Can the X-Men fit into a Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Will the X-Men Make it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe? That would be so exciting wouldn’t it? X-Men Apocalypse will soon be upon us and like the previous Fantastic Four movie, it will determine the future of the franchise. It’s the third installment of a series of good X-Men movies starting with X-Men First Class, then the successful X-Men Days of Future Past which effectively rebooted the franchise. Original director Bryan Singer is back on Apocalypse and though many would like the X-Men returned to Marvel Studios, many would also like to see what the ‘rebooted’ franchise has to offer. What will the X-Men be like after DOFP?
Well, the ending of DOFP gave us a glimpse of a seemingly happy ending for Wolverine and everyone else including Cyclops and Jean Grey. But will this ending actually come to pass? X-Men Apocalypse is set in the 80s and Bryan Singer indicated in ScreenRant that the ending of DOFP was just that, an ending and things could possibly turn out differently after Apocalypse. But what about Deadpool? It’s set in the present and the world seems peachy. Colossus seems to be doing well in it. Gambit is also in the works and so is Hugh Jackman’s last Wolverine movie. Well hopefully, the Apocalypse story ends well leading to Logan’s pleasant awakening. You can after all, tell a story knowing the future first hand.
So if X-Men Apocalypse does stick with fans, we can expect more X-Men movies in the future. The MCU will just have to wait if it does last all the way to Phase 5 or if the Fox suits suddenly have a change of heart and partner amicably with Marvel Studios like Sony did. But what if Apocalypse actually spells what the word means for the X-Men franchise? Fans are mixed with Apocalypse’s appearance which looks over the top. He looks very much like someone who you would think very, very, very carefully before making a wish to. Fans say it’s his weak form since he can shapeshift like Mystique and the big man with the lips we know and love would appear at the end. Also, since the story is set in the 80s, before Professor X found Logan, the movie will be missing one very important character who fans like to see. That could be a factor as everyone is used to seeing Wolverine in an X-Men flick.
That would also be a welcome change for long-time X-Men fans though, since Wolverine shouldn’t an X-Men film make. The movies have so far centered too much on Wolverine. Where’s X-Men Origins: Storm or X-Men: Origins Cyclops? Also, the team was fine in the comics for years before Giant-Size X-Men and Hugh’s not getting any younger. If the film does tank without Wolverine, what then? Like in the 90s, the X-Men in Marvel was practically a universe unto themselves with tons of good stories and Fox has an entire universe in their hands and won’t hand the goods over to Marvel because of one bump in the road. Plus, Deadpool despite casting Ryan Reynolds seems to have a good thing going for it. Honestly, I’m probably one of the few people who like the Green Lantern movie. I can actually sit through it over and over again instead of re-watching Ang Lee’s Hulk and X-Men: The Last Stand. Also, The Wolverine, I did not like. I prefer X-Men Origins: Wolverine over The Wolverine.
Also, the problem with X-Men movies are the glaring plot holes and ugly plot twists which many seem to forgive. Endings that hardly make sense. The first X-Men film for example ended with Mystique impersonating Senator Robert Kelly. What happened after that? Again, in DOFP, Mystique is last seen impersonating William Stryker who we’ll assume she killed. Does she know that she’ll have to bind Wolverine with Adamantium to make Wolverine’s future happen? I’d theorize that the steel bars in Logan’s body gave her, Stryker, the idea in the first place. I mentioned that I liked X-Men Origins, but what I really hated was what they did with Deadpool or Weapon XI. They shouldn’t have called him Wade in the first scenes so fans could presume Weapon XI was a different character. Plus Sabretooth was an intelligent chatterbox compared to the retarded oaf in the first X-Men film. Also, in the first X-Men First Class, if Xavier really did love Raven in the past, there was no indication of it in the first three films. All in all, the X-Men franchise makes money but is a hot mess whose repair began with X-Men First Class due to better screenplays and directors. Not saying that Bryan might mess up Apocalypse but guano happens. And he did say that if things go sour, he could always reboot the franchise via some confusing time paradox leaving Deadpool and Gambit on their own in that dreamy timeline Logan woke up to.
That new reboot, if it happens in the MCU will be up to Marvel Studios and Fox. Or it could be rebooted to another Fox timeline but please. Sometimes reboots don’t end well for some franchises. Amazing Spider-Man, not-so-Fantastic Four and Star Trek. Many fans do not like where Star Trek is right now, but I’m pretty okay with the action stuff. With Star Trek, I can always go back to the old TV stuff or go forward with Star Trek Prime. The new films can stay in its own pocket universe. With the X-Men, many of the movies are okay. The movies that so far came close to being really good are First Class and Days of Future Past. But hopefully, whatever new reboot or follow-up to Apocalypse happens, Fox will choose to stick close to tried and true source material or cooperate with Marvel Studios.
It’s doubtful the X-Men will come to the MCU in the near future. The planned X-Men live-action TV series Fox said, will be similar to the universe in the films and the films still have much potential for Fox. As much as Fox is concerned, if they have to choose between franchises, the MCU can have the Fantastic Four.