This July Belongs To the X-Men

A week from now, San Diego Comic-Con will be underway, and for many movie fans, the convention matters for one reason: the X-Men.

In recent weeks, there’ve been rumors of potential actors for the superhero team’s first MCU outing, with big names including Adam Driver, Sabrina Carpenter, and Cooper Hoffman being thrown around. SDCC’s typically been a place where Marvel reveals both new movies and new casts, so there’s a general expectation that Hall H will deliver the X-goods. It makes sense; Avengers: Doomsday‘s already giving us a burst of nostalgia with legacy X-actors, so why wouldn’t Marvel be ready to tell us which younger stars will step into those blue-and-yellow suits come 2028 and 2029?

Even if those rumors weren’t currently gaining ground, this month’s been a particular boon for the mutants thanks to non-movie ventures. X-Men ’97 premiered its second season at the start of July, and reception to it has been pretty positive so far. A two-year wait doesn’t seem like anything when the season’s current episodes have audiences excited and dreading what’ll come as the three X-teams face off against Apocalypse and each other. It doesn’t hurt that the season’s second episode gave Jubilee a chance to go from old punching bag to fun fighter a week before she joined Marvel Rivals. The hero shooter had a handful of X-characters at launch, but more recent seasons have added A-listers like Cyclops and Deadpool, with other fan-favorites like Nightcrawler and Colossus rumored for the near future.

Speaking of games, Insomniac released a new trailer for Marvel’s Wolverine just before the weekend. Bloodless so it can play in front of screenings of The Odyssey (and eventually on TV), the 90-second promo teases what Logan will get up to when players grab the controller. (The most noteworthy thing about it is revealing Lady Deathstrike, who also appeared in this week’s Wolverine-focused episode of ’97.) And before Wolverine hits in September, there’s August’s Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, which has X-Men all over its launch roster, with the most out-there pick being the android Danger—who will probably be in next week’s ’97 episode, “Danger.exe.” Both games have strong hype behind them, so it’s unfortunate that they’re caught up in PlayStation’s decision to ditch physical games soon and players are looking to take any justified anger out on the two console exclusives.

What’s happening with the X-Men right now is practically the ideal scenario for Marvel and its nonstop synergy game. Each of these projects offer an overlapping appeal to all types of X-fans while also getting the opportunity to stand on their own. That’s particularly important since, if Marvel doesn’t have anything mutant-related to show off at SDCC, the show and games will have to tide people over until an announcement does happen. (And potentially longer, should those film productions fall apart.) It’s all eyes on the X-Men once again, and io9 will be at San Diego Comic-Con to see what Marvel does with this momentum.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.