The Russo brothers reveal what they would have done with the X-Men in their Avengers movies

The historic Disney-Fox merger earlier this year meant that a number of Marvel characters, including the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, were once again reunited with the Avengers and other characters under Disney’s roof.

That loaded realization, which could one day theoretically lead to X-Men appearing in Avengers films and vice versa, has most recently culminated in this important moment: The Russo brothers imagining which X-Men Thanos would have snapped in Avengers: Infinity War. Basically, all of them — except Wolverine.

The decision, which probably has no concrete bearing on anything that has ever happened or will happen in either the Avengers or X-Men franchises, was made during a segment of IGN’s Up at Noon show when the brothers were presented with a number of franchises, and asked to reveal who they would snap. After they were asked to choose who to snap (or if you prefer, “blip”) from a lineup of Gambit, Jean Grey, Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Rogue, Joe Russo crossed out everyone except Wolverine.

It was a calculated decision to make the most angsty, hypothetical X-Men insert into the context of Infinity War and Endgame. “I’d love to see a fiercely motivated Wolverine going up against Thanos,” Joe said on the show. While it’s a bit of an extreme cut, Joe defended his decision: “It’s not our job to give the people what they want, it’s to give them what they need.” It’s worth noting: in a Reddit AMA just a few days earlier, the brothers admitted they’d come back to the superhero movie directing world to helm a Wolverine movie. Go figure.

Of course, there’s plenty going on with the X-Men outside of hypothetical face-offs with Thanos. Writer Jonathan Hickman’s new House of X series has major repercussions for the X-Men comics universe, and that’s not to mention its sister series Powers of X, which continues to raise questions about the X-Men’s past and future.