Caffeinated Clint
For a while there, there was only one man deemed worthy enough to make a decent “X-Men” movie. But then “X-Men : Apocalypse” happened and it was immediately evident that Bryan Singer had let the flame burn down to the end of the match. Unfortunately, it was the audience that was burnt by Singer’s most recent “X-Men” instalment though.
Per THR, Fox are reportedly rejigging the entire “X-Men” franchise – not in response to the quality of the film but rather than lack of money it made at the box office. “Apocalypse” reportedly made $200 million less than it’s predecessor, the equally-bleak but more entertaining (Singer directed) “X-Men : Days of Future Past”.
Convinced the only way to guarantee better runs on future “X-Men” movies, Fox is looking for someone else to steer the next film – with franchise vet Simon Kinberg, remaining onboard as writer/producer, the only fixture from the old guard to remain.
Reading between the lines, it would seem Singer – who has now moved onto directing “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and a Freddie Mercury biopic – fancied doing a straight sequel to “Apocalypse”. Fox, referencing those lackluster returns, nixed that idea. Instead, they seem to want to do something new – though connected to the previous movies. They call that a “soft reboot”. Considering the success the studio had with “Deadpool”, it’s likely they’ll go the same route with “X-Men” and make a harder, more adult-skewed outing next. Heck, the fact that Fox are already planning to incorporate the ‘X-Force’ into a future “Deadpool” movie suggests the studio are definitely leaning towards mixing the “D” and “X” universes.
Still, that doesn’t mean Fox will reboot the series from scratch – in fact, Kinberg is writing the script with the expectation that Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Michael Fassbender (Magneto) and James McAvoy (Charles Xavier) will all return. It’s going to be up to the actors though, since their contracts expired with “Apocalypse”. Personally, I’d think Lawrence might be smarter to move on from here, she’s served her time in franchises for long enough, and let’s admit it, she doesn’t need the work. Same could possibly be said for Fassbender and McAvoy, who aren’t shy of employment outside of the series either. And let’s remember, Hugh Jackman has now officially retired as Wolverine – so if they want to have the hairball involved in the next flick, they’ll have to recast. In short : there’s a good chance the new “X-Men” could go the way of “Spider-Man : Homecoming” and bring in some fresh faces to lead the characters into the future.
In addition to a third “Deadpool” movie that will, as noted above, incorporate the ‘X-Force’, Fox is also working on a “New Mutants” movie with Josh Boone (“The Fault in Our Stars”) at the helm. That one could go first, with production rumoured to begin as early as Spring 2017.
I think it’s a wise idea to let the traditional “X-Men” movie series rest for a while, and see if there’s any potential in the offshoot projects. Like Singer, the audience is also suffering a bit of franchise burnout here, and it’s going to take a little more than some WD40 to get the marks off the cinematic driveway. Time is the franchise’s great weapon.
