10 Predictions For The X-Men Film Universe

The crystal ball says: more Wolverine.

Everybody and their mums is clamouring for a shared cinematic universe these days. They're like the new epic trilogies. Just this week there have been reports that the Star Trek movies might spill over from the main series into a bunch of spin-offs, Sony are apparently bidding on a similar set up for a smattering of Robin Hood films (who owns the rights to Robin Hood, anyway? Were they stolen from the poor and given to the rich?), and Disney are making good on their Star Wars investment not only be producing a new trio of films but also a bunch of side-stories and TV shows that will make up a new Expanded Universe. Thanks to the unprecedented success Marvel have had with translating their epic comic book continuity to the big screen, every studio wants a slice of that same lucrative pie. The thing is, Marvel can't quite get the exact same set-up on screen as they do on the page. That's because back in the day they sold a licensed a load of their characters to other studios, and those studios will be damned if they're giving up those potential cash cows any time soon. Hence Sony are also eyeing spin-off Spider-Man films starring the wall crawler's myriad villains, and the latest word on the grapevine is that Fox might be doing the same with the X-Men franchise. Supposedly killed off with the critically reviled (but commercial smash hit) Last Stand, the cinematic adventures of the merry band of mutants have gone through something of a revival the past couple of years, thanks to the refreshing First Class and the rebooting Days Of Future Past (the latter, tellingly, helmed by returning X-Men and X2 director Bryan Singer after the Superman thing didn't really work out). The Spidey plan seems doomed to failure at Sony, but Fox are actually in pretty good stead when it comes to the X-Men: the comic books are famously overstuffed with a ludicrously big ensemble cast, and the main series has been party to countless spin-offs and ancillary titles. They're not short on source material. Thing is, where will they begin? And how will they make it all work with the new continuity set up by Days Of Future Past, which hit the reboot button rather decisively? All good questions. So let us stare into the crystal ball and consider ten predictions for the X-Men cinematic universe.
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Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/