Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Thursday, May 19, 2016
My X-Men Continuity Questions
In seven days I will be the theater watching Marvel's Mighty Mutants up on the big screen once again! As a life-long x-reader I am thrilled to see director Bryan Singer give me a another X-Men film to watch. But let's be real for a few minutes. The X-Men franchise hasn't been all rainbows and blockbusters. Some of them have sucked. X3 and the Wolverine origin film were the low points for the franchise and since then it has been on an upward slope. After re-watching X-Men and X2 the last few nights I realized they weren't phenomenal films either, but still good for their time.
Now we expect more out of our comic films. Better characters, better plots, and more drama. X-Men: Days of Future Past righted the wrongs of previous films and hopefully X-Men: Apocalypse will continue to satisfy x-lovers and general movie goers. But as I watched X2, I thought of a few things in regards to continuity. Sure the x-franchise has always been wishy-washy, but I'm hoping DoFP has set in motion a new precedent at 20th Century Fox. But while the future is a clean slate(post-1973) Singer and co. still have some cleaning up to do. Starting with answering these questions.
1. Is Jean's Phoenix persona still a multiple personality disorder?
At the end of X2 we saw Jean Grey sacrifice herself to save her friends. Then she rises from the ashes(or lake) to be named Phoenix. We learned that years ago Charles Xavier installed a series of fail-safes in Jean's mind to stop her from becoming so powerful she would hurt/kill everyone.
Now Singer has hinted at a redo of The Dark Phoenix Saga to possibly get it right(just look at the animated series for help Bryan). But does that mean Jean's Phoenix identity will be from space like the original source material, or is she still a Two-Face kind of nutball?
Yes, the future has not been written, but it's still the same reality rules right? Jean Grey is still a powerful mutant that has the potential to become THEE most powerful mutant. Will Xavier still install those safe guards in Jean's mind thus still creating the Phoenix? Or will the Phoenix be a space spirit that inhabits Jean's body? Or will Xavier just train her better in this new future?
2. Birth Dates
Again, as I watched X2 the other night I saw that Jubilee was one of the mutant kids captured by Stryker. But then in X-Men: Apocalypse she is about the same age as Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler. When Xavier stopped Mystique from killing Trask did this new future mess with the sexual relations of certain x-parents? As the years go by, will Iceman, Rogue, and Kitty, not be born till later? Or, will this new reality become a place where Bobby's parent's end up having him even sooner than in the previous reality, thus making him the same generation of X-Men as Jean and Scott, and not the next generation? My head is starting to hurt.
3. Leaping Decades
Since X-Men: First Class, the x-films(minus The Wolverine and Deadpool) have leaped ten years at a time. From 1962, to 1973, to 1983 in X-Men: Apocalypse. Meanwhile James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence have only aged 5 years (First Class was released in 2011). Now, I'm willing to forgive one trilogy with this flaw, but producer Simon Kinberg says the next x-film will leap another ten years into the 90's.
So Tye Sheridan and Sophie Turner (who are both turning 20 this year) may have to look like they're in their mid-30's within five years? I can't buy it again. Mystique is a shape-shifter so Lawrence can look however young she wants. McAvoy is shaving his head so he'll look different, and we were already starting to see the grey hairs on Fassbender in DoFP, but can Singer and Fox really keep this up?
I tweeted X-Men writer, Brian Michael Bendis, yesterday saying I feel like they should do an All-New X-Men approach. Take Sheridan and Turner into the future to see what they become. Then keep them there. It was great storytelling by Bendis, it would be something really different from what we've seen, and it solves your aging problem. I haven't seen Apocalypse yet, but I like the casting of Sheridan and Turner based off their previous bodies of work. I doubt I will want them re-cast for older versions within the new few years. Especially if it's only Scott and Jean that time travel! We may actually get the close and unique relationship those two are supposed to have that was horribly done in the first three films because film makers think Wolverine in the coolest X-Man. HE'S NOT!!! Sorry....I had to vent a little. It's just an idea. Bryan, call me.
4. Do Wolverine and Deadpool still know each other?
With the success of Deadpool we all know Fox is going to want to get him into an actual X-Men movie soon (probably why they're continuing the decade leaps between films), but I'm more curious about his past. Thanks to DoFP, the only three films that are reality in the X-Men films now are First Class, Days of Future Past, and Deadpool (and Apocalypse). So if X-Men Origins: Wolverine never took place, did Logan, Sabertooth, Deadpool, and the Blob still all work together for Stryker? Wade mentioned in his solo film he was a former bad ass for hire. Does that mean he knows Logan from way back when?
5. Give Us A New Wolverine Before the Next Film
The last X-Men: Apocalypse trailer let the cat out of the bag and showed us that we are indeed not getting an X-Men film without Wolverine. Well I don't know about you but I was worried for a sec (he said sarcastically). Hugh Jackman said his third solo Wolverine film will be his last go as Logan. And as much as I think Jackman was great as the Canuck with claws I say, "thank you for your service good sir," and "who's next?"
Obviously Fox is already looking for an actor to replace Jackman as the face of their X-Men films. Because a fifty-year old Hugh Jackman trying to get with a twenty-year old Sophie Turner would just be creepy. I honesty have no idea who could replace Jackman as a young Logan, but let's get a taste of him first. Rumors have it the new Han Solo will make a cameo in Rogue One before his own solo film. And most are saying the best way for Harrison Ford to pass the Indiana Jones torch is to have a flashback with the new actor. I like that idea.
If this new Wolverine film is indeed based off of the superb Old Man Logan story line then they should have the flashback scene from the book in the movie....and have the new Wolverine play that part. Again, it would be a way for the audience to get used to the new actor before he steps into the lime-light and becomes the star of the franchise. Whata ya think, bub?
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)