from Fox's X-Men films in the MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), though he portrays an alternate version of him from Earth-838 within the MCU's multiverse that is separate from his X-Men film series counterpart. Stewart uses a yellow wheelchair akin to the one seen in X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997) and utters a line from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Despite this, the film makes no reference to mutants or the X-Men, with screenwriter Michael Waldron feeling it was not "the right place to introduce" them.

Ms. Marvel (2022)
In the series finale of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, "No Normal", Bruno Carrelli informs Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel that her genes have a "mutation", allowing her to receive superhuman abilities when wearing a magical bangle. This scene is accompanied by the X-Men: The Animated Series theme music by Ron Wasserman in the background, implying that Khan is a mutant rather than an Inhuman as she is in the comics. Iman Vellani, who portrays Khan, confirmed this shortly after the episode's release, stating she was "honored" to be the first mutant in the MCU, though series head writer Bisha K. Ali and Kamala Khan co-creator Sana Amanat were more discreet in decoding down the line's implications. According to Ali, this backstory was conceived to explain how other members of Khan's family would not gain superhuman abilities even if they wore the bangle, while Amanat revealed that she had originally planned for Khan to be a mutant in the comics. Vellani was exuberant upon learning her character was a mutant, and found herself unable to contain her laughter when filming the scene. Matt Lintz, who portrays Carrelli, was oblivious to the reveal until late in the show's production, with only a select few on set aware of the twist. Feige later stated that the term "mutation" mentioned in Ms. Marvel was in reference to the scientific concept of a genetic mutation, not necessarily to the X-Men.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
The Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) contains numerous references to mutants. In the episode "Superhuman Law", Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk browses a website which includes the headline "Man fights with metal claws in bar brawl", believed to be an Easter egg alluding to the mutant James "Logan" Howlett" / Wolverine. The main-on-end title sequence of "Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans" features artwork alluding to several mutant characters from the comics, while "Just Jen" and "The Retreat" feature the characters Craig Hollis / Mr. Immortal and El Águila, respectively, both mutants in the comics.  In the series finale, "Whose Show is This?", Walters breaks the fourth wall and asks K.E.V.I.N., a fictionalized version of Feige, when the X-Men would be introduced to the MCU, to which K.E.V.I.N. declines to answer.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
The film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) introduces the character Namor, ruler of the underwater kingdom of Talokan. Similar to his background in the comics, Namor identifies himself as a mutant in the film. In 1517, Namor's pregnant mother and her Mayan tribe ingest a vibranium-laced herb similar to the heart-shaped herb found in Wakanda, causing them to develop gills and superhuman abilities. The tribe is forced to relocate underwater, where Namor is born with winged feet, pointed ears, the ability to breathe both air and water, and increased longevity. Due to these mutations, Namor is worshipped by his people as "K'uk'ulkan", the feathered serpent god. Feige later stated that the term "mutant" mentioned in Wakanda Forever was also in reference to the scientific concept of a genetic mutation, not necessarily to the X-Men.

The Marvels (2023)
Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel returns in The Marvels (2023), allying herself with her idol Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau / Photon after realizing that the Kree radical Dar-Benn is seeking to claim the other half of the Quantum Bands belonging to her, and begin incursions of other universes unto their world. Kelsey Grammer makes an uncredited cameo appearance in the film's mid-credits scene, as an alternate version of Henry "Hank" McCoy / Beast, reprising the role he played in the 20th Century Fox films X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). He recovers Monica Rambeau after she surfaces in his universe, having sacrificed herself to close a jump point torn open during the film's climax. He theorizes that disruptions in space-time were causing anomalies from adjacent worlds to appear in other universes across the wider multiverse. He then informs Monica, alongside his world's variant of her mother Maria Rambeau, that he would return to examine them after providing a status report to his world's Charles Xavier. Beast's appearance in the film resembles both his counterpart in the comics as well as the 1992 animated series, as opposed to the iteration in the original X-Men film trilogy.

Future
Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Stefan Kapičić, Brianna Hildebrand, Shioli Kutsuna and Aaron Stanford and will reprise their respective roles as Wade Wilson / Deadpool, Logan / Wolverine,  Piotr Rasputin / Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Yukio and John Allerdyce / Pyro from Fox's X-Men films, in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), the sequel to Fox's Deadpool 2 (2018). Feige has stated that, after this film, the MCU will start the "Mutant era" now that they have access to the X-Men world and its mutants unlike before.

The character Ruth Bat-Seraph / Sabra, a mutant in the comics, will appear in the upcoming film Captain America: Brave New World (2025) portrayed by Shira Haas. This version of the character is reimagined as a former Black Widow and high ranking U.S. government operative in order to divorce the character from her comics origin as an agent for the Israeli intelligence group Mossad.

A new X-Men film produced by Marvel Studios, which is expected to reboot the franchise and formally introduce the team in the MCU, entered the early stages of development in September 2023.