Where should the X-Men film franchise go from here?

[Andrew]

Say what you will about the quality of the last couple of X-Men films, but the reality is that they have been very financially successful for FOX, and the studio intends on making more. There are currently plans to make the following films, apparently:

Wolverine 2
X-Men: First Class
X-Men Origins: Magneto
Deadpool

Also, producer Lauren Shuler Donner has expressed interest in making an X-Men 4 as well as New Mutants. There has been talk on and off of Gambit getting his own spin-off. This past week, Bryan Singer expressed an interest in returning to the franchise.

So, realistically, where should the franchise go from here? Which films would you like to see get made? Which ones shouldn't be made? If Singer returns, which film should he direct?

And please, no smart ass answers like "reboot it" or "wait for Marvel to buy back the rights from FOX" that fanboys so typically spew out. Neither of those things are going to happen, so let's keep it in the realm of possibility here, people.

Shoot.

[HOOKS]

I think we're long overdo for a fourth X-MEN film, and a new X-trilogy:

From the two nerdiest posts (http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?p=5946098&highlight=x-men+apocalypse#post5946098) I ever made here:


With Cyclops, Jean, and potentially Xavier and Magneto out of the way, I've always felt the next X-Men trilogy should be a new saga of Apocalypse, tying in the storylines of Gambit, Sinister, and Angel. Something like "what would happen if the world's first mutant returned to enslave humanity?" type of thing.

The cast could easily sell on a team of Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Beast, Gambit, Iceman, Angel and Kitty. No need to reboot since you have a cast of some of the most popular mutants, and you can always bring Cyclops back by having Sinister be behind his disappearance to steal his genetic material as a means to create the Ultimate Mutant [Cable].

But that's just me. It'll never happen.

...



Sinister and his Marauders cause the mutant massacre to create enough genetic material to revive Apocalypse. Angel gets his wings hacked in the process, while Gambit turns on Sinister and goes to the X-Men for help. During the battle at Sinister's lair or whatever, they find the body of Cyclops, being used as a back-up plan to create the ultimate mutant body for Apocalypse's psyche to inhabit. Obviously the plan fails, but Apocalypse is revived anyway by the dead mutants' genetic stuff from the massacre. During this encounter, Apocalypse convinces Angel that he can not only restore his wings, but make him stronger than before. A weakened, wing-less Angel joins him. And was that a baby Sinister was carrying before escaping? End Film One.

The X-Men are on the hunt for Apocalypse, and encounter the four horsemen of Apocalypse - one of whom is the former X-Man, Archangel! They have brought havoc to a major world city and only the X-Men can face them. During the course of this, Cyclops continues to get visions of a young boy who seems familiar, yet he's never met him before. Wolverine senses the boy scout was too damaged from his encounter with Sinister to get involved in the field. Cyke disagrees, they fight like usual, blah blah. They eventually discover that a powerful young mutant boy has been created using the DNA of Cyclops and the remains of Jean Grey, and he has been aging at an accelerated rate. The X-Men eventually have to face this mutant boy, and struggle with killing him so Apocalypse doesn't use him as a new body and a way to destroy humanity, or trying to lure him to the side of "good." In the end, the young mutant who would act as a cable between the fate of man and mutant (ha ha play on words wink wink fanboys) sacrifices himself to save the Earth. But it's just want Apocalypse wanted. Apocalypse inhabits the boy's body, becomes ultra-powerful, catastrophes happen across the world, and we enter the Age of Apocalypse. Cliffhangers in second films are awesome! End Film Two.

Age of Apocalypse. Lots of shit happens. Archangel reforms. Sinister and Apocalypse are killed. The world is saved. End Film Three.


/geekdom

[Taxman]

Is this a parody thread?

There are four films in the pipeline now, and no reason to think that any of them will not be made. I am not sure what it is you want to discuss.

[Andrew]

Is this a parody thread?

There are four films in the pipeline now, and no reason to think that any of them will not be made. I am not sure what it is you want to discuss.

No parody. I am interested in seeing where people on the Benbo want this franchise to go. Opinions.

I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.

[Taxman]

It does not seem like Fox is at any sort of crossroads with the franchise, or that the future is in any sort of doubt.

[EdNEMO]

He wants to know what we think the films should be about. For the Wolverine movie. I would like to see the Claremont/Miller limited series made into a movie. (Which I understand is what they are planning on.) X-Men 4, I would like to see the Morlock Massacre.

[Jason California]

Hooks, they never showed Scot's dead body. You are old enough to know that means he is not dead.

[BCD]

I'd like to see them really explore the whole situation with mutants from more angles. Show the generational differences, international differences. As long as the issue of mutants remains the focus, you should have a pretty good story.

I'd like to see Magneto deal with the idea that even the people on his "side" aren't in complete agreement with his ideas. That they're using him just as much as he uses them.

I get that Apocalypse is a popular character amongst the comic fanbase, but he always struck me as remarkably silly and a real tough sell to your average moviegoer.

I'd start it off with either an easter egg character or someone totally original. A young mutant who's deadly and currently uncontrolled powers are manifesting. This event creates a sort of media / political frenzy and there is some serious pressure on the gov't to address the "mutant problem". There's pressure from within the school for the X-Men to begin being more proactive and to have a more clear mission statement. Similarly, Magneto's powers are coming back to him, but he's not at full strength yet and so is even more dependent on the Brotherhood than using them simply as his pawns.

A major theme of the story would be progression and change. The public's attitudes towards mutants are constantly in flux, perhaps Magneto is facing his own mortality, and the older X-Men are dealing with how the school has become more than simply them and what would need to be done to keep it running into the future. Lots of torch passing and the idea that our actions today will effect our children's future.

And no time travel, because it's kind of bullshit.

[HoldFastNow]

I'm excited for X-Men: First Class, because Josh Schwartz is writing it an I'm a fan of both Chuck and The OC.

As for the main movie series, I'm not sure. I'd love to see what Singer originally planned for X3, but I can't see FOX agreeing to basically a "do over" that ignores that previous movie in the franchise. I think X3 was left open enough though to allow Cyclops and Prof. X to come back.

I'd love to see an X-Men movie where Cyclops is portrayed more like he was in Whedon's Astonishing X-Men and Morrison's New X-Men. I think it's lazy when writers resort to making Cyclops look like a chump in order to make Wolvie look like more of a bad ass. Don't et me wrong, I liked the first two X-men films, but I'd like to see a cool, confident Cyclops who isn't missing for most of the movie lead the team and get some badass scenes like in Astonishing when he let loose that huge optic blast on breakworld.

I'd also love if they did one loosely based on Morrison's run. Take the best from stories like E is For Extinction, Riot at Xaviers, and such. The Magneto as Xorn thing could work. People wouldn't expect him since he lost his powers in the previous film (maybe they're coming back slowly so he is hiding out to take the X-Men down from the inside/hide out from his enemies while he grows stronger).

[Caley Tibbittz]

I want Patrick Stewart back. I don't care how flimsy the excuse, I will not be happy if he's really gone for good.

[HoldFastNow]

I want Patrick Stewart back. I don't care how flimsy the excuse, I will not be happy if he's really gone for good.

I don't remember, but did they say what the powers are for the mutant he ended up in at the end of X3? I just assume whoever ends up taking over the franchise will say it's the body of a shapeshifter and have him turn back to Stewart right away.

[NickT]

I don't remember, but did they say what the powers are for the mutant he ended up in at the end of X3? I just assume whoever ends up taking over the franchise will say it's the body of a shapeshifter and have him turn back to Stewart right away.
Or he could just make everyone see him as Xavier.

[Caley Tibbittz]

Or he could just make everyone see him as Xavier.

I don't remember, but did they say what the powers are for the mutant he ended up in at the end of X3? I just assume whoever ends up taking over the franchise will say it's the body of a shapeshifter and have him turn back to Stewart right away.
Those are actually great ideas. Whatever it takes, I'd be happy.

[Andrew]

I want Patrick Stewart back. I don't care how flimsy the excuse, I will not be happy if he's really gone for good.

I'm not sure about any future sequels, but I'd fully expect Patrick Stewart to be in the upcoming prequels like First Class.

I mean, I don't think they could really do that film without him anyway.

[Thudpucker]

I liked X-Men Origins: Wolverine alot, I don't really get why some hated it. I'd be happy to see it sequeled.

[Jason California]

I dont think it would look good on the character of Xavier if he supplanted someone else personality to live.

[Matt Jay]

I have a hard time picturing Fox doing First Class (ie: an X-Men movie without Wolverine).

[Eison]

We will obviously get Wolverine 2. If Singer wants to get back on the X-Men team, then I'd like to see him direct that movie which will likely cover Logan's time in Japan.

I think X-Men; First Class is an excellent idea and the studio should make it the second priority in their X franchise list. I'd keep Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen in their roles and just use effects to make them appear younger as they did with Stewart in Wolverine 1.

I'd love to see the Deadpool film Ryan Reynolds talks about but I'm not sure the results from Fox will meet his or fan's expectations. But as long as he is attached to star, I do think it will be made but it might be years before we actually see it.

X-Men 4...I think they could either reboot the franchise after XFC (if it is a hit) or keep them as two separate timelines/franchises. If they do not reboot, I'd like to see them fast forward a few years after the mess of X3, shake up the cast a bit and maybe use Apocalypse/Sinister as the villains.

[HoldFastNow]

We will obviously get Wolverine 2. If Singer wants to get back on the X-Men team, then I'd like to see him direct that movie which will likely cover Logan's time in Japan.

I think X-Men; First Class is an excellent idea and the studio should make it the second priority in their X franchise list. I'd keep Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen in their roles and just use effects to make them appear younger as they did with Stewart in Wolverine 1.



It's my understanding that X-men: First Class isn't about the first class of X-Men like the Jeff Parker book was but about the current, young mutants that go to Xavier's. So like Kitty, Iceman, Jubilee, etc. taking place in modern times. So because of that they wouldn't need to make any of the current actors look younger.

[Eison]

It's my understanding that X-men: First Class isn't about the first class of X-Men like the Jeff Parker book was but about the current, young mutants that go to Xavier's. So like Kitty, Iceman, Jubilee, etc. taking place in modern times. So because of that they wouldn't need to make any of the current actors look younger.


I don't see why they don't just make that X-Men 4.

They could just have the younger mutants from the previous movies make up the majority of the team. Focus on Kitty, Colossus, Rogue, Iceman, Angel and others growing into their roles of replacing the older guard. Have Storm and Beast as instructors/leaders, maybe add Gambit to the team for spice and feature a cameo by Wolverine for a big fight scene.

[The Robot Lord of Tokyo]

Why not reboot the franchise? Most of the actors and actresses that were in the first 3 films were either killed off, are getting old, or have stated that they want to move on to other projects.
The first X-men movie came out almost 10 years ago. The last one (not counting Wolverine) is almost at 4. And for those that say it's too soon to reboot then look no further then the Batman franchise. The 8 year gap from Batman and Robin to Batman Begins may be a bigger gap then the time passed since X men 3 but if it is done well nobody will think any less of it.

I just feel that if Fox tries to milk the franchise the way they are then no one will care. They got a trilogy out of the X-men franchise. There's nothing wrong using a new generation of actors and redoing the story line.

[greg donovan]

I dont think it would look good on the character of Xavier if he supplanted someone else personality to live.

i am pretty sure that they said that man had nothing going on inside there, he was essentially an empty shell at that point.

[totalsellout]

i'd like to see a non-wolverine x-men movie. maybe just bring back cyclops somehow and have him lead a smaller team trying to hold on to xavier's dream. and sentinels, damn it. where are the sentinels? they could play out a non-timetravel days of future past storyline, cgi has gotten good enough they could make some great looking giant robots.

[Jason California]

Donner interview at Empire online
http://www.empireonline.com/features/future-of-x-men-franchise/default.asp

with Donner saying,
What's cool about this part of the saga is that Wolverine will be fighting in a different style to what we've seen before. Mariko's father has this stick-like weapon, so Wolverine will have to fight against that. There'll be samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts - mano-a-mano, extreme fighting. We're going to come up with a new style of fighting. It's going to be awesome.
When it came to Wolverine's spin-off, Deadpool, however, Donner offered up a surprising bit of news:
I want to ignore the version of Deadpool that we saw in Wolverine and just start over again. Reboot it. Because this guy talks, obviously, and to muzzle him would be insane... We're right in the thick of talking to writers right now, and hopefully by November we'll have decided who's going to do it. We need someone really imaginative because we want to do some really innovative, ambitious stuff. Ryan's mentioned this in an interview already but there are parts where he's going to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience in the cinema. We have to work out how to do that. I don't know that Fox will agree with all our decisions, but we'll see!
Equally surprising was her take on the delay in making the long-discussed X-Men Origins: Magneto:
I'm not sure that film is going to be made. The studio has a wealth of potential stories, and they have to stand back and decide which ones to make. And Magneto, I think, is at the back of the queue. Maybe it'll get made in five years - who knows? I can tell you that Ian McKellen won't be playing the character the whole way through. We used Lola technology in X-Men 3 to de-age Ian and Patrick for one scene, but it's very expensive. To do that for a two-hour movie would be prohibitive financially.

Meanwhile, Gossip Girl and The OC creator Josh Schwartz's X-Men First Class may be heading in a different direction to what we'd been expecting:

Harry Potter is a bit of a role model for us, absolutely. But we want it to be like the recent, darker Potters. It should not be a kiddie movie - we're in the X-Men world so you can't suddenly change the tone... We want to make this a franchise, following these kids at the school, so the casting of the child actors will be all-important.

[Andrew]

It's my understanding that X-men: First Class isn't about the first class of X-Men like the Jeff Parker book was but about the current, young mutants that go to Xavier's. So like Kitty, Iceman, Jubilee, etc. taking place in modern times. So because of that they wouldn't need to make any of the current actors look younger.

That idea was being tossed around early on, but everything that Lauren Donner has been saying recently about First Class indicates that it would be about Xavier's first class of mutants from back in the day (so a young Cyclops, Jean, Beast, etc.)

Seems like they would be picking up right after Xavier picks up the kids from Stryker's island at the end of the Wolverine film.

[Supreme Convoy]

I would love Singer to come back for X-Men 4. Really hope that X-Men takes a Star Trek approach where the even numbered movies just rock.

Of course, I'm looking forward to Wolverine 2!

[Andrew]

Would anyone care to see how Liev Schreiber's Victor Creed turns into the pro-wrestler Sabretooth from the first X-Men film, or should they just leave that one alone?

[Jason California]

Would anyone care to see how Liev Schreiber's Victor Creed turns into the pro-wrestler Sabretooth from the first X-Men film, or should they just leave that one alone?


In my mind the one we saw in the first movie was a bad clone of Creed.

[Andrew]

In my mind the one we saw in the first movie was a bad clone of Creed.

An interesting theory.

[Andrew]

As for the main movie series, I'm not sure. I'd love to see what Singer originally planned for X3, but I can't see FOX agreeing to basically a "do over" that ignores that previous movie in the franchise.

I don't see them agreeing to that either.

Although, that sort of thing has definitely happened before, hasn't it?

[artimoff]

They need to sign Ellen Page to a 10 picture deal. 4 of them being X-Men films.

Wolverine & Kitty Pryde- Merge the Miller & Milgrim mini-series' together.


X4 First Class - Kitty, Iceman, Angel, & Others are led by the new, non mutant Prof X ( in his new body) & new teacher Emma Frost. Wolverine & Storm cameos.


Hooks, they never showed Scot's dead body. You are old enough to know that means he is not dead.


it ends with a return trip to the lake where they find Scott in a telecanetic cacoon.