'The Marvels' post-credits scene has one major problem (2025)

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Marvels. Proceed with caution.

Much like its predecessor, Captain Marvel, The Marvels comes at a critical juncture for the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, and is set to spin everything we know about this world on its head.

Brie Larson returns as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, one of the MCU's most powerful superheroes following her debut in the 2019 eponymous film.

She is joined by the MCU's first Muslim superhero, Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) from the Disney+ series of the same name, and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) who made her debut in Disney and Marvel's Wandavision series. They join forces to bring down villain Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) who is hell-bent on stripping other planets of their natural resources in order to power her home, Hala.

But fans are complaining about one moment in the film that should have offered an exciting new and hotly anticipated chapter in the MCU—the return of the X-Men.

20th Century Fox previously held the film and TV rights to adapt the X-Men from Marvel comics, making multiple films and TV series based on the mutant superhero team. But Marvel (now owned by Disney) got the rights back when Disney also acquired Fox in 2019 and fans have long been asking if, or more accurately when the X-Men will be entering the MCU.

They may have just got their answer in The Marvels' post-credit scene.

Does 'The Marvels' Introduce the X-Men?

The post-credits scene in The Marvels sees Rambeau wake up in an alternate reality after sacrificing herself to save Earth.

She wakes up in a hospital bed to see a woman she believes is her mom, Maria—but now a character called Binary—when the iconic blue Beast (played by Kelsey Grammer, previously seen in X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past) walks in to discuss Rambeau's condition.

As they chat and mention Charles (Xavier, aka Professor X, the leader of the X-Men played by Patrick Stewart in the X-Men movie franchise and 2022's Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness), the iconic "X" looms large on a door outside the room.

But it's how the Beast looks that has X-Men fans up in arms. Audiences who hit early screenings of The Marvels took to social media to complain about the quality of the CGI mutant, which could be the effect of Marvel's reportedly overworked visual effects (VFX) artists struggling to keep up with the demands of an ever expanding MCU.

"How can The Beast look f**** worse than how he did years ago? Marvel are so bad," complained one person on X, formerly Twitter.

Another added: "The Marvels has a beast that looks worse than the one from 2005."

But some defended the character: "It's based on the 90s cartoon Beast, just like Xavier had the cartoon's wheelchair in Dr strange 2. He looks fantastic."

All the X-Men Hints in 'The Marvels' Marketing

A cryptic trailer for The Marvels hit the web just days before the film's premiere, urging fans to "be there for the moment that changes everything," while tugging on nostalgic heartstrings by featuring some of the most popular MCU superheroes, Iron Man and Captain America.

The trailer sent fans into a frenzy wondering what was to come, with many speculating the X-Men were finally about to join the MCU, thanks to a cryptic shot with a strategically placed "X" in the corner of the screen and an unseen character wearing a costume reminiscent of the iconic X-Men character Storm.

The week before, a 15-second teaser for The Marvels titled "What Comes Next" also sparked speculation about the X-Men, as the "X" in the on-screen wording lingered just long enough to to be considered a clue.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige then muddied the waters further during an interview at The Marvels' red carpet premiere, saying the live-action X-Men may "perhaps soon" join the MCU, despite no date being announced for the team's hotly anticipated standalone movie. An animated series called X-Men '97, a revival of the popular 1990s show X-Men: The Animated Series is expected to land on Disney+ in 2024.

Hugh Jackman is also reprising his role as Wolverine in Deadpool 3, which will see Ryan Reynolds' foul-mouthed hero officially join the MCU. Deadpool 3 was just pushed from its May 2024 release date to the new slot of July 26, 2024.

Can 'The Marvels' Save the Day... and the MCU?

Captain Marvel grossed more than $1.1 billion at the box office worldwide and was released at a critical juncture of the MCU, between Avengers: Infinity War and the culmination of Marvel's industry-changing superhero franchise, Avengers: Endgame.

Larson's debut as Captain Marvel came just one month before Endgame's premiere and at the height of the Disney-owned studio's success. While we all knew Marvel had plenty more phases planned, with spinoff shows and many, many more films, Endgame felt like the end of an era.

Again, it seems like the task of rejuvenating the MCU has fallen to Larson's titular hero as Marvel struggles to captivate audiences. But that's where the X-Men and Young Avengers come in.

Does 'The Marvels' Set Up the Young Avengers?

The X-Men bombshell is not the only one that could shake up the MCU, as Khan is also seen in The Marvels beginning a recruitment drive to bring together a team of young superheroes in order to save the world.

During a scene late in The Marvels, Khan crashes the hangout of Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld)—aka the new Hawkeye—and begs her to join her team, reminiscent of the Avengers Initiative Nick Fury name-dropped at the end of Iron Man.

This could pave the way for a whole new set of Young Avengers which could also include Cassie Lang, Wiccan and Speed, Ironheart, Patriot, America Chavez, and Thor's daughter, Love. Given there are two more Avengers movies slated for release over the coming years, this is more than a strong possibility.

Lang is the daughter of Scott Lang aka Ant-Man played by Paul Rudd, while Wiccan and Speed were introduced in Wandavision as the twin children of the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). Ironheart (Dominique Thorne) was first seen in the MCU in the 2022 film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the genius inventor character is set to get her own series on Disney+.

Patriot (Elijah Richardson) was a founding member of the Young Avengers in the Marvel comics and was introduced into the MCU in Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series. He is also expected to appear in the fourth Captain America movie, Brave New World, which was just delayed until February 2025.

Finally, Thor's daughter, Love, could be part of the new Avengers and was introduced in the fourth Thor (Chris Hemsworth) film, Thor: Love and Thunder. Thor took in the child— played by Hemsworth's own daughter, India Rose— and promised to care for her after the death of her biological father, Gorr the God Butcher.

On a cuter note, The Marvels also revealed that Goose, the lovable cat that turned out to be an alien creature known as a Flerken, has bred hundreds of baby Flerkens, leaving potential for an adorable cat-only spinoff.