Of all the MCU movies gearing up for release in the coming year, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness promises to be one of the most significant in terms of affecting the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A Twitter user named @ViewerAnon who claims to have inside information about the project has leaked a massive possible spoiler for the movie. The reveal is that a new superhero team called the Illuminati will be introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a rumor we've heard before. But it could bring a key player from the X-Men Universe into the Disney era of Marvel superheroes.

In Marvel Comics, the Illuminati is composed of some of the greatest and most knowledgeable minds in the superhero community. Rather than acting as an outright team, the heroes prefer to work behind the scenes through secret pacts and the exchange of important information to preemptively defuse world-threatening events. According to @ViewerAnon, the version of the Illuminati that will show up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will comprise of Professor Charles Xavier, Captain Peggy Carter, Balder the Brave, Monica Rambeau, and Mordo.

Three of the names have already shown up in the MCU. Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) was Wanda Maximoff's ally and budding superheroine in WandaVision. Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) showed up in animated form in Marvel's What If...? series an an alternate world version of Captain America. Mordo's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) addition would be a surprise, since he appeared to have turned to the dark side at the end of the first Doctor Strange movie, and was expected to become a full-fledged villain in his next appearance in the MCU.

Meanwhile, Balder the Brave is a character from Marvel Comics who is an Asgardian deity, as well as a half-brother and close friend to Thor. But the biggest name on the list has to be Professor Xavier, since his addition to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would signal the arrival of the X-Men in the MCU.

Interestingly, Charles Xavier won't be the first character from the X-Men comics mythology to be a part of the MCU. Both Wanda and her brother Pietro debuted in X-Men comics as supervillain members of the Brotherhood of Mutants, under the tutelage of their father Magneto.

The MCU changed Wanda and her brother's backstory to erase all mention of the mutant superhero team since the company did not own the rights to the main X-Men characters back then. But now that the mutants are on their way, and Wanda is set to be a major part of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it would make sense to have her interact with Professor X, mentor to troubled mutants everywhere, to help harness her new powers as the Scarlet Witch.

Of course, news of the Illuminati showing up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness should not be taken as confirmed just yet based on this leak alone. If Xavier does show up, fans are hoping the role will be reprised by Patrick Stewart or James McAvoy, after that unfortunate tease of the "other" Quicksilver played by Evan Peters in WandaVision. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is due to hit theaters on March 25, 2022. This news originated at Inverse.