The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never felt murkier, but are we finally gaining some clarity? Post-“Avengers: Endgame,” the point at which pretty much everyone agrees the franchise hit its natural climax, Kevin Feige’s passion project has spent several years flailing around for a new direction. With the recent release of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and its tantalizing credits scene, all of it now seems to be leading up to the double-whammy extravaganza of “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.” In addition to the arrival of Marvel’s First Family, fans have been foaming at the mouth to see what the franchise does with its highly-anticipated “X-Men” reboot … and after a string of financial hits and misses, there now appears to be a plan in place.

Few productions seem more important in the long run to the MCU than its upcoming “X-Men” film, which is being guided by “Thunderbolts*” director Jake Schreier. Still, several questions have remained. Chief among them, naturally, is what kind of casting Marvel Studios will opt to go with — particularly after spending several movies teasing the reappearances of the old cast from the now-defunct 20th Century Fox “X-Men” universe. As it turns out, we can expect quite a change after all those star-studded “X-Men” movies centered on recognizable actors like Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and many more.

Variety has the scoop on the next steps concerning the famous group of superhero mutants. As the planned reboot gears up for a release at some point in the years ahead, the outlet reports that the casting process will soon be underway. According to unnamed talent agents who’ve already had their feelers out, all signs seem to be pointing to Marvel relying on young actors and new faces. The reasons for this approach probably won’t surprise you.

The next era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe appears to be taking its cues from how it began. With the exception of Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man (who was considered persona non grata at the time of 2008’s “Iron Man”), Marvel Studios used to rely more on up-and-coming actors – relative unknowns such as Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Tom Hiddleston — and has only recently turned to established talent to spearhead this franchise. Over the long years and after unfathomable amounts of success, though, the property gained enough clout to bring in pretty much every major star in Hollywood at will. However, now that the MCU has had to go back to the drawing board and reestablish itself as a trusted brand, well, it’s no wonder Marvel’s going back to its former playbook.

According to Variety, an unnamed source has pinpointed the main motivation behind Marvel’s approach to casting its new generation of X-Men: to “keep the cost down.” That lines up with everything else we’ve seen and heard when it comes to the studio’s most recent output, as the creative teams behind “Thunderbolts*” and even “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” have taken great pains to keep their budgets down. In fact, Feige himself has gone on record about these abrupt cost-cutting measures, citing Gareth Edwards’ “The Creator” as the benchmark of how even blockbusters dealing with significant amounts of visual effects can still be made with modest expenses.

Notably, the report indicates that the currently-unnamed Marvel film slated for release on July 23, 2027, won’t end up being the “X-Men” reboot. That leaves the studio with plenty of time to put together its ensemble of young actors. For better or worse, we may have to rethink all those rumored “X-Men” fan-casts as well. Stay tuned to /Film for more updates as they develop.