X-Men: 9 Things That Must Happen In The Next Film
1. Bryan Singer Needs To Step Away From Directing (Again)
Bryan Singer has done a lot of great things for the X-Men franchise. He directed X-Men and X2, establishing and popularising the series. Not only that, but he also managed to integrate the classic cast with the prequel cast, fixing some dodgy elements of the original timeline while telling a compelling time travel narrative.
Compared to Days Of Future Past, it's easy to see where Singer begins to fall down. The plot is overblown and extremely convoluted, and while it just about gets away with it in Future Past, it collapses under the weight of itself in Apocalypse, more concerned with huge, impressive set pieces and a winding narrative than continually exploring the characters in new and interesting ways.
On top of that, X-Men: Apocalypse completely ignores the fact that we see Mystique rescuing Wolverine at the close of Future Past, disguised as Stryker. Instead, Wolverine is seen in Stryker's possession in Apocalypse regardless. So what happened? Did Singer forget that wasn't really Stryker at the end? It's just another symptom of Singer caring more about making the story "surprising" in the moment than considering the long term implications - the same happens in Apocalypse as millions of people round the world are wiped out with little rumination on the consequences.
For the last two films Singer has been interested in telling massive, complex and destruction-laden stories. Giving Vaughn a chance to direct seriously revitalised the franchise, so why not let someone else have a chance again? (just don't pick Brett Ratner).
How do you think the X-Men should change going forward? Share your own thoughts down in the comments.