I’m a big fan of the X-Men and I enjoyed what Bryan Singer did to craft their world on film in X-Men and X2: X-Men United. Sadly, after he left the series things quickly went downhill with Brett Ratner’s horrible follow up X-Men: The Last Stand, which not only killed off key players, but depowered others and the ones that were left were written so out of character that they might as well have been killed also. To make matters worse, Fox then brought us X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Not only the worst movie of the series, but one of the worse comic movies of all time. The only saving grace was that Hugh Jackman really is awesome in the role, and even in a awful movie he is still good. The movie didn’t even try to fit into continuity, and I don’t even want to get started about the ending and how they made Logan lose his memory. But finally there is a glimmer of hope…
Bryan Singer has returned to help guide the franchise as they pull back to the origin or Professor X and Magneto with X-Men: First Class, with Matthew Vaughn directing. The movie isn’t based on any storyline in particular from the comic’s long history, but is pulling in a bunch of characters we have yet to see including Sebastian Shaw, Havok, and my favorite character in recent years, Darwin. We’ll also finally be seeing the Hellfire Club, and will have a proper introduction to Emma Frost, perfectly cast with January Jones of Mad Men fame.
Now comes word that Singer and Vaughn are eager to keep making films in the X-Men universe and want to show mutants through time, working through the end of the 60s, the 70s and the 80s. That could be interesting, but I’m more keen on Singer returning to the present day X-Men and fixing what Ratner broke. Thankfully producer Lauren Shuler-Donner agrees with me and told Empire Magazine that she plans to produce X4 and X5, which follow Last Stand. Death is never final in the X-Men universe, so there are lots of ways to negate the wrongs of the third X-Men movie and get the series back on track. There is no lack of talent with the actors and now we have real talent behind the camera again, so I have faith that we might see the X films that we deserve. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.