Has Singer bitten off more than he can chew?

Has Singer bitten off more than he can chew?

Over the last few months, Bryan Singer has delighted fans of the X-Men series with his revealing tweets regarding the cast of his current project. One after another cast announcements poured freely from the director and with those announcements, the outline of Singer's Days of Future Past began to take shape. If successful, the next episode in the X-Men franchise could be the most commercially profitable and critically acclaimed instalment to date. The sheer scope alone promises to give both X-Men fans and the movie-going public in general something they have never seen before. In fact it would be no over-statement to say that this film could be the most definitive film version of the long-running comic book characters to date and could very well set the marker for all X-Men films in the future. With this kind of pressure circling ominously over the production and the director's steep dip in form over the past few years could Bryan Singer have bitten off more than he can chew?

As previously mentioned Singer hasn't seen the best of times since Superman Returns failed to inspire a lasting re-energising of the much-loved superhero and Valkyrie was simply too flat to make any sort of impression at all. There's no doubt that the scrutiny and criticism of these films hit Singer hard, overly critical people might even say he still hasn't recovered from these misses. Currently he is putting the finishing touches on Jack the Giant Slayer and to put it bluntly, Singer needs this project to be a hit. He's already got the job of directing Days of Future Past but the boost of breaking his losing streak would push him forward to do his best possible work and dispel any doubts surrounding this clearly talented director.

Another possible stumbling block for the next instalment is the often debated time-line of the previous films and their impact on a film were time travel is at the very core of the plot. In X-Men: First Class the affiliation with the movies that came before was loose enough that it allowed room to manoeuvre. Unfortunately for Singer and Co., this time round they need to create a film that can be the keystone of the franchise, it must fit perfectly within the series and be capable of handling the weight from the inevitable scrutiny. It must bridge the gap between the original films and the current slate in such a way that both sets of films are better for it. This is asking a lot of any film, it also creates a huge amount of pressure on the people behind the scenes from the very first moment the idea is conceived. To put it in to context, George Lucas was unable to do this to the very high standards of today’s eager audiences and he had a lot longer to get it right.

Another worry for Singer is the abomination that was X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Brett Ratner almost single-handedly destroyed the cinematic future of the X-Men universe and Singer must regret relinquishing control on a project that he had nursed since its infancy. Ratner directed X3 like he had grown up watching Michael Bay films thinking “needs more explosions”, he annihilated any chance of a straight follow up and his negative influence will unfortunately have an impact on Days of Future Past. As much as we would all like to simply disregard X3, my understanding is that it will be a part of the timeline (if this is incorrect please let me know, you’ll be doing me a favour). Obviously because the plot deals with time travel it allows Singer the opportunity to right some of the huge injustices done during that film but Ratner’s free-handed exploits within this universe are sure to be a dead weight hanging around Singer’s neck.

Personally speaking, I’m a huge fan of Bryan Singers and believe that he is most comfortable when dealing with these unique characters in their own unique surroundings. I believe he regretted turning his back on X3 and realised in the following years that it was his opportunity to create a lasting legacy. With the promise of the proper inclusion of the Sentinels (finally) and the introduction of the possibility of time-travel, the X-Men universe could propel itself in to a whole new realm of success and I think both Singer and Fox know this. The popularity of Marvel’s The Avengers, the respective solo outings and the production of the ambitious Guardians of the Galaxy has changed what studios can do. If this film is an undisputed hit, who’s to say what could be the next major storyline; a revised House of M, a Cable solo film (my preferred option and Stephen Lang has to play him), the introduction of Apocalypse? If Singer succeeds then all walls will be broken down, nothing will stand in the way of some of the most popular and most outrageous storylines ever to exist in the comic book world from turning up on our cinema screens to be enjoyed popcorn in-hand. In order for this to happen though, the director needs to jump this final hurdle with confidence and without stumbling.

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