My Hopes For The X-Men In The MCU
Today, news came out that Fox is pushing two of its X-Men movies back to next year. X-Men: Dark Phoenix is being pushed to February 2019 and The New Mutants is being pushed a second time to August 2019 (it was originally suppose to come out next month!). There is some speculation it has to do with the impending sale of Fox to Disney.
I wonder what Disney would do with these films? Even Deadpool. Would they just try to fit these characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe or will there be a Spider-Man style reboot. Personally, I am hoping for a reboot as to not try to fit a square peg into a round hole, but I also think it would be a shame to shelve these projects entirely. At least The New Mutants which I was looking forward to for it's horror type theming.
With Deadpool, I think they should find a way to retrofit since the first film (and, hopefully, the second) is well done and Ryan Reynolds is as iconic as Deadpool as any of the MCU stars are of their characters. Given it's R-rating, its solo films could be in a pocket of MCU with the R-rated brand Disney will hopefully allow while still being connected in the overall universe.
The X-Men, though, I feel needs a fresh reboot. I know it has already had a reboot, but I think it fell into the trap the original X-Men trilogy fell into and that it put the cart before the horse. Each time, it wants to jump to the Phoenix Saga which, for my non-Marvel or casual Marvel readers, is the most iconic X-Men story. It involves telepathic Jean Grey, one of the original X-Men, becoming possessed by an all powerful alien making her a destructive force that threatened the Earth. It's a great story, but it's a story that needs a lot of lead up like the Infinity War. I don't feel we know Jean Grey in this current inception enough to care. They made the same mistake The Age of Apocalypse, another iconic story they told way too early.
I would love if Marvel Studios brought the X-Men back to the basics and make them all teenagers again like they did with Spider-Man. When the X-Men first came out, they were a bunch of teenagers going to Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters learning to deal with being mutants in a world that hates them. And, at the time, the only students were Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey (Marvel Girl), Bobby Drake (Iceman), Warren Worthington III (Angel) and Hank McCoy (Beast). Let's leave things like the Phoenix Force and Apocalypse until later.
Perhaps the first several years only features the one team, the original team, and then more members are introduced. I also don't want a whole slate of X-Men films to take over the MCU. I know people will want other characters like Storm and Colossus and Kitty Pryde who have become so important in the X-Men universe. But I would love to just see the original in its purest form first.
One of the best things that could have ever have happened to Marvel Studios was that it did NOT have the film rights to the X-Men at first because it allowed them to explore other characters not as well known to the general public. Even James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, didn't know if Guardians would have been made if Marvel Studios had the rights to the X-Men. Can you imagine a world without Groot? I perish to think. LOL.
I know that the X-Men is, perhaps, the most popular Marvel franchise in terms of the comics, so I can't blame Marvel if it wanted to get in here an mine it. I hope, though, it doesn't stifle the introduction of the multitude of other characters who've still not come to the MCU.
That said, I am very excited about the X-Men coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler are two of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe. Given the amazing decade of films Marvel Studios has offered us, I'm confident in whatever plan they come up with once they're given the green light.