Another fantastic film from Fox’s former frontline is coming to Disney Plus. X2 will be available to stream on the service from October 9th, filling one of the few remaining lacunas in their superhero library. The movie has endured in fans’ eyes as a high point of the franchise, even after years upon years of sequels, spinoffs, reboots and everything in between.
Featuring the original (and looking back at it now, pretty stunning) triumvirate of Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, X2 brought its heroes into conflict with William Stryker, a virulent anti-mutant scientist who plots to use Cerebro to wipe out all mutants instantaneously.
I doubt audiences back then could’ve envisaged the sprawl this series would undertake in a film landscape transformed by cinematic universes. That’s not been a bad thing, though. After all, some of the franchise’s greatest successes have come as a result of its expansion. Logan and Deadpool were both experimental spinoffs afforded blockbuster treatment, and both did extremely well. Not every outing has been as successful, of course, but every series has its ups and downs.
With Disney now the proprietors, who knows which direction they’ll take their new panoply of characters in. It’ll probably be a while, though, before we find out their plans given that the competition with their rival superhero franchises is enormous, and there’s a pandemic on. They haven’t even recast Wolverine yet.
Anyway, that’s their problem now – not that it was ever ours, much as we wish it were. If you’re thinking of checking out X2 on Disney Plus, leave a comment below. Alternatively, if you have any thoughts on the movie at all, leave a comment below. Or about anything X-Men related. There’s a pretty broad remit.
