The Problem With the X-Men Films

We've now reached the end of an era. With the release of Logan, both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart are officially saying goodbye to the X-Men franchise.

This has raised a lot of questions about the franchise's future. Simon Kinberg, writer and producer for the X-Men films, has confirmed that in addition to Deadpool 2, X-Force is also in development. There's also the slowly-developing Gambit starring Channing Tatum, and The New Mutants.

But as for the seventh X-Men film, which had the code name Supernova? Very little is known about it. Bryan Singer expressed an interest in taking the X-Men into space, but it's unknown if he'll return as director. Speculation is that Supernova will be a new adaptation of The Dark Phoenix Saga, and Kinberg confirmed it will be another period piece, this time set in the 90s.

So far, it seems Fox hasn't really learned their lessons from X-Men: Apocalypse. With Jackman and Stewart retiring, Fox has a prime opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction.

Here's how they do that.

No More Period Pieces

When Fox released X-Men: First Class as a 60s period piece, it was a fun and refreshing twist. Although not perfect, director Matthew Vaughn managed to bring a real sense of 60s cool to the X-Men. It certainly didn't hurt that Michael Fassbender makes for an amazing young Magneto.

X-Men: Days of Future Past, set in the 70s, was the next logical step. A wonderful way to pass the torch to the new generation of X-actors while also providing a nice conclusion to the original timeline after fixing the mistakes made in the past.

Then came X-Men: Apocalypse. Rather than just bringing the films into the present, Fox decided they were going to continue the "period piece" schtick. And by this point, the joke is kind of getting old.

It made sense to set First Class in the 60s. Likewise, moving to the 70s for Days of Future Past also worked. But other than the fashion, there really wasn't anything in Apocalypse that necessitated setting it in the 80s. That story could have easily worked in the present.

If Fox were going to only make X-Men period pieces, that would be fine. But that's not the case.

These Timelines Are So Confusing

Fox wants a shared X-Men cinematic universe to rival the MCU and DCEU. But they're trying to squeeze the original timeline in with the First Class timeline and with every movie, it becomes a little more confusing.

Deadpool was set in the present-day and featured a (thankfully) very different Colossus than we've seen so far in the movies. Deadpool 2 will also be set in the present-day and will also introduce both Cable and Domino. X-Force will presumably continue with that trend.

So we've got the Deadpool/X-Force films taking place in the present-day, while the core X-Men films are still taking place in the past. That doesn't really make for a cohesive universe.

Fox wants to have their cake and eat it, too. They both want a cohesive cinematic universe, but they also want to link all these disparate films together. Days of Future Past was supposed to just undo X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But now, X-Men: Apocalypse has started to chip away at the first two films, X-Men and X2: X-Men United.

So what can Fox do now? Are they stuck in this confusing timeline or is there a way out?

The Future Is Now

Logan has given Fox the perfect ending to the original timeline. And where Fox should go from here is a soft reboot of the franchise. By a soft reboot, I don't mean start over from scratch. Instead, what I mean is pick up in the present-day with a new X-Men film, showing the X-Men already established.

What about Deadpool? Nothing in that film really ties it to the original series. They even feature an older, far more Russian Colossus than was in X2, The Last Stand, and Days of Future Past. So just retroactively say it's part of the new timeline.

The "soft reboot" method has worked pretty well for the James Bond films. Prior to Casino Royale, EON didn't bother rebooting whenever it was time to bring in a new Bond. Instead, they just kept on telling new stories with the previous movies forming kind of a loose continuity.

There's no reason the X-Men films can't do the same thing. We know Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart won't return. As for the First Class cast, Sophie Turner (Jean Grey) has confirmed she's returning, and Nicholas Hoult (Beast) "thinks" he's in it. Jennifer Lawrence said the deal between her, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy is that if one of them doesn't return, none of them return, and Lawrence doesn't seem too keen on coming back.

So recast. Bring the X-Men into the present. You don't need Professor X or Magneto or even Wolverine. There have been periods in the X-Men comics when one or all three of those characters have been absent from the X-books. Build up some of the other characters for a change.

Fox has the perfect opportunity to make the X-Men movieverse more cohesive than it's been in years. Let's hope they don't screw it up.