Okay, before we get started, I want to share my thoughts on the impact that the X-Men as a whole has had on me. I actually got into the X-Men a little bit before the animated series created a massive popularity for the team as far as awareness goes, though it was bubbling over for most of the decade beforehand. Even before the cartoon, there was trading cards, an arcade game, a pretty intricate board game, a cartoon pilot that did not get picked up, and the highest sold comic of all time. I pretty much came got into the team around the Jim Lee era and continued collecting consistently until Morrison's run ended. Life got busy and every comic book nerd over the age of thirty had to make a tough decision back then: get laid or read comics. There was no in between at the time; no women who cosplayed or females who were infatuated with DeadPool. Fortunately, things are better now on that front. I took the bullet for you. You are welcome. Anyways, while I began reading in the nineties, my favorite era was the Claremont/Silvestri team that ran for about three years (give or take.) While I appreciate Jim Lee as an artist, I just thought Silvestri best encapsulated the characters. Maudiera and Bachaola are also favorites of mine. As far as the Fox movies are concerned, I do not hate them. I think the ones Singer and Vauhgn worked on range from fine to great. Though the state of the movies is why I am posting this editorial ...because I just saw a game changer.
Or, should I say, it would be a game changer if Fox were smart and, despite what some may say, the fact that there is an R-rated DeadPool film in theaters, no matter the circumstances, proves that they can be when they want to.
Do I think Schmoes, Campea, Jahns, and Stuckman were telling their REAL honest to God opinion that it was the greatest movie ever? No. But I understand WHY they had to deceive just a little bit. They have reviewed enough Kickasses and Scott Pilgrims fairly to know that if they want more of these movies in theaters, they need to present it in black and white terms so people show up on opening day without reservations. The ends justify the means in this case. Did I love it? YES. Resoundingly yes ...but there is certainly room for improvement, not just for that franchise but the X-Universe as a whole. The fact that my theater was sold out until tomorrow morning and that parents were bringing their five year olds to the movie (horrible parents they may be) proves that this money is going to make a lot of bank. What we have here is an incredibly unorthodox movie that had the audience rolling the whole time that stayed somewhat true to the source material and design ...in a Cinematic universe that typically does not. While I do not hate Fox, I do feel that they sometimes do not utilize their properties well and this movie shows what happens when you let people who care about the material reach their full potential and just have fun with it. This should be proof that some things need to change at the X-division at Fox to best utilize these properties. I am going to preface this by saying that I am nobody. I am an author who is releasing a book in June on Kindle. That does not make me an expert at business. But I, as I rode my bike home (yes, I am THAT douchey aspie Pacific North Westerner,) my head was filled with ideas for how Fox cannot just churn out more movies ...but even begin to compete with the big boys.
HOUSE KEEPING
Okay, before getting to my main ideas on what Fox should do from here with their popularity, there are three stray movies in various degrees of production. Their existence kind of are examples why I think now is the time for a change within this franchise. In addition to that, I will go over some other loose ends that are too small for their own section.
Firstly, we get to X-Men: Apocalypse. Okay, I am just not excited for this movie. I know I am going to like it, Singer always writes enjoyable material. Aside from the HUGE problem of Mystique leading the team because her actress is famous, I have a more traditional Fox hater concern: the time period. This movie could have taken place at ANY Time and I would have accepted the look they were going for. The problem here is that this is a movie that takes place in the eighties. This was Singers chance to embrace the weird and have colorful costumes ...and he throws us one bone with Jubilee (who is probably going to die.) Maybe I am being more of a traditionalist than usual, but when I think of X-Men in the 80's, I think about Rogue, in a black body suit with some sort of green swimsuit over it, flying at the Juggernaut not Quicksilver wearing black body armor. I am not happy with Psylocke either. Oh, I like the costume ...but it fits in better with the nineties meta. I am fine with her starting out as an Asian. This should really look like a mid-eighties Claremont Comic brought to life. I understand that liberties need to be taken with stories but, this time around, the art style fits perfectly for the time. After seeing DeadPool, this is even more of a problem, because we now have a movie that embraces exactly what it is while the X-Men are still trying to Matrix ...twenty years later. There is a reason for this, but we will get to that and the solution in a bit.
Next up is Wolverine 3. Yes, I know Gambit comes first, but I am saving that one until the end for a specific reason. The last Jackman film is going to be bitter sweet because he is a guy who wore the X flag proud for several years. Fox is losing their go to guy and are going to need to find a new one soon. Yes, there is Reynolds, but they are going to need a second for a very specific reason. I think the loss of Jackman, and probably Wolverine for awhile, is why we fast tracked...
...Sigh ...this mess. Do I think Channing Tatum will do a solid job? Yes. Do I think he will appear as an X-Man on future teams? Yes. Is he the next Reynolds and Jackman? Absolutely not. Rumors were already rampant that he wanted out of the project. Compare that to both Reynolds and Jackman who are SO proud of the characters they play to the point that they are incredibly hands on with them. Tatum just isn't that way with Gambit and I see this being a fruitless venture that either never happens or disappears fairly quickly.
Now, the small stuff. Firstly, casting from here on out. If a character from the O.G time line (X-Men to The Wolverine ...not counting First Class) appears, they are going to be re-cast. When a character that has ALREADY been re-cast in the somewhat new continuity leaves the franchise, those characters will be retired until these batch of movies are finished. If Fassbender, Holt, and Lawrence leave, Magneto, Beast, and Mystique are out for the remainder of the series. In the case of Lawrence, her departure is absolutely essential to get back on track. She is the reason that we will have to initiate the “Lawrence Law.” The Lawrence Law clearly states that one actors popularity will NEVER dictate the plot or character emphasis on your movie. In the case of Magneto, he is like the Shredder now; he has been in almost every X-Men movie. Having a break from him and concentrating on another threat will be a breath of fresh air.
Real quickly, time line stuff to go by when reading this. Prime Time line: First Class, 70% of DOFP, Apocalypse, DeadPool, Gambit, Wolverine 3, everything after it. Erased Time line: X-Men, X2, X3, X-Men Origins, The Wolverine, DOFP future. Multi-verse theory: Time that Wolverine returned to at the end of DOFP. It isn't clean, but we use that logic and stick to it. And, for the love of God, we hire a guy to keep track of that stuff.
Finally, I am of the belief that the Marvel Universe and X-Universe should be separate from each other. They make no sense in the same world no matter what the media. Thus, my solution isn't going to be a cry for “REVERT THE RIGHTS BACK!”
Okay, onto the things I would do with the franchises from here on it.
GENERAL X-MEN MOVIES and R-RATED X-MEN MOVIES
I am pretty sure this is already in the works already. Firstly, they are most definitely going to be in the same universe, but one group is going to be for adults and the other will be for a more general audience to enjoy. X-Men, Gambit, and New Mutants will be general. DeadPool, Cable, and X-Force will be the R-Rated films. Yes, the end game is for these movies to one day come together in a grand finale (...and then we re-boot again) and when that happens, the General movies will take precedence so the whole family could watch. This gives you something that Marvel and D.C are NOT giving you: variety. It is the smartest thing they can. When it comes to the R-Rated films, if Reynolds wants to be in it or market it, DO NOT STOP HIM. More on him and his role later.
MOVE SINGER AWAY BY HAVING HIM CURE CANCER
As I stated above, I do not hate Singer, but we clearly do have a problem with him being in charge of the X-Men films. This is going to be doubly more evident the more fans warm up to DeadPool. The fact is this: we, as fans, are accepting the traditional costumes MORE than ever. Any doubt the executives might have had are now out the window seeing that we have had a Russian Colossus, a DeadPool without his mouth sewed up, and humor that matched the comic material. Now, seeing that Vaughn TRIED to have traditional costumes and, apparently, didn't meet too much executive interference, this has to be a design choice from Singer. It isn't the worst, but it is becoming dated now ...and he STRAIGHT REFUSES to change the way he does it. There is something he does that is even worse though and I think is the biggest problem with the X-franchise. With the exception of some characters, there is A LOT style, but no substance. Mutants are introduced, get cool flashy power scenes but nothing to their personality, and we never see them in another movie. It is just the cool mutant power of the week. Yes, Ratner was worse at this, but Singer is the one who CONSTANTLY goes to this well. Even something cool like Quicksilver's “Time in a Bottle” scene was about the flash more than him serving an incredibly purpose to the story. It wasn't terrible the first time, but with Apocalypse, I can't be arsed with caring about Angel, Psylocke, or Jubilee because I am sure that, if Singer is allowed to stay, we won't see them again. This, all in all, leads to the main X-Men films growing stagnate. This is going to become more and more clear with Apocalypse.
So ...what do we do with him? Do we fire him? That isn't fair to the guy who has been nothing but dependable.
How do we make both sides happy?
You kill two birds with one stone. Remember, he is dependable and will, at least, make something that is quality. You do not want to throw that away because you want to move him on. No, you REWARD him with a new challenge, WHILE at the same time saving yourself from having to revert a certain franchise back to Marvel. The fact is that Singer did his job perfectly in that the X-Men films are back on track. Now, Fox needs someone like him to do that again for four certain characters. They cannot take chances anymore; they need someone who they can rely upon. Therefore, Singer moves on from the X-franchise before it gets predictable and thus gets hard to work at giving us the first good Fantastic Four film. Everyone (but people who want the FF rights to go back) wins; everything is fresh again. We will get to what happens to the X-films in a bit.
TIM MILLER TO X-FORCE
Yes, I know Cable and DeadPool is before this but I think this film should be addressed first. While I think the main X-Men series NEEDS a heavy-hitter at the helm (and I have the heaviest hitter that Fox is going to be able to get), he definitely deserves a promotion. With DeadPool 2 looking to be a buddy film, I think a switch up will work out just fine. Tim Miller gets to form X-Force which will include Cable. As said, if Reynolds wants in, he is in. Quite frankly, I think he is JUST going to be DeadPool for the rest of his career. And again, if he wants to work with the marketers for X-Force just like he did with his first outing, let him. I would also bring Nega-Sonic Teenage Warhead over to this. The character is great and I want to see more of her. I think Domino is a certainty for this team. Off the top of my head? Let's just say she is played by Michelle Rodriguez. Cannonball was in the concept art and will probably be played by an unknown. Then round it off with Warpath ...I guess they can re-cast if they want, but they could use the guy from DOFP if they want. That seems like a good core for the group. Villains? I think Bastion (Malcolm McDowell) and a human High Council of William Stryker, Bolivar Trask, and Cameron Hodge (I dunno ...Mathew Lillard is due for a comeback. SHRUGS) But yeah, Tim Miller gets X-Force.
CABLE AND DEADPOOL
Why move Tim Miller to X-Force and leave Cable and DeadPool to someone else? Because Ryan Reynolds is still producing. Again, after the marketing and Rob Liefeld (who seems like a really nice guy ...though I still do not like his art or stories) explaining JUST how hands on he has been with the whole project, I think they will choose the right person to follow it up. From what I understand, the script is being worked on from the writers of the original. Miller or no, I think that the sequel will be in good hands no matter what. Plus, I think this is going to be more of a buddy cop film than JUST a DeadPool movie. Remember, changing directors is sometimes a refreshing prospect. Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, Creed all had different directors. Now, who would I recruit for this film? In a perfect world, I would get Edgar Wright, but he isn't much of a sequel guy. I think the same can be said for his partner in crime, Joe Cornish. Honestly, if I were Fox, I would just ASK Robert Rodriguez and see what he says. Either way, I think we are in for a different experience for the second film, but with the right people still involved it will not lose the charm.
The big question is this: who will be playing Cable? Honestly, I ran down SO MANY names in my head and cannot come up with one person that is a SHOE IN for me. Steven Lang seems too on the nose. I though maybe Bruce Willis, but remembered that he phones his performances in nowadays. Then I thought Kurt Russel, but he is probably going to be traveling the galaxy with Star Lord soon. Actually … you know who might work if they get him to try to play it as straight as possible? Bruce Campbell MIGHT actually work for the role. I think he would be a kick ass choice and, for the first time, he will play a straight man to somebody. Also, you have to believe that he would have great chemistry with Reynolds. Yeah, Bruce Campbell is my choice. One thing I want to stress about the character though is this: we do not explain WHO Cable is. Yes, any comics fan knows, but I think it will be a nice little surprise in the eventual crossover with his parents
As far as the villain this time around? I think we need to go a bit more major than Ajax. Seeing that we are going to begin to plant the seeds to a major revelation about Cable's parentage, this is the perfect time for Mr. Sinister. Just as Ryan Reynolds knew he was born to play DeadPool, Bryan Cranston has been petitioning to be Sinister. I personally that has WIN written all over it and will clearly up the stakes from the first movie. Damn, now that I am talking about this theoretical movie, I want it now.
CONTINUED IN PART 2
Okay, there is SO MUCH more I have planned to address including the NEW X-Men trilogy, the big gun of a director who will be working on that trilogy, the decade the trilogy will take place in, the villains, and how I think New Mutants will play out. Join me in ...let's say two days where I will finish up these thoughts and concepts on where I think Fox should go from here with the X-movies. Until then, please feel free to thumb this up and leave a comment in the comment section.