Mere hours before the official start of Comic-Con International in San Diego, Twitter has erupted over the rumored title of Marvel Studios' first X-Men movie: The Mutants.

The response arrives in the wake of a Deadline article about what to expect from film studios and television networks at this weekend's convention. The website noted that while looks at Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law are probably a lock for Saturday's Hall H presentation, there's a lengthy list of projects waiting in the wings (possibly for Disney's D23 Expo in September). Along with such films as The Marvels, Blade and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Deadline made a passing reference to The Mutants.

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And with that, Marvel fans on Twitter were off to the proverbial races.

Marvel's 'The Mutants' Movie Rumor Is Nothing New

To be clear, "The Mutants" rumor isn't new: It dates back to at least March 2021, and has yet to be confirmed.

Depending upon which speculation you choose to believe, the purported title change is either because the Fox movies so tarnished the X-Men brand that Marvel Studios wants a fresh start when it introduces the characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (That, of course, ignores that the studio doesn't seem to be bothered by the Fantastic Four's blemished cinematic history. Or that hugging 2020's The New Mutants would be a wise move.)

The second thread, which appears to be gaining traction on Twitter, is that the supposed shift from X-Men to The Mutants is intended to be more inclusive. You know, "woke."

That belief may actually have some foundation in comments made in 2019 by Victoria Alsono, Marvel's executive vice president of production. "I don't know where the future is going," she said, shortly after Marvel regained the X-Men film rights, as part of Disney's acquisition of Fox. "It's funny that people call it the X-Men. There's a lot of female superheroes in that X-Men group, so I think it's outdated."

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It's worth noting that X-Men co-creator Stan Lee originally wanted to call them The Mutants, but was shot down by Marvel's publisher.

"He said, 'You can't call them The Mutants' and I said, 'Why not?'" Lee recalled in 2017. "He said, 'Our readers, they aren't that smart.' He had no respect for comic book readers. He said, 'They won't know what a mutant is.'"

Fans have speculated for the past few years how mutants would be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But although WandaVision seemed like the most obvious venue, the moment didn't arrive until Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with its Professor Xavier cameo. Then came the surprise revelation of the Ms. Marvel finale, in which viewers learned of Kamala Khan's genetic "mutation" -- a moment underscored by music similar to the theme from X-Men: The Animated Series.

Source: Twitter