It has now been two and a half years since Jennifer Waters confronted K.E.V.I.N. in the finale of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and asked, When are we getting the X-Men? According to one reliable scooper, the answer is, 2027.Jeff Sneider, a journalist with a track record of reliable scoops, recently posted on Twitter that hes hearing that the MCUs long-awaited X-Men movie will begin shooting next year for a 2027 release. That means official casting news likely coming in the next few months along with a director announcement, suggesting that casting news might arrive as soon at CinemaCon in April. Sneider doubled down with a second rumor, identifying Once Upon a Time In Hollywood and The Fablemans star Julia Butters as Marvel Studios current choice for Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat (aka Ariel, aka Sprite, aka Star-Lord, aka you get it). Also rumors are Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) as Jean Grey and Harris Dickinson (Babygirl) as Cyclops. On one hand, the alleged early focus on casting Kitty Pryde seems odd. Shes not Wolverine, Storm, Professor X, or any of the A-list X-Men. Even if its true that Hugh Jackman really will be playing Logan until hes older than Old Man Logan, there are still a few characters better known to the average viewer who one would assume would be a bigger priority for Marvel.On the other, its a good sign that theyre making Kitty a priority. Introduced as a plucky 13-year-old in 1980s Uncanny X-Men #129, Kitty soon became the ideal audience surrogate. Even when writer Chris Claremont put her at the center of some misjudged moments (more than once, Claremont had Kitty use real-world slurs to point out the prejudice launched at mutants), Kitty remained the perfect example of a person whose life was turned upside down by the sudden arrival of her powers. Before Jubilee on the 90s cartoon or Rogue in the Fox movies, Kitty served as Wolverines charge and big sister to younger mutants.By starting with Kitty, it seems that Disneys looking for a way to ease viewers into the very lore-heavy world of the X-Men, which is notable. After all, we have already seen mutants in the MCU, and not just little winks like the tease in the Ms. Marvel finale or an off-hand comment about Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.The aforementioned Hugh Jackman appeared as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine, joined by Channing Tatum as Gambit. Kelsey Grammer reprised his role as Beast in The Marvels and Patrick Stewart showed up as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But these are all refugees from the Fox Universe, which isnt dead, but is sequestered after the end of Deadpool & Wolverine.That multiversal division highlights another interesting part of Sneiders report. If X-Men releases in 2027, then it comes the same year as Avengers: Secret Wars. While it seems likely that Secret Wars will adapt the 2015 Marvel Comics crossover by the same name, its not entirely clear how that will look on screen. Less substantial internet rumors had suggested that the film will involve even more multiversal variants, including Tobey Maguires Spider-Man and Nicholas Cages Ghost Rider, joining together to fight Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr.This next bit is speculation on our part: if the MCU is indeed bringing back a lot of veteran actors in key roles, then the X-Men we meet in the undoubtedly nostalgic Secret Wars might mostly come from the Fox movies, just transposed from an alternate reality. However, the Secret Wars comic book ends with the creation of a new Marvel Universe, which could also influence the MCUs future, including what mutantdom looks like on screen after the finale of Phase 6.Might Avengers: Secret Wars end with an essentially rebooted Earth, one in which the general public isnt quite so used to people with superpowers as they are in the current version of the MCU? And if random people just started gaining powers when they hit puberty, might the general public fear and hate those people, those mutants?Again, this is all speculation. But if Sneiders report is true, then we dont have to wait much longer to see how Marvel will integrate its merry band of mutants.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!