7. The Wolverine
The Release Date: July 26th, 2013
What Its Got Going For It: Coming off the back of a more-than-successful reboot of a fledging franchise, The Wolverine at least carries the appeal of First Class after Hugh Jackmans humorous cameo in the Cold War prequel. On top of that, Jackman remains one of the key hallmark finds of the X-Men movie series, having essentially engineered its inception back in 2000 and since then having been the central protagonist of the main trilogy. His presence in this sequel to 2009s Origins: Wolverine will not go unnoticed by either continuity-craving fans or, shall we say, the female demographic of cinema viewers.
Why Its Already Doomed: How well do you remember X-Men Origins? Feel no shame if the answer is Not very, to be honest, because its safe to say that many of us have tried to discard the memories of that atrocious prologue ever since it first clawed its way onto the big screen, though for some the bitter taste left may still yet be present in their mouths. As such, the thought of a spiritual sequel of sorts is just about as appealing as another Step Up film- oh, and just look whats arrived in cinemas- for myself and many other fans, which begs the question as to whether The Wolverine can ever truly hope to succeed. With very few well-established names layering the cast, either- perhaps Hollywoods finest knew it would be a good idea to distance themselves from the project- theres little chance that beyond Jackman film-goers are going to be itching to see this new roster of actors and actresses in action. Gone are the likes of Patrick Stewart and Halle Berry, replaced by Japanese stars no doubt virtually stereotyped into the roles of the dull Wolverine comic-book arc faster than you can say Konichiwa. Oh yes, its important not to forget that the original arc this spin-off is adapted from was mediocre at best, which doesnt exactly leave the strongest of foundations for the piece, instead rendering it virtually defenceless to an onslaught of apathy as big Summer blockbusters like Man Of Steel, The Great Gatsby and Despicable Me 2 rain dominant both here in the UK and indeed in the States. If things dont go according to plan, 20th Century Fox may start to wish once again that theyd left this section of the franchise in X-ile.