James McAvoy has a very good reason for why he doesn't want the X-Men to join the MCU – do you agree?

James McAvoy X-Men MCU

X-Men and the MCU seems like a perfect fit, right? The upcoming Fox merger with Disney will potentially see the mutants, as well as a whole host of other Fox-owned Marvel characters, slide right on into new Marvel movies. One of the big stars of the Fox roster though, James McAvoy (Professor X) has poured cold water over the idea and, honestly, I don’t disagree with him.

Speaking to Yahoo, McAvoy opened up about his doubts about the X-Men heading to the MCU, saying: “I don’t know if the X-Men could go into the Marvel universe, I’m not sure”.

McAvoy, ironically one of the biggest stars who could make the leap, didn’t stop there, saying: “Maybe they could? But I think what’s different about the Avengers universe anyway is you’ve only got a couple of superheroes in the world. There’s a good amount, but there’s like a couple of football teams’ worth, you know what I mean? Whereas in the X-Men world you’re potentially saying there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of them and the social implication of that is different.”

I mean, he’s not wrong. Part of the charm of the MCU thus far is that there aren’t many superheroes and that, as a result of that, each one is afforded the chance to shine in either their own standalone movies or as a large part of a franchise. If you continually expand the universe – say, by introducing the X-Men – the impact will inevitably diminish over time.

Sure, it’d be cool to see Wolverine and Professor X lock claws and minds with the likes of Iron Man and Captain America but, for now, maybe it’s best to keep to heed McAvoy’s words and keep them entirely separate, lest you do too much too soon with what is already a very delicate balance.

Do you agree with McAvoy’s take on the X-Men joining the MCU? Let us know down below!

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Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.