At the time of writing, it's been five years since Disney finished acquiring 20th Century Fox, which also means that comic book readers have been waiting that long for the X-Men to come together in the MCU. Marvel Studios has, of course, kept its plans for the mutants extremely close to its chest, but it does seem like the studio is getting closer to finally bringing the X-Men and Avengers together onscreen.
In 2022, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" brought back Patrick Stewart's Professor X for an extended cameo, and "Ms. Marvel" introduced the concept of superpowered mutants to the MCU. Over a year later, "The Marvels" delivered a mid-credits scene featuring Kelsey Grammer's iteration of Beast, another mention of Charles Xavier, and a door bearing the X-Men logo.
Now, Marvel is prepared to release both "X-Men '97" and "Deadpool 3" in 2024. The former is set to be a follow-up to "X-Men: The Animated Series" that picks up where its predecessor left off, while "Deadpool 3" will bring back both Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Taking all that into account, it seems more likely than not that fans will know a whole lot more about Marvel's "X-Men" plans by the end of 2024 than they currently do.
As disappointing as it is to know that the X-Men can't show up on "What If...?" until they do in a live-action MCU project, fans can rest easy knowing that the Disney+ series still has plenty of stories it can tell. Case in point: "What If...?" Season 3 is already set to feature an unexpected villain team-up between the Winter Soldier and Red Guardian.
