After the massive success of X-Men: Days of Future Past this past summer, it’s no surprise that 20th Century Fox is already looking for ways to capitalize on one of its most profitable franchises. However, new reports have surfaced that one way they intend to take advantage of X-Men’s rekindled popularity is going a potential small-screen take on the mutant-inhabited world.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox has lined up 24 executive producers Evan Katz and Manny Coto to showrun a live action X-Men TV series based on a script that will be written by Star Trek 3 writers Patrick McKay and JD Payne. It did seem like it was only a matter of time until this happened. Speaking with Collider, X-Men Days of Future Past writer Simon Kinberg said, “”We’re still in this place of figuring out what the future of the franchise will be, but when you look at S.H.I.E.L.D. to some extent and what Marvel is doing now with Daredevil and other shows on Netflix, it makes sense to tell some of these stories in TV.””
However, there’s a wrinkle in those reported plans: Marvel. And, you know, the presumably mammoth special effects budget, but mainly Marvel.
While 20th Century Fox controls the film rights to the X-Men series, Marvel retains control over any iterations outside of the big screen – including television. This means that any live-action series would have to be approved by the House of Ideas before anything can move forward. That said, TV Insider, who first broke the story, claims the talks are going well and a deal could very well happen.
Should things move forward, there’s no word from either outlet as to when exactly the series would be put into production. However, there are two distinct possibilities that could occur:
1) Like Marvel did with Agent Carter, the series could bypass pilot season and go straight to series with a mid-season debut in 2016.
2) Fox could take a pass on 2015/2016 TV season with a potential series and push development into the 2016/2017 season.
We do want to urge you not get your hopes up over the possibility of X-Men joining the MCU over this. Like Sony and Spider-Man, there’s no way Fox is going to give up their rights without a fight. However, Marvel (though not Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios) is going to have some leveraging power now. If Fox wants to expand their film universe in television just like Marvel did through Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. then they might have to play ball in ways they weren’t expecting. But come on — how badass would a X-Men series based on Wolverine and the X-Men be? Or even X-Factor?
Are you up for an X-Men TV series? Let us know in the comments below.
I could see them doing X-ray to or possibly New Mutants showing how the school actually trains younger students before going into the field. Both would allow for cameos from the big screen team.
X-Factor* stupid auto correct
I’m sure most of us remember the Generation X TV movie. I’m not sure how many of those who remember were all that impressed, but at the time I was excited to see a live action X-series on TV, having grown up with the cartoons (I’m pretty sure I still have it on tape somewhere).
There’s so much room to play in the Marvel Universe that I’d almost prefer staying out of the X-Men sandbox and moving to, as mentioned in other comments, New Mutants, X-Force, X-Factor, or any of the other X-families of mutants. I haven’t really followed AoS all that much, but I always felt it fell down in that you knew there was a bigger universe just outside of it. I’m afraid the same would happen with a direct X-Men TV show. Without any of the big name characters showing up, it would feel incomplete. But taking a new set of stars and exploring a new group of mutants allows for keeping the X-Men universe at arms length without leaving the series feeling like something big is missing.
No thanks.
this could be very advantageous to Marvel.allowing Fox television rights with the stipulation that Marvel could introduce other mutants who are not primary X-Men characters. there are mutants in other books or even the introduction of new mutants to AOS.but mainly i’d like to see some of the “other” x mutants on the Fox show. Dazzler, the New Mutants,X Force keep the X Men on the big screen and use the others on the small screen with tie ins like AOS and the MCU.