Great news for comic book fans today. Bryan Singer has told reporters that he is in talks to return to Fox and make another X-Men film. Let’s face it, that’s welcome news to a fan base that didn’t want their last memory of Marvel’s super team to be one placed there by Brett Ratner and a dude saying, “I’m the Juggernaut, Bitch!”
So what should they concentrate on if the series returns?
Well, its fairly apparent that they have beaten the Magneto storylines to death, not to mention Ian McKellen isn’t getting any younger either. That being said, its time to inject something fresh into the series and perhaps return it to its comic roots and adapt an already written storyline.
Here are the top five I’d love to see hit the big screen:
5.) Age Of Apocalypse
Quite simply, this huge crossover created the question, “what would happen if Charles Xavier never passed his dream of mutant equality along.” After a tragic accident where the mutant Legion tries to change the past by killing Magneto, but accidentally killing Xavier instead, a new timeline is born, one in which the mutant Apocalypse is born.
The great thing about making this a movie is that it allows the characters to be rebooted along with the movie franchise. Characters change roles, from heroes to villians and vice-versa. There’s also a very likely possibility that it could be stretched into multiple volumes, as it pulls from such a huge collection.
4.) Mutant Massacre
All comic book movies thrive when turned over to darker material, just look at The Dark Knight for an example. They don’t get much darker than the mutant massacre, which tells the tale of a band of mutants called the Marauders who are trying to wipe the Earth of the Morlocks, and any other mutants who stand in their way.
This would be a great installment, as many of the main players were already introduced, the Morlocks, Angel, Colossus, Kitty Pryde, etc. You also get a teaser of an appearance from Thor, who Marvel is already developing a movie around. You also get appearances from Apocalypse and Mister Sinister, two villians who could easily carry their own storyline, and who also appear heavily in the Age of Apocalypse above.
3.) Onslaught
Another great crossover that spanned the entire Marvel Universe. Onslaught is the story of Professor Xavier going completely nuts after accidentally taking some of Magneto’s personality into himself. Deciding to create a world where mutants rule, Onslaught changes his mind and tries to destroy both after deeming neither worthy.
This was series finally made Xavier interesting beyond his ideology, but in reality, it presents problems from a film makers perspective. First off, Ratner killed off Xavier in the last installment. Secondly, it requires a lot of ground laying that frankly would need to be done in another film or two first. So while it would be fun, it just isn’t going to be possible.
2.) X-Cutioner’s Song
How about a storyline that introduces one of the most well liked characters that hasn’t been used in Cable, has an evil doppleganger, and also unleashes a incredibly horrible disease upon mutants that adds more contempt and fear to their race. Yup, this is that story.
X-Cutioner’s song played so hard on the future and past of the X-men, that it was the perfect ode to fandom and continuity, and adapting it to the big screen would be a huge lift. It also would implement new blood in X-Force characters, allow Bishop and Gambit into the storyline films, and provide more fuel for future fires.
1.) Days of Futures Past
This is perhaps one of the heaviest stories told in the X-Men arcs. Everything that the series built itself up to, the coexistence of humans and mutants, gets answered in a storyline that sees humanity’s fear of mutants finally winning out, with Sentinels keeping those left imprisoned in interment camps. The only exception to that is Wolverine and Kitty Pryde, who are all that is left of the X-Men.
Speaking of not getting younger, Hugh Jackman may have seen his last X-Men film, unless this storyline is adapted. An older, wiser, yet still surviving Wolverine is pivotal to this story, but it is Kitty that proves to be the lynchpin. Easily one of the biggest thinker stories that the X-Men ever took part in, and aside from the Dark Phoenix Saga, the best work done by John Byrne.
So which stories would you like to see adapted. Feel free to jump in and let your suggestions fly.
