The names left outside of Marvel Studio's universe are Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Fantastic 4. While it's easy to list the three and count them on one hand, these are no small properties, which is why they continue to be held onto by the other movie studios. Sony Pictures holds the rights to Spider-man while Fox holds control of all things X-Men and Fantastic 4. Spider-Man recently experienced an 'Amazing' reboot (to be followed by a star-studded sequel) after Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy came to an end in 2007. Spider-Man is a very popular Marvel character and one that garners a ton of merchandising money for Marvel, so it is definitely a film series to keep track of.
The larger properties of Fantastic 4 and X-Men belong to Fox. The Fantastic 4 had two not-so-fantastic films back in 2005 and 2007, and recently there's been a buzz about a future reboot for the series that could include a tie in to the established X-Men universe. It is that larger universe of the X-Men that requires a little breakdown. Spanning several films that encompass many story lines, the X-Men Cinematic Universe does not have the continuity that its Marvel counterpart holds. It can be confusing and conflicting, so with that in mind, here is a guide to the X-Men movies, a film series that may be home to the next Fantastic 4 films as well:
1. X-Men (2000)Mutants who find themselves at odd with the world are welcomed into the home and private training academy of a super-powered group of mutants, fighting to protect mankind from other mutant forces set to destroy them.
Well received, X-Men launched the world of Marvel superhero movies with Spider-Man following in 2002. Bryan Singer directed and crafted an X-Men that balanced multiple superpowers onscreen and made Hugh Jackman an American movie star. Audiences loved it and it left them waiting for and wanting more, which was soon to follow.
2. X2: X-Men United (2003)The X-Men face persecution and imprisonment from the outside world as forces come together to pit mutants against the rest of humanity. Wolverine is forced to step into a more clear position of leadership in order to help his friends survive while he faces demons from his past.
The follow-up to 2000's successful X-Men, X2 was the perfect sequel. Many thought it was better than the first, and it fleshed out character stories hinted at in the first while also delivering some very good action and villainy. Fans loved it, and, in general, so did critics. Bryan Singer was again directing and writing, so many had high hopes for where he would take the X-Men next.
Following the discovery of a 'cure' to the mutants condition, and catastrophic upheaval from within their own group, the X-Men face war with the Brotherhood, another group of Mutants led by Magneto.
Last Stand went through many changes before being released. It changed directors twice, and faced a few rewrites. No linger under the direction of Bryan Singer (who left for Superman Returns), the third installment of the X Trilogy suffered some following restructuring of the story line. Characters died, lots of them. Powers were wasted. Put simply, people did not like the third X-Men movie. It changed a lot plot wise, and left little room for much in the way of a sequel. It looked like the film might indeed be the X-Men's last stand.
4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)Rather than go forward following the conclusion of Last Stand, the studio instead decided to go backward. A fan favorite and focal point of the first three movies was Wolverine, the bad boy one-man-army played in heroic tones by Aussie Hugh Jackman, so it seemed natural that he would lead the way in a series of spin-off solo films from the X-Men universe. It didn't go as well as many had hoped.
The origin story hinted at in earlier films was finally revealed in full. Set with recasts of some characters, and also some inclusions of pre-established characters, Origins played havoc (no reference to the character of the same name) with certain elements in the X-Men universe. While it really wasn't that bad of a prequel film, amnesia bullets and the treatment of the character Deadpool did not garner much support of the film from the geek centered fan-base.
The next film in the X-Men series brought Bryan Singer (as a writer) back into the fold, although whether it was a prequel or a reboot was a bit hard to tell. Set in the 1960's in conjunction with the events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis, First Class brought fresh faces and better writing back to X-Men movies, garnering generally positive reviews.
There were a few continuity issues introduced in the film, many coming in due to small elements in X-Men Origins that were meant to tie it into the previous films. Those were easy enough to ignore, but led to questions about how well the new film would mesh with previous ones. Overall, First Class was a welcome addition to the X-Men franchise.
6. The Wolverine (2013)It promised to be better than the previous Wolverine solo film, and it delivered on that promise (not that it was a particularly hard one to keep).
Wolverine finds himself in Japan, following the aftermath of the disastrous events of Last Stand. The first film placed chronologically after the trilogy, The Wolverine could be taken as a signal that the studio was (and is) finally ready to deal with the implications of killing so many characters off in the third film of the series. Wolverine got to sharpen his claws again on the bodies of many baddies, and this time contemplate the issues of life and death, a thematic element never far from the poor guy. The film was well received for the most part and blended with other comic book films.
<FUTURE PROJECTS>
7. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)Fans looking for both an X-Men 4 and a sequel to First Class should look no further than next summer's new X-Men movie. Days of Future Past will place First Class firmly into the continuity of the previous films, while also (hopefully) ironing out existing inconsistencies within the timeline of events set up by the different films. The time travel aspect, however heavy it may be, will add a very interesting element to the plot and implications of the movie. Involving a blending of both casts, the film could change past events, explore alternate futures, or even reset timelines in a way that cleverly reboot the series and make blank the slate for future film projects.
8. The Fantastic Four (2015)
This is going to be a reboot, plain and simple. With different properties reverting back into the control of Marvel, Fox needs to keep producing in order to maintain their hold in the rights of certain characters. While there has been talk of making a continuous universe under the direction of Mark Millar, and he has been given creative control of all of Fox's Marvel properties, it is likely that no continuity will be established until the Fantastic 4 have a well re-established film of their own. There's little use in distracting crossovers when you're trying to make (or remake) a film that can stand independently.
9. X-Force (2016)While all sorts of speculation surrounds the possible X-Force movie, all that can really be said is that its probably happening. It could serve as either a slightly unrelated spin-off to the X-Men films that expands the X-Men universe, or it could signal a new direction for the characters following the events of Days of Future Past. While not really an X-Men 4 or X-Men 5 type as was once thought to be coming, the film may play that sort of role. It may even serve as the correct vehicle to trigger the solo film that Deapool's been waiting for. Again, all of this is speculation. Despite how Marvel plans their movies and predictions for presidential campaigns go, 2016 is a long way off, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Whatever the future has in store for Fox and the X-Men movie universe, it is important to realize a few things. Although they've been in the game longer, they are not the well-oiled continuity machine that Marvel Studios. They also are not adept at continuing a vision for future projects the way Marvel plans things out five years at a time. Otherwise, there's no way Last Stand would have turned out the way it did. Also, even with future movies planned, it is good to keep in mind that this is the film series in which X-Men Origins: Magneto and Deadpool were almost sure things.
Keep looking back for more X-Men updates. Also, check out the guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a previous post.
No comments:
Post a Comment