Fox’s X-Men universe is really beginning to take off in a big way. Though Apocalypse may have been underwhelming, spinoffs Logan and Deadpool were huge success stories and not only is the franchise currently flourishing on the big screen, but the studio’s also starting to expand into television. Earlier this year, we got the phenomenal first season of Legion on FX while viewers are now eagerly anticipating the arrival of The Gifted in a few months. Suffice it to say, it’s a good time to be a fan of those mutants.
One thing that’s always been a point of contention in the X-Men franchise though is continuity. It’s no secret that the films have their fair share of plot holes and once those two aforementioned TV shows came into play, the question on everyone’s mind was how they would fit into the wider universe that Fox is building. Well, as it turns out, they don’t. At least, not really. Speaking to ComicBook.com at SDCC a few weeks back, producer Lauren Shuler Donner noted the following:
“[Legion is] a part of the X-Men universe, but obviously we’re our own Astral Plane, we’re our own world.”
Ditto for The Gifted, as she was asked by a fan during the show’s panel whether it was part of the shared universe and simply said: “I’m sorry to break your heart, but no. But thank you for wanting it.”
This echoes previous comments from the producer as well, who mentioned that the two TV shows won’t ever crossover with each other or with the films. In fact, Donner pointed to Days of Future Past as being the reason that all these different “streams” can exist simultaneously in the first place.
“One of the great favors that Days of Future Past did for all of us is establish that there are many streams. One answer is that we exist in one of those streams. This is its own universe, we don’t exist in the same timeline as any specific movie or comics. But there are shared characters. We’re doing our own thing, and, as I say, there are many streams.”
Admittedly, these comments aren’t terribly clear and we’re still not entirely sure how everything’s connected, but it certainly sounds like there won’t be any form of crossover between Legion and The Gifted, or between the shows and the films, which could be seen as a missed opportunity. Then again, Deadpool and Logan mostly broke free from the wider connections to the X-Men universe and they were all the better for it, so it can certainly be argued that placing everything on its own “stream” is for the best.
What do you think, though? Are you happy to hear that the shows won’t be connected to the movies? Or were you hoping for some form of crossover? Let us know in the usual place.
