close menu
Nerdist Special Reports

Here’s How the X-MEN TV Shows Will Connect to the Films

The X-Men universe is about to get a lot bigger. With Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse hitting theaters on May 27, 2016, Fox’s cinematic Marvel universe is beefing up its ranks with the likes of Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), and many more. But the sprawling superhero universe, which also includes the likes of Deadpool and Fantastic Four, is making its way to the small screen too, with Noah Hawley’s Legion and Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne’s Hellfire. Given the example the precedent that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has set, it’s only natural to wonder whether or not these two mediums could have a superheroic crossover in the future.

While speaking with me at a London press day for X-Men: Apocalypse, writer/producer Simon Kinberg shed some light on how exactly the film universe and the television universe will intersect:

“I think it will depend from show to show, to be totally honest. I think what we want is that all of the different things within the Fox Marvel Universe — or whatever you want to call it — that they acknowledge one another. So like Deadpool acknowledges the X-Men even though it’s totally different. Legion, which is the first TV show that we have, and Noah Hawley, who is a genius, who is the creator of the show and directed it and wrote it, it acknowledges the movies but it doesn’t necessarily take place and interact with the characters from the film. So we want them all to exist within the same world and feel like they’re part of the same tapestry, but they don’t necessarily need to be all telling the same story.”

After resetting the timeline in Days of Future Past, the X-Men franchise has something of a clean slate, so it makes sense that Kinberg and company would be hesitant about committing entirely one way or the other. Something tells me that it will be more akin to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where they are technically in the same continuity as their feature film counterparts, but seem to run parallel to one another rather than interacting directly.

X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters on May 27, 2016.

Would you like to see the X-Men TV and cinematic universe crossover? Or do you prefer the DC Extended Universe model? Let us know in the comments below.

Images: 20th Century Fox/Marvel


Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).

BATTLEFRONT IV Concept Art Imagines a Bizarro STAR WARS

BATTLEFRONT IV Concept Art Imagines a Bizarro STAR WARS

article
Thrilling Adventure Hour

Thrilling Adventure Hour : TAH Post-Show #3

podcast
Daniel Radcliffe's Penis Saves the Day in SWISS ARMY MAN Red Band Trailer

Daniel Radcliffe's Penis Saves the Day in SWISS ARMY MAN Red Band Trailer

article