As Deadpool and Wolverine brings X-Men to the MCU, Kevin Feige says the "Mutant era" has begun

Kevin Feige says Deadpool and Wolverine is ushering in a new 'Mutant Era' of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"Also, the 'after' is clearly – now that we have characters from the X-Men world, the Mutants – we haven’t had access to before," Feige said at a press conference (via The Playlist ). "So, this is the beginning of that, and every [movie] post ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ will be the Mutant era coming into the MCU."

Per the official synopsis, the third Deadpool movie – which brought Hugh Jackman out of his Wolverine retirement – sees an injured Wolverine in recovery when he crosses paths with Deadpool. The former rivals team up to defeat a common enemy – and punch each other, a lot . The film marks Wolverine's first official appearance in the MCU, paving the way for plenty more X-Men to come on board and hopefully give us that brand new standalone MCU movie. (It's also worth noting that X-Men: 97, while amazing, is not canon to the MCU).

Shawn Levy directs from a screenplay he penned with Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells. The cast includes Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, Matthew Macfayden as TVA agent Paradox, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, and Brianna Hildebrand, with Aaron Stanford as Pyro, Tyler Mane as Sabretooth, Jennifer Garner reprising her 2005 role as Elektra, and Dafne Keen returning as X-23 from Logan.

Deadpool and Wolverine hits theaters on July 26 and on July 25 in the UK. For more on the MCU, check out our guide on how to watch Marvel movies and TV shows in order , or keep up to date with upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows .