Ever since the Fox/Disney merger and the latter’s subsequent acquisition of the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, theories concerning the newly gained characters’ introductions into the MCU have been popping up across all corners of the internet.

‘X-Men: First Class’, 2011. From left to right, actors Caleb Landry Jones, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy, and Lucas Till | Murray Close/Getty Images

From Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic joining as Peter Parker’s new mentor (establishing a professor-pupil dynamic between like-minded scientists) to Wolverine jumping on board to fend off Hulk, the narrative possibilities are endless, as the comics supply neverending stories for Feige to adapt and transform.

Though it can be difficult to parse through unfounded speculation, well-researched theories, backed-up rumors, and pure facts — as the line in the comic book world is blurry — a few signs indicate which two X-Men are likely to join the superhero soiree first. Combining narrative likelihoods with Marvel casting leaks and more, two X-Men will likely appear in Black Panther and Doctor Strange 2 — both of whom will be recast.

Storm may join the MCU via ‘Black Panther’

In the comics books, Black Panther and Storm (Ororo Munroe) boast one complex romantic history. The two met as children when Storm used her powers of weather manipulation to save Black Panther from a kidnapper in Africa. They stayed quite close and even got married years later, yet the marriage was eventually annulled; the superhero life doesn’t always make for smooth sailing when it comes to one’s love life.

Though Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa and Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia boast some serious chemistry, rumor has it that Marvel is looking to recast Storm for a possible Black Panther entrace. According to Mikey Sutton, and announced by Strip Marvel, the studio is eyeing Janelle Monae (among others) to take on the mutant role.

Whether T’Challa and Ororo will fall in love is up for debate; however, introducing Storm in Black Panther would pay homage to the source material, and provide access to the many X-Men she is intimately connected to. Ororo eventually becomes the leader of the X-Men, taking over for Cyclops; if starting from this point, she could be responsible for introducing several other powerful mutants to the MCU landscape, existing as the head honcho for future X-Men standalone installments (which would make for a refreshing and unique take).

Will Magik join the party via ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?’

Fans already know that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will proceed WandaVision, and that Nightmare — according to We Got This Covered — will be the main villain of the installment. As Looper notes, Nightmare’s introduction would perfectly set up a specific mutant’s entrace as well, as there exists a history of attacks between the two.

Magik may just come to fight alongside Doctor Strange, as she can teleport between dimensions and is a skilled sorceress capable of wielding quite powerful spells; in short, she would perfectly complement Strange.

There’s a deep-seated connection between Magik and Strange — beyond overlapping powers — as Magik grew capable of wielding Doctor Strange’s most signature relic — The Eye of Agomotto. While signs point to Magik and Storm entering the MCU sometime in the “near” future, Marvel still has time to make a decision concerning the X-Men, as the first introduction will likely shape the MCU’s entire future narrative.