The Marvels Director Nia DaCosta Reacts To X-Men Easter Egg In Trailer

"The Marvels" is on its way to the movies, putting Marvel Cinematic Universe heroines Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) front and center for a cosmic adventure. As if their story alone wasn't enough to get MCU fans talking, the fact that a recent trailer contains a tiny detail hinting at the franchise arrival of the X-Men has the Internet buzzing. The phrase "What Comes Next" appears briefly before disappearing, though the X suspiciously lingers just a bit longer than the letters around it.

Since the teaser in question dropped, director Nia DaCosta has commented on the speculation-spawning detail within it, further turning heads in the MCU fan community. She discussed her reaction to the supposed X-Men hint during an interview with Jake's Takes on YouTube. "I was just like, 'Oh, so cheeky. So cheeky,'" she recalled with a laugh, making it appear as though she herself was a bit surprised by the moment. For fun, she added that her dream X-Men-centric project would focus on Cyclops and Storm and their individual efforts to lead the aforementioned team.

In the event the X-Men or some of its members appear in "The Marvels," it could be one of the most hero-loaded non-"Avengers" movies in the entire MCU.

The Marvels could be a bigger superhero team-up than expected

First and foremost, even based on the characters at the forefront of it, "The Marvels" has a lot going on. It has to expand on the stories of Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Ms. Marvel while still moving along a larger narrative. Not to mention, MCU mainstay Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is present as well, so one has to imagine that fans will learn what he's been up to post-"Secret Invasion." As if that wasn't enough, it has come to light that yet another tenured MCU protagonist will appear in some capacity to help the Marvels out.

After some hinting via previous promotional efforts, Marvel Studios' final trailer for "The Marvels" confirms that the film contains a major cameo. Though the trailer does focus largely on the Marvels themselves and their connection to the original Avengers, it also highlights that Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) stops by to give the heroines a pep talk. The King of Asgard was last seen in 2022's "Thor: Love and Thunder" where she joins Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Jane "Mighty Thor" Foster (Natalie Portman), and Korg (Taika Waititi) on a quest to stop Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale).

Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, Ms. Marvel, Nick Fury, Valkyrie, and potentially one or more members of the X-Men? That's a lot of Marvel heroes for one movie, and it'll be interesting to see how they all fit into the plot of "The Marvels."