What X-Men: Days of Future Past Film Could Mean For The Franchise
The Story
And what of the film's plot? Given that only the core parts of the graphic novel will be used, how will it be implemented in the film? Will the assassination be Magneto's next step in his quest for retribution after the Cuban Missle Crisis and subsequent attempt by the Russian and American government to kill all the Mutants? Or will it be the first part of his master plan for Homo Superior to replace Homo Sapien as the dominant species? Will it be Magneto to pull the trigger? Or Mystique under his orders as she continues to fall in love with him? Will the would be assassin be a new character, and would they be part of the Brotherhood? Or would this see Xavier and Magneto and their teams reunite against a common foe like we saw it X2?
Whatever the case, the more important part is the implementing of alternative timelines and time travel. Up until now, the X-Men films have been for the most part CGI driven action movies. Some of them may have had grand statements regarding humanity and being an societal outcast, but you always knew you were going to get innovative fight sequences and so far they have yet to disappoint in that department. By introducing these more sci-fi elements, Shuler Donner and co run the risk of alienating their already existing audience. Whereas so far the franchise has been known for its moral statements and fights, the introduction of story devices more closely associated with Doctor Who might turn off a large part of the film's target audience, namely the pre-established fans of the franchise. This, combined with the possible introduction that the vast majority of previous films happened in a different universe (like for example the J.J Abrams' reboot of Star Trek did) and therefore are no longer significant, might confuse and even anger audiences. Indeed, they might feel that the X-Men franchise as a whole has become too convoluted to be worth following anymore. However, if there is one man who could make this work, it's John Dykstra. Responsible for the special effects of First Class, Dykstra often doubled as the second unit director due to the film's short schedule and appeared to be just as vital a part in the making of the film as Signer and Vaughan were. A major part of the effects team on the original Star Wars, as well as having worked on the effects for Batman Forever, Batman & Robin and the first two Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man films, Dysktra has established himself as a groundbreaking special affects artist and is probably the best suited of the First Class production crew to find a way to present such a potentially manic story in an easy to follow way.
John Dykstra in action
In spite of the risk, this could be the beginning of establishing the X-Men franchise as part of a much larger, though still self contained cinematic universe. By establishing the idea of mulitple continuities and timelines, this presents far more story possibilities and potential for films in the franchise being different genres, such as horror or noir. It also opens the door to spin offs and alternative stories without fear of messing up any previously established stories. With the huge success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it should come as no surprise that Fox will fight to hold on to the Marvel licenses they still own, as evidenced by the upcoming reboots of both The Fantastic Four and Daredevil in order to prevent the licenses being reverted to Marvel Studios. Sony have, of course, just done a similar thing with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man. So by expanding the X-Men cinematic universe on its own, this could potential position the franchise on a par with the Avengers universe while being completely separate, much like the X-Men comics have been in the Marvel comic universe for a number of years. This is extremely smart strategy for both Shuler Donner and Fox, capitalising on Marvel's success while continuing to retain the rights they own. Is it what hardcore audiences truly want? Of course not, both comic and non comic fans alike long for the day we see an Avengers team containing both Spider-Man and Wolverine, but the reality is as long as the X-Men films make a profit, Fox will fight tooth and nail to keep them. Click "next" below for the final part...