Some people wondered if X-Men: Days of Future Past might have been a film that could reboot the X-Men franchise. While the movie definitely cleaned up some continuity issues and questionable deaths, it’s clear the studio wasn’t interested in rebooting the franchise at that point. Now, with the major X-Men actors finishing up their contractual obligations, it appears Fox might be interested in using X-Men: Apocalypse as the film that ushers in the new era of the X-Men.
“This is the true birth of the X-Men. This is how it happens.” ~ Bryan Singer
According to an interview with EW, director Bryan Singer says, “This is kind of a conclusion of six X-Men films, yet a potential rebirth of younger, newer characters. This is the true birth of the X-Men. This is how it happens.”
With the introductions of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), and Storm (Alexandra Shipp), they are definitely banking on this new cast of characters to take over the franchise from the heavy hitters who have been carrying the last two films.
The big question that remains is with the timeline. X-Men: First Class took place in the mid-60s. Days of Future Past was in the 70s, and now Apocalypse is in 1983. Does that mean the “birth of the X-Men” takes place in the early 80s? Are we stuck with a stream of X-Men movies in the 80s, or will there be some sort of time-shift that takes these characters into modern times or perhaps ’90s era X-Men comics? For me, this is the big question. While it’s fun to make these period films, the novelty is starting to wear thin.
I’m excited to see Apocalypse because I feel this is the first chance Singer has had to make a huge, epic X-Men film. I hope these new characters steal the show, and the foundation is set for a series of fresh X-Men films free of unnecessary continuity and baggage.
We’ll see what Singer has up his sleeve when X-Men: Apocalypse is released May 27, 2016.
