Way back in 2000, the very first X-Men film by director Bryan Singer helped pave the way for the modern comic book movies and even the rise of the MCU. But Logan is going to mark the end of Hugh Jackman‘s 17-year run as Wolverine, and it may also mean big changes for the franchise. That’s right, the long-rumored X-Men cinematic reboot could finally be upon us. Today’s Nerdist News is firing up Cerebro and hunting down the details!
The latest rumors out of Fox first appeared in The Hollywood Reporter, which indicated Singer will not be returning for the next X-Men film. It’s also an open question as to whether Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Nicholas Hoult will return to the franchise, since their contracts are up. The report indicates that Fox is “optimistically” preparing the next script with all four performers in mind, which actually suggests the next movie will likely be a soft reboot at best. But if the cast won’t return, then could there be an opportunity to do a full reset? But the biggest question of all? Whether fans will accept a reboot so soon after X-Men: Apocalypse.
Complicating matters is the fact that the Gambit movie just can’t seem to get off the ground—even with Channing Tatum signed to play the title character. Director Doug Liman abandoned Gambit to work on Justice League Dark, and there’s no indication when the ragin’ cajun will hit the big screen. Fox still appears to be optimistic that Gambit could begin filming in the next year, but it still needs another new director and Tatum’s been pretty busy with his other roles as well.
Even Deadpool 2 hasn’t immune to behind-the-scenes turmoil. The first Deadpool was a true blockbuster hit, but director Tim Miller pulled out of the sequel recently over creative differences with star Ryan Reynolds. Now there’s talk that Deadpool 3 might actually replace the X-Force movie that’s been in development for years. As much as we want to see X-Force on the big screen, we think a better way to approach that would be to introduce Cable and Domino in Deadpool 2 before spinning them out into their own X-Force movie. Fox hasn’t quite figured out how to integrate Deadpool into the rest of the X-Men film universe without losing the tone of both sides of the equation. But an X-Force film could bridge that gap, possibly while featuring the Merc with a Mouth in a smaller role. But that’s just our take.
Right now, it looks like Fox’s best hope of reinvigorating the non-Deadpool X-Men movies is The New Mutants, which actually has some momentum and Josh Boone set to direct. THR‘s report indicates that New Mutants could actually begin filming soon, but we’ll know for sure when we see casting begin. We still think that Maisie Williams and Anya Taylor-Joy would be great choices to play Wolfsbane and Magik, even though the previous rumors of their casting were denied by Fox.
What do you want to see from the X-Men films after Logan hits theaters? Pop your claws and let’s discuss in the comment section below!
