It was a bit of a tough year for the X-Men franchise. Deadpool, the goofy R-rated spinoff that only happened because fans and Ryan Reynolds pulled for it, stunned everybody by grossing $760 million, but X-Men: Apocalypse ultimately delivered only two thirds of the box office of X-Men: Days Of Future Past. While it’s likely James Mangold and Hugh Jackman’s R-rated Logan will be a massive hit, it’s also the swan song for Jackman’s nearly two decades on the job. So what next?
Part of the problem for Fox is that the troubles run deeper than just X-Men fatigue. Gambit, Channing Tatum’s passion project, just can’t seem to get off the ground, and enthusiasm for the new crop of X-Men doesn’t seem terribly high. Furthermore, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence have all run out their contracts, and bringing them back is not going to be cheap, especially if Fassbender launches his own franchise in December with Assassin’s Creed.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Fox’s heroes, as Deadpool is turning into a major franchise and a potential new team, The New Mutants, is on the way. But for the main franchise? It’s reboot time:
Elsewhere, the reset button has been pressed. Sources say the flagship series will be reconfigured, with Simon Kinberg, overseer of the franchise as producer and writer, working on a new script. Singer, who directed four X-Men movies, will not be returning, according to insiders, but the script is being written with Lawrence, Fassbender and McAvoy optimistically in mind.
It seems unlikely Lawrence will be coming back. She’s one of the biggest actresses in Hollywood, and after the one-two punch of Mockingjay Part II and X-Men Apocalypse‘s box office performance, may not want to risk her career on another studio blockbuster gig. So a full reboot might be the best option, or even just have various X-Men pop up in the other movies. Considering how great Colossus’ bits were, who doesn’t want to see the Merc with a Mouth drive Cyclops up the wall?
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
