X-Men: the Mutant Menace (Marvelette film)

X-Men: the Mutant Menace is the first film in Phase Six of the Marvelette Cinematic Universe. It was released on April 25th, 2025, following The New Avengers and preceding Nova. The film is directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski.

Cast

 * Ralph Fiennes as Professor Charles Xavier (First Appearance)
 * Jeremy Irons as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (First Appearance)
 * Armie Hammer as Scott Summers / Cyclops (First Appearance)
 * Evan Rachel Wood as Jean Grey (First Appearance)
 * Billy Crudup as Dr. Hank McCoy / Beast (First Appearance)
 * Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ororo Munroe / Storm (First Appearance)
 * Ted Danson as Senator Robert Kelly (First Appearance)
 * Cristin Milioti as Lorna Lehnsherr / Polaris (First Appearance)
 * Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Bobby Drake / Iceman (First Appearance)
 * Jodelle Ferland as Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat (First Appearance)
 * Henry Cavill as Piotr Rasputin / Colossus (First Appearance)
 * Max Mauff as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler (First Appearance)
 * Sienna Miller as Raven Darkholme / Mystique (First Appearance)
 * Scott Eastwood as Alex Summers / Havok (First Appearance)
 * Charlie Hunnam as Victor Creed / Sabretooth (First Appearance)
 * Jeremy Allen White as John Allerdyce / Pyro (First Appearance)
 * Robert Sheehan as Todd Tolensky / Toad (First Appearance)
 * James Purefoy as Jason Wyngarde / Mastermind (First Appearance) (Death)
 * Chaske Spencer as Alistair Silvercloud / Forge (First Appearance)
 * Christopher Walken as Warren Worthington II (First Appearance) (Death)
 * Sam Claflin as Warren Worthington III (First Appearance)
 * Aiden Gillan as Bolivar Trask (First Appearance)
 * Jason Isaacs as Dr. Nathaniel Essex (First Appearance) (Cameo)
 * Grey DeLisle as Cerebro (First Appearance)
 * Chad Lowe as Adam Pryde (First Appearance) (Cameo)
 * Catherine Zeta-Jones as Helen Pryde (First Appearance) (Cameo)
 * Susan Sarandon as President Bethany Harrington (Cameo)
 * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (Cameo)
 * Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch (Cameo)

Crew

 * Lana Wachowski: Writer, Director
 * Lilly Wachowski: Writer, Director
 * Grant Morrison: Writer
 * Kid Marvelette: Executive Producer
 * Kevin Feige: Executive Producer
 * Trinh Tran: Producer
 * Victoria Alonso: Producer
 * Louis D'Esposito: Producer
 * Ron Wasserman: Composer

Plot
For years, Professor Charles Xavier has recruited people of the unknown human subspecies known as mutants in secret, to train them to use their powers for good as the X-Men. But after the Scarlet Witch used her powers to alter reality, more and more mutants began popping up all over the world, exposing them to the general public. Xavier's arch-nemesis, Magneto, sees this as the perfect opportunity for his team, the Brotherhood of Mutants, to make their play for total supremacy. Wishing to prove to the rest of the world that mutants can be a force for good, Xavier dispatches the X-Men to battle them!

Trivia

 * The story is told through the point of view of young mutant Kitty Pryde, whose powers erupt as a result of the "Big Bang", which is the title used to refer to the sudden uptake in mutants. Her parents are portrayed by Chad Lowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the latter of who is married to Michael Douglas (Hank Pym of the Ant-Man franchise) in real life.
 * Scarlet Witch appears in a post-credits scene, where she finally meets her true father, Magneto, and half-sister, Polaris.
 * The Brotherhood of Mutants in this film consists of Magneto, Polaris, Mystique, Sabretooth, Pyro, Havok, Toad, Forge, and Mastermind. While the X-Men consists of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Storm, Iceman, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and new recruit Kitty Pryde.
 * This film continues the Marvelette Cinematic Universe's trend of casting former DCEU actors, this time in the form of Henry Cavil as Colossus. He previously portrayed Superman, and makes the switch from one Man of Steel to another. Additionally, Jeremy Irons, who portrayed Alfred Pennyworth in the DCEU, makes the switch to the role of Magneto. Scott Eastwood, who plays Havok, also appeared in Suicide Squad as a member of the army.
 * Jeremy Allen White becomes the second actor from the Showtime series Shameless to join the MCU as Pyro, following co-star Emmy Rossum, who portrayed Lilith Drake in Blade.
 * The directors of this film, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, are transgender sisters who were hired, not only for their extraordinary moviemaking talent, but also because they could accurately translate to the screen the struggle and adversity mutants face as a marginalized group.
 * The film has several LGBT+ themes. Most notably, Iceman is out and proud as a gay man, and it is also hinted that Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique all share a possibly romantic past together.
 * The Wachowskis are reunited with actor Max Mauff (Nightcrawler), who previously appeared as Felix in their Netflix show Sense8.
 * Sabretooth appears in this film despite primarily being Wolverine's main antagonist. While Wolverine does not make any form of appearance, there are several references to "Weapon X", which is described as a shady government organization that has been doing secret experiments on mutants for decades.
 * Cristin Milioti is the second star from How I Met Your Mother to be cast in the MCU. She joins Cobie Smulders, who has been playing Maria Hill since 2012's The Avengers.
 * Gugu Mbatha-Raw previously starred in an episode of Black Mirror alongside Mackenzie Davis, who portrayed Valeria Richards in The Fantastic Four and the Paradox of the Mole People.
 * Ralph Fiennes and Jason Isaacs, who play Professor X and Nathaniel Essex, respectively, both previously appeared in the Harry Potter franchise as Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy.