7 Great Spinoff Suggestions For The X-Men Franchise

Last week, 20th Century Fox finally released the first trailer for Deadpool (which you can watch above) to great fan acclaim. It looks like the film will be a winner not only for Ryan Reynolds, who has long been in search of a superhero franchise to call his own, but for Fox itself, which has long been looking for ways to do with X-Men what Marvel Studios has done with the Avengers. There's still a while to go though until Deadpool hits theatres, and only then will we know if Fox was successful. If they are though, will they push ahead with further X-Men spinoffs? Fans of the franchise surely know that there are hundreds of mutant characters and thousands of stories that can be told with them, and the X-Men films that we've seen so far has only scratched the surface. Here, there, are 7 ideas as to where Fox can, if they’re willing to, take the X-Men franchise next. 1) Marauders From the Comics: If Warner Bros. can have a whole movie dedicated to the super-villains of the Suicide Squad, then why not give a film to the murderous mutants of the Marauders? Brought together by the evil mutant Mr. Sinister for a mysterious purpose, the Marauders attacked the mutants living in the tunnels underneath New York and would later try to kill several key X-Men. For an added twist, Marauders seemingly killed in action are brought back from the dead for their very next mission. There’s probably so fun that can be had with that... Connection to the Film Series: Two Marauders have already appeared in the X-Men series of films. One is Sabretooth, Wolverine’s nemesis who was played by Tyler Mane in X-Men and Liev Schreiber in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The other is Riptide, who in X-Men: First Class is seen as one of Sebastian Shaw’s lackies in the Hellfire Club. In another bit of comic book trivia, it was revealed that Mr. Sinister used a broker to bring the Marauders together, and it was none other than Gambit, who will appear in his own solo movie next year and be played by Channing Tatum. Adaptation: A Marauders movie could go in many possible directions, like a straight up evil version of the X-Men where we see the bad guys be a scourge to mutantkind, or it can focus on Mr Sinister’s weirdo fascination with the Summers family, including Cyclops and Havok. Although Magneto and his Brotherhood have been frequent X-Men adversaries, their actions are somewhat sympathetic given humanity’s hatred of mutants, but the Marauders are just straight up evil, and making a movie about them could shed some light on the darker side of the mutant world that has yet to be seen on the big screen. 2) Generation X From the Comics: The Hellfire Club had its own school for gifted (read: mutant) youngsters, but many of them died and the rest fled into the world as fugitives. Ceasing the Massachusetts Academy, Professor X asks Banshee and the White Queen Emma Frost to assemble a new group of young mutants including Chamber, M, Husk, Skin, Penance and Jubilee, and train them at the new Xavier School near Boston. The name of the new team: Generation X. Connection to the Film Series: Both Banshee and Emma Frost were introduced in X-Men: First Class, the same movie that, coincidentally, also introduced the Hellfire Club. Jubilee, who was a junior member of the X-Men in the early 90s, will appear in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse as a member of the 80s team alongside Cyclops and Jean Grey. Adaptation: If Generation X were to be set in the modern day, then it’s somewhat unlikely that Banshee and Emma would lead the team, especially since X-Men: Days of Future Past implied that they were both killed by Boliver Trask. Perhaps the newly un-dead Cyclops and Jean Grey would enjoy a change in scenery, taking over the new school and becoming mentors to a new team of mutant heroes. Most members of Generation X have yet to appear in the film franchise, and there are also numerous other young mutants that have yet to get their 15 minutes on the big screen. Why is This Familiar? In 1996, Fox made a low-budget TV-movie version of Generation X that was meant to be a backdoor pilot for a full Generation X series. It featured Banshee and Frost along with Jubilee, M and Skin. Understandably, plans for the series were abandoned. 3) X-Factor From the Comics: Jamie Madrox, known as the superhero Multiple Man, opens a private detective agency dedicated to helping mutants in need of a little assistance that they can’t get from the police or other obvious agencies due to mutant bias. Uniquely equipped, Madrox can create duplicates of himself that can go anywhere, see everything, get clues, and learn new skills that can then be transferred to the original. Madrox is helped on cases by former teammates Guido “Strong Guy” Carosella and Rahne “Wolfsbane” Sinclair. Connection to the Film Series: The X-Men films are more or less about the big battles between mutant factions for the fate of the world, so wouldn’t it be interesting to explore the everyday street level concerns of your average mutant on the street? Astute fans will remember that Multiple Man appeared in the often criticized X-Men: The Last Stand, but this wouldn’t be the first time that the events of that movie have been retconned to suit better storytelling. Adaptation: Amongst the various plots of 50 years worth of X-Men comics is the government’s attempt to have their own mutant team, and Multiple Man, Strong Guy and Wolfsbane were part of one such effort. Some pretty powerful social commentary can be made there about how mutants might feel used, and how these mutants might feel like they’re being used as symbols for a government that really, actually, hates them. In the process, the filmmakers can focus on a smaller, character-driven movie that’s more film noir than action blockbuster, and use all the tools both thematic and narrative that have already been given through the previous X-films. Naturally, there could also be room for a cameo or two. 4) X-Force From the Comics: Originally the junior varsity version of the X-Men called the New Mutants, the team became X-Force when they were recruited by the mysterious mutant cyborg Cable. Cable, being from a horrible future where Apocalypse ruled the world, believes that if the X-teams are going to be successful in protecting humanity, then they have to be more militant and proactive in dealing with threats. Amongst Cable’s initial teammates are Cannonball, Boomer, Domino, Feral, Warpath and Shatterstar. Connection to the Film Series: There’s a small, but potent connection to X-Force already in play in the X-Men film series and that’s Deadpool. The so-called Merc with a Mouth made his first appearance in a New Mutants comic just before the book switched over to being X-Force, and over the years he’s been a frequent guest star, teaming up with Cable, and, at one point, actually joining the team. If Deadpool’s a success then it’s likely that other characters that share his history will be mined by Fox and pressed into service for more box office dollars. Adaptation: In the wake of a new threat from the Mutant Liberation Front, the mysterious Cable puts together a team of young mutants and trains them to be a more militaristic X-Men. Think of Cable as Clint Eastwood with a robotic eye and arm, a Dirty Harry from the future that shoots first and asks questions later. More recent issues of X-Force recast the team as the Black Ops division of the X-Men, who took missions requiring covert action with extreme severity and was comprised of characters like Wolverine, Psylocke and Archangel, who are all (with the possible exception of Wolverine) appearing in X-Men: Apocalypse. Why is This Familiar? Kick-Ass 2 writer and director Jeff Wadlow was hired by 20th Century Fox to make an X-Force movie in 2013. The last bit of news about it came last December, when we heard that both Cable and Deadpool were going to appear in the film. 5) Age Of Apocalypse From the Comics: Charles Xavier’s son, the mutant Legion, goes back in time to kill Magneto in the 1960s, which will, in Legion’s opinion, be a shortcut to achieving his father’s dream of mutant peace. Instead though, Legion accidentally kills Xavier, altering history for the worse. In the new nightmare version of the modern world, Apocalypse rises and takes over with the help of several minions, including those meant to be X-Men. Meanwhile, Magneto forms a resistance he dubs the X-Men in honor of his former friend. Connection to the Film Series: Apocalypse will be the main villain in next summer’s X-Men: Apocalypse, which opens the door to further villainy on the part of the so-called “first mutant.” Many of the main characters of Age of Apocalypse have already been introduced in the movie universe, including Rogue, Cyclops, Beast, Wolverine, Jean Grey and Gambit. Furthermore, two of the most pivotal characters in the story - Blink and Bishop - were introduced in last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Adaptation: Apocalypse is rumored to bring an end to the X-Men prequel trilogy, so if the studio is looking for something to do next, then why not another reboot? Magneto was the antagonist for five X-Men films now, so why not recast him as the hero? The leader of the all-new all-different X-Men played by the same actors, but with new looks, new costumes and new attitudes. You know how people love the mirror universe episode of Star Trek? Well this is the X-Men version. It may only make sense for one movie, but it could be a dark and fascinating alternative version of the beloved characters and buy some breathing room for the franchise till Fox can game out their next move. 6) Excalibur From the Comics: When the X-Men were thought dead, former members Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Phoenix found themselves in the United Kingdom, and teamed-up with two of the local heroes, Captain Britain and his girlfriend Megan. Captain Britain has superhuman strength, speed and the power of flight as granted to him by the wizard Merlin, while Megan is a shape-shifter, and together with the former X-Men they decide to protect Great Britain from any potential evil that threatens it. Connection to the Film Series: Both Nightcrawler and Shadowcat have been introduced in the film series before, played by Alan Cumming in X2: X-Men United, and Ellen Page in X-Men: The Last Stand and Days of Future Past, respectively. If we're going to get really inside baseball, Psylocke, one of the new mutants to appear in X-Men: Apocalypse played by Olivia Munn, is actually the sister of Captain Britain. Adaptation: Nightcrawler hasn't been seen since X2 (although he will be seen in a young version in Apocalypse next summer), so it begs the question as to what he's been up to ever since. Maybe he made his way to Britain and found another group of mutants, perhaps assembled by destiny, to protect the British Isles from the threat posed by evil Euro-trash mutants. There are more than a few X-Men characters that hail from England, Scotland, and Ireland without having to wonder the question of "who owns the rights to Captain Britain?", so it should be easy enough to put a team together. And on top of it all, with the mythology behind a name like "Excalibur," there's another whole franchise potential for Fox if they're interested. 7) Avengers Vs. X-Men From the Comics: The Phoenix Force is returning to Earth, and its target is supposedly Hope, the so-called "Mutant Messiah," the first mutant born after the decimation of the global mutant population. Hope is protected by the X-Men on their island sanctuary, but the Avengers aren't prepared to entrust the fate of the world to the X-Men. It results in a fight between the two teams, which goes to a whole new level when the Phoenix arrives and possesses several key X-Men. Connection to the Film Series: True, X-Men: The Last Stand did a "version" of the Dark Phoenix storyline, and while there was nothing to say that Jean Grey's turn to the dark side was because she was possessed by a powerful entity from space, there's also nothing to say that she wasn't possessed by a powerful entity from space either. Obviously, many of the pertinent characters in the story - Cyclops, Professor X, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Storm, Thor, Beast, Luke Cage, Black Widow and Magneto - have all been introduced on screen (or soon will be). Adaptation: If Marvel and Sony can figure out a way to work together to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, perhaps this is the way to bring the X-Men into the fold. The comic book miniseries is steeped in years and years of mythology, so the core story would have to be simplified. Still, the MCU will soon embrace questions concerning the control and regulation of super-powers in Captain America: Civil War. Such an idea, being targeted and tagged for having abilities, has been a core storyline and theme amongst X-Men comics for years. The revelation of people born with powers that may or may not be controllable will be a problem being dealt with by the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. through the Inhumans this season, but why not just make them mutants and save the stress?