Marvel’s ‘X-Men’ Reboot Rumor Hints at a Shocking New Lead Hero

On March 19, 2019, Disney closed one of the biggest mergers in the entertainment industry's history when the company acquired most of Fox's assets. While Disney gained the rights to several huge franchises as part of that deal, including Predator, Die Hard, Alien, Avatar, and more, most of the interest lay elsewhere.

When Disney bought Fox, they regained the movie rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. While Marvel's First Family got the movie treatment in 2025, fans are still waiting to see a new vision of the X-Men franchise be brought to life on the big screen. Now, a rumor has come to light about how the planned new franchise could be very diffferent from what came before if it is true.

Marvel Studios’ 'X-Men' Film Franchise Is Rumored To Focus on Cyclops

On November 3, 2025, a new episode of the Kristian Harloff Show was released. A longtime media personality, Kristian Harloff, co-hosted the Schmoes Know Movie Show and has notably interacted with many entertainment industry insiders. During that episode of his show, Harloff stated that insiders were telling him that Marvel Studios' upcoming X-Men movie will focus on the superhero Cyclops.

"One of the things that could be in the X-Men, because they’re going to be leading, everyone knows they’re leading with the X-Men, Cyclops is going to be a heavy push with him and the Summers family. So Wolverine wouldn’t be a big focus."

While the rumor Harloff spoke about is far from confirmed, it is worth noting that some insiders would know about the plans for the upcoming movie. That is the case because Deadline reported in May 2024 that Michael Leslie had been hired as the screenwriter for Marvel Studios' X-Men movie.

Why Marvel Studios’ 'X-Men' Film Franchise Spotlighting Cyclops Would Be Shocking

For fans familiar with the history of Marvel comic books, the idea that it would be shocking that the X-Men film franchise would focus on Cyclops may seem ridiculous. After all, Cyclops has been the leader of the X-Men in the comic books more often than not over the years. Despite that and the fact that the character has long been the X-Men's backbone and brains, the move from Marvel Studios truly is shocking for one reason.

While there is no doubt that movie studio bosses are happy for their films to be acclaimed, the fact that the main goal is making money remains the case. That is the reason why Paramount Pictures has continued pumping out Transformers movies even though those films have received some startlingly harsh reviews from critics and viewers alike. As a result, it seemed like a no-brainer that Marvel Studios' franchise would continue highlighting Wolverine, since he is the X-Men's most popular and bankable character, by far.

At any given time, it can feel like Wolverine is somehow appearing in virtually all of Marvel's comic book lines. Even when events in different comic book storylines seem like they should be happening at the same time, Wolverine can often be in both places somehow. On the other hand, Cyclops is never spread as thin as Wolverine is. There is a simple reason for that, comic books with Wolverine in them are likely to make more money, and Cyclops isn't that big of a game-changer.

With that in mind, it is shocking that Marvel Studios won't be taking advantage of Wolverine's immense popularity by spotlighting him, if the rumors are true. After all, it isn't any secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't as successful as it once was, so relying on Wolverine could have been seen as the perfect source of rejuvenation. If the franchise spotlights Cyclops, it will be refreshing to think that Marvel Studios may be prioritizing telling what the company sees as the best story.