X-Men: Days of Future Past is coming fast on the horizon. X-Men: Apocalypse is slated for 2016. The Wolverine sequel is clawing into theaters after that. Producers have started talking the possibilities of more X-Men solo spinoff movies including Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique.
The fuel to a Gambit movie fire are lit up again after the MTV Movie Awards. Channing Tatum told MTV he’s met with Producer Lauren Schuler Donner and again expressed his love for Remy Labeau, the mutant played by Taylor Kitsch in X-Men: Origins: Wolverine.
Which X-Men characters deserve a movie?
Gambit With Channing Tatum’s star power, Remy Lebeau could rise to the top of the deck. Remy is a Cajun thief from New Orleans with a shady past who joined the X-Men. A Gambit film could introduce the war between the Thieves and Assassins Guilds in the Marvel mutant underworld. In a criminal twist on Romeo and Juliet, a young Remy married Belladona, daughter of the Assassins Guild leader but the romance went wrong. Gambit was infamously kicked off the team for his past working for Mister Sinister. Remy used his underworld connections to recruit mutant mercenaries (including Sabretooth and Riptide – seen in X-Men: First Class) into a team called the Marauders. Sinister then unleashed the kill squad on a group of misfit mutants called the Morlocks in the epic Mutant Massacre story. Gambit would later serve as a Horseman of Apocalypse. Remy’s solo comic book series have never taken off and I think the spicy Cajun rogue makes a great ingredient in an ensemble film instead of a solo adventure. Bryan Singer has said he’d like to maybe include Gambit in Apocalypse. That would be my vote.
Cable and X-Force With the X-Men facing the immortal mutant En Sabah Nur – it’s a natural way to introduce Cable – the son of Cyclops raised in a far future ruled by Apocalypse. Cable is literally a man out of time. Born in the present, raised in the future, returns to the present looking older than his dad and leading a covert team of pro-active soldiers who take the fight to enemies of mutants before they strike. Nathan could be joined by Domino – the probability altering mutant merc, Deadpool – nuff said. Sunspot and Warpath – soon to be seen in DOFP – were part of Cable’s original squad.
Mystique Producers suggested Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique is a possible spinoff film. The box office power of Lawrence can’t be denied but can producers turn the villainess into a leading lady? First Class showed Raven’s evolution from hero/victim to anti-hero and she’s pivotal to the plot of Days of Future Past.
In the comics, Mystique is the mother of Nightcrawler and has a human son with Sabretooth named Graydon Creed, who grew up to be a leader of the anti-mutant movement, Friends of Humanity. Raven is the foster mother of Rogue and often clashes with Gambit over Rogue. Mystique shared a great love with Irene Adler, the mutant precog named Destiny. Raven even worked for Professor X to infiltrate the U.S. government to uncover a conspiracy against mutants. If producers can find the right story Lawrence can carry the film but perhaps they should look into the many volumes of stories in which Wolverine and Raven loved, fought and killed and have Mystique in Logan’s next solo adventure. After seeing Jackman and Lawrence in the final DOFP trailer eager to see these two spar again.
Storm Leader. Goddess. Headmistress. Hero. After the Oscars fans started a social media rally to recast 12 Years a Slave star Lupita Nyong’o as the weather controlling mutant in future films. Personally I’d like to see the young Professor X (James McAvoy) meet and recruit the young mutant who would become his most devoted student and team leader in Apocalypse. Storm is currently headmistress of the Jean Grey School and leads a squad of all-female X-Men. How cool to see Storm lead a next generation of mutants (Idie, Quentin Quire, Anole, Bling) in a movie.
Cyclops The ultimate leader of the X-Men never got the spotlight he deserved. I thought James Marsden’s portrayal was perfect and I think producers could have made a different call other than killing him off too early in The Last Stand. Everyone always goes for the bad boy so Logan will always win the heart of fans in a contest on the big screen. In the comics Cyclops leads a revolutionary team and secret school after killing Professor X (he was under the influence of Phoenix) while his younger self (transported into the future) is now on an adventure in space with his father – a space pirate. Long story but trust us – it’s cool. After the time travel, changing destiny plot of Days of Future Past, I would like to see Scott Summers take a leading role in Apocalypse and maybe spin off into a solo book with a recast, reborn Jean Grey. Scott and the Professor have one of the greatest father/son relationships in comics. Scott is part of one of two of the greatest love triangles in comics (Logan in one, Emma Frost in another) and could be the center of the next chapters of X-Men movies.
X-Men: Days of Future Past arrives May 23, X-Men Apocalypse hits in 2016 and a sequel to The Wolverine arrives in 2017.
By Editor