Whatc'ya do with the x-men franchise?
Basically let's not skate around this now Fox has screwed the pooch a little with the X-men. Made money sure but produced one decent X-men flick and two passably enjoyable ones. The third of which left it in such a way there's not many places to really go so they hit the prequel button and cut the pretense and released X-men Origins: Wolverine which well...it's made it's own canon time-line even more murky. I should warn you now there's no scoops, quotes, news here just my idle-thoughts on the matter.
We've heard what they are doing. Origin pictures are the flavour of preference currently, Wolvie 2, Deadpool, Magneto, Gambit and First Class have all been proposed. What about sequels rather than prequels? Well they can't because half the characters are dead or powerless or both. Prequels come with baggage and are ultimately sour tasting when they fail to sync up to the originals as Wolverine has already proven, also the arbitrary mutant-cameo's in that particular film rather than be easter-eggery goodness just make it all more frustrating (along with the adamantium bullet-sized plot holes), now we can't have Gambit in an X-men 4 without him being rather elderly, the blob won't join the brotherhood and Sabertooth at some point has a body and mind change.
So Wolverine 2, what do we know? Well the first made enough money for it to be inevitable. We know there aren't "plans" as yet to include Sabretooth despite it's necessity if we're to explain how he becomes Tyler Mane and vaguely retarded. We know it centers on Frank Millers Japanese story, we'll get many of those story beats. They ruined the Weapon X story in Origins for me personally, could have played that much better if a by-the-numbers brainless action-er wasn't the sole agenda but i should think a sequel would be better. They have a single story to stick to or leap from, they need not explain his powers or introduce ridiculous plot-holes to ensure he has his steel-claws AND his memory, then coming up with a ridiculous way for him to lose his memory that makes no sense. He's already Wolverine, he's got amnesia, all thats left is to tell a story with him that we believe could plausibly lead him to the x-men down the road.
The gambit spin-off? Simply isn't going to happen. He's one of my favourite x-men but i don't think it would sell, in a perfect world maybe but less is more and is want him in an x-men ensemble-piece. Taylor Kitsch won't carry a flick.
So if Gambit would fail why would Deadpool succeed? Several reasons the most important of which to the studio is there is already a name attached. An A list name who should be hot property after Green Lantern, who has invested interest in doing this flick. Barackapool be damned, this will be a reboot of course. So presumably wouldn't be canon with the x-franchise like the others would be so perhaps a good sign? Realizing they have more than just the Wolverine name to sell and they've largely screwed everyone else. For me, they can keep barackpool in the canon if i get an off-canon, more faithful Deadpool flick.
Magneto? I find this situation akin to the Terminator franchise. Bear with me here, it is a stretch but it should get my point across. T2 is a great film, one of the most memorable scenes? The shots of the future war, the opening shot of that metal foot standing on a skull. Everyone from then on wanted to see this war, years later we get Terminator Salvation. See what i'm saying.
Sure the Magneto-origin scene in x-men was cool, its an intriguing origin, there's a story there which leaves a lot to the imagination, which i always liked about Magneto and informs me who he is and makes him sympathetic but i can't see him carrying his own flick, i can't see someone executing it well and i can't see people pouring into their cinemas. I love Sir Ian as much as the next guy but i wouldn't buy a CGI youthanised Magneto for an entire film.
So then there's X-men First class, which sounds like a gimmick-ridden stamp frankly. Could this work in its own established canon? Yes it can actually. As long as it's not too One Tree Hill with powers and we get decent, younger actors. Line up? Cyclops, Storm, Jean Gray i imagine would be certain and Beast is easily written in there. Angel/Iceman? No cigar. They've Ruined that one. Gambit? Possibly. I don't approximately know the timeline between Wolverine and X-men 1 but as long as it's a realistic time-frame so he'd still look as young as Taylor Kitsch then I'd buy that. Syncs up the flicks. Who would/could they face? Magneto? Have to skate around the x-men 1 script to avoid contradictions. Mister Sinister i would elect personally, the perk of this script is they can make it out its at the time Mutants are first being "discovered" and publics initial reaction. Just a thought combine this with Magneto's origin? Can't we have both in one film...it CAN be done.
I cry reboot. Fine have your Wolverine 2, we're getting Deadpool that's cool but i want an X-men reboot. Ideally with Wolverine only not front-center but Fox wouldn't reboot for a period of time then would probably only want Jackman again. I want a cyclops whose strong and takes charge. I want an Iceman who doesn't look like Jimmy from Smallville, i want a rouge whose you know kind of cool, a beast part of the team, Gambit's would be cool, I want these character alive and interacting and being a team, protecting the people who hate them from whatever scourge there happens to be Magneto's brotherhood, Mister Sinister, Apocalypse. Or better yet all that eventually and possibly after establishing the world and us getting a uber-cool Sentinel story which can involve Magneto and the Brotherhood who are inciting the humans and forcing them into over reactionary decisions such as Sentinels out of fear, x-men intervene, you get what I'm saying. An X-men story, which establishes their world lets their stories be told over however many possible films and live on in our minds. Not a Wolverine story, not a contradictory story and no killing people arbitrarily, deaths will be seldom and significant like they always should be in such films.
Like i said, no news there, not even particular insight. My thoughts at this time though but i shall see all the proposed projects if and when they happen at the cinema as i know you all will. I'll get another good X-men film one day i know that, once they've stopped milking Hugh Jackman...now picture that.
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Scottymagic
9/21/2009
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