After 7 Years, X-Men: The Last Stand's Forgotten Sequel Needs An MCU Revival
One of the most celebrated moves from Disney and Marvel in recent years has been the reintroduction of actors and characters from Fox’s live-action X-Men franchise into the MCU canon. What once felt like a separate cinematic universe is now being reframed as part of a much larger multiversal tapestry, and fans have been delighted that the Fox X-Men movies are being treated not as relics, but as essential pieces of Marvel’s cinematic history. From Patrick Stewart’s return as Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to Deadpool & Wolverine bringing back not only Hugh Jackman’s Logan but also characters like Daphne Keene’s Laura and Aaron Stanford’s Pyro, the Fox X-Men era is finally being celebrated. These returns to screen have validated years of storytelling that once seemed disconnected from the MCU’s core canon. However, amid this revival, one project has been largely ignored: The Gifted, a TV show that quietly expanded the X-Men world in bold ways. Running from 2017 to 2019, The Gifted followed the Struckers, an ordinary family navigating a world where mutants are hunted and feared. It introduced new characters while reimagining familiar names from the comic books, carving out its own corner of the X-Men mythos. Seven years later, its story remains unresolved within the wider Marvel landscape, making it a prime candidate for a long-overdue MCU acknowledgment.
How The Gifted's Heroes Can Return In The MCU
Polaris using her powers in The Gifted
While resurrecting the show entirely seems unlikely, the upcoming Avengers movies and the endgame for the MCU’s Multiverse Saga present an easy way to bring the heroes from The Gifted back to screens. Anticipation for Avengers: Doomsday is high, and a major reason for that excitement is the return of iconic X-Men characters like Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen’s Magneto, Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler, and James Marsden’s Cyclops. With the MCU’s overarching narrative building toward a massive incursion event, the door is wide open for even more unexpected returns. The premise of realities collapsing into one another makes this the ideal moment to reintroduce characters from The Gifted. The series already exists on the fringes of the X-Men continuity, meaning it wouldn’t take much narrative effort to fold its heroes into the larger MCU. Characters like the Strucker family or comic-book favorites like Jamie Chung’s Blink or Emma Dumont’s Polaris could easily be recontextualized as survivors of a dying timeline.
What’s more, with the planned Doomsday sequel Avengers: Secret Wars drawing from two iconic Marvel Comics events that united characters from previously disconnected timelines and realities, the MCU has the perfect narrative excuse to bring The Gifted into the fold. Whether through brief cameos or more substantial roles, incorporating these characters would reinforce the idea that every corner of Marvel’s live-action history matters.
Where Does The Gifted Exist In The X-Men Timeline? It's Complicated
Lauren and Andy Strucker in The Gifted
Despite being part of Fox’s live-action X-Men universe, The Gifted occupies an unusual and often confusing place within the timeline. The X-Men films already juggle multiple timelines, particularly after the events of 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, which rewrote the franchise’s history. The Gifted adds another layer of complexity by existing in a world where the X-Men have mysteriously vanished.
In the timeline of The Gifted, Reed (Stephen Moyer) and Caitlin Strucker (Amy Acker) are forced to go on the run when their children’s mutant abilities emerge. However, the absence of the X-Men looms large, with the show repeatedly referencing their disappearance without offering a clear explanation. While it takes place within the same franchise, The Gifted branches off from the X-Men movies rather than directly continuing them. Because of this, the show functions more as a spiritual successor than a direct sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand. It builds on the same themes of fear, prejudice, and government control, but does so in a separate continuity. This ambiguity actually works in its favor when considering the possibility of a full-on MCU revival of The Gifted, as it allows Marvel to reintroduce the characters and story without being tied down by strict continuity.
Release Date
2017 - 2019-00-00
Network
FOX
Showrunner
Matt Nix
Directors
Scott Peters, Stephen Surjik, Robert Duncan McNeill
Writers
Matt Nix, Brad Marques, Carly Soteras, Marta Gene Camps, Jim Garvey
