So, are you excited? We're going to get The Wolverine soon. And after that, we get Days of Future Past.
However, at the same time, we're also all tired of Hollywood trying to cling to this train wreck that is the X-Men film series. But, don't get me wrong, my hopes for The Wolverine are high.
Well, I've come up with a reboot to the X-Men series, well sort of. This series stars Wolverine and is called Weapon X. And this film series would portray Wolverine with justice and how he should be portrayed; in an R-Rated film franchise.
Premise: Logan is a mutant with the ability to grow claws out of his hands, as well as possessing a healing factor. He was a part of a military experiment called Weapon X, where the metal alloy adamantium was bonded to his skeleton. After the experiment was a success, Logan was a part of a mutant black ops unit called Team X. During a mission to Russia, Logan's lover Silver Fox was killed, something Logan always blamed himself for. Logan left Team X after that mission, but the head of the weapon X program, Professor Thorton refused to let Logan go. Thorton declared Logan a fugitive, and Logan has been running ever since.
During his time on the run, Logan begins having strange dreams. The dreams are actually repressed memories, as Thorton implanted false memories during Logan's time in Weapon X. As Logan evades Thorton and his agents, he struggles to find his memories, find out what happened to him during Weapon X, and stop Thorton from repeating the process on another mutant.
A breakdown of each film in the series. A lot of you say my summaries suck or are generic.
THEY'RE SUMMARIES!!!!!!! I'm trying to give you as much of the plot as possible without going to in depth.
Film 1, Weapon X: Logan is on the run from Weapon X, a top secret program he was a part of. Professor Thorton, the head of Weapon X, seeks to reclaim him before Logan remembers what happened to him and seeks revenge. Meanwhile, Logan begins having strange dreams, which are actually flashbacks to his childhood as James Howlett.
During his time on the run, Logan comes across Victor Creed for the first time since he left Team X. Victor's mental health has been in decline over the years, a result of the memory tampering from Weapon X. Logan fights Victor, who adopts the monicker of Sabretooth, in order to prevent him from killing anymore. Wolverine succeeds in subduing Victor, but Weapon X shows up, forcing Wolverine to flee; Sabretooth, however is captured. Logan finds and old friend of his, Kestrel, and the two attempt to save Victor from further experimentation.
Thoton, however, has already modified Victor's memories so that he perceives Logan as an enemy. The pair have a vicious brawl in the Weapon X facility. But Logan manages to win barely. Victor and Thorton escape and Kestrel destroys the lab. The film ends as Logan swears he will bring down Weapon X.
Post-Credits Scene: In another laboratory, Professor Thorton talks to Victor about how Logan is a failed project, but that he had kept samples of Logan's blood and DNA so that he could continue the Weapon X experiments. This time, he says he reinvented the process so that it involves cloning this time around. The two look on to a giant test tube with a young, comatose woman inside.
Film 2, The X Factor: Logan continues to have dreams about his past life as he runs from Weapon X. Professor Thorton, determined to catch Logan, unleashes an experimental and incomplete project from the Weapon X program called “Deadpool” to capture Logan. Logan’s search for answers to who he was leads him to Canada. There, Logan first encounters Deadpool who proves more than a match for him. Logan barely escapes.
While in Canada, Logan comes across the location where his childhood home used to be. The memories begin coming back to him, and Logan remembers his childhood. He was a boy named James Howlett. He was born of an affair between his blue blooded mother and groundskeeper Thomas Logan. During one night, Thomas came to the Howlett mansion intending to kidnap Elizabeth, James’ mother. However, James’ father John arrived and the two fought. In the scuffle, John was killed with James watching. The trauma caused James to first realize his mutant powers, and kill Thomas with his bone claws. Elizabeth threw Logan out and killed herself. Logan regains his childhood memories, but still cannot remember his adult life before Weapon X. Logan leaves his home, narrowly avoiding Deadpool.
Logan comes across the original Weapon X facility. Logan explores the abandoned lab, finding notes and files on the experiments; including reports that Weapon X stole experiments and inventions from a Japanese scientist and a former Nazi scientist. Logan finds the room where he received the adamantium coating. The rest of the memories come rushing back. Growing up as a young adult. Becoming a soldier in the Canadian military. Meeting his lover Silver Fox. Joining Weapon X.
As Logan leaves the facility, he is ambushed by Deadpool. The two have another fight but are ambushed by Thorton’s soldiers with orders to capture Logan and kill Deadpool. The two stop their fight and take down Thorton’s soldiers with little effort. Logan then explains that Deadpool is now an enemy of Weapon X like him. Deadpool decides to make the most of it and says he’ll deal with it, and leaves (to start his own franchise). Logan leaves Canada, returning to America and destroy Weapon X.
Film 3, Team X: The film opens in Thorton’s lab. Knowing Logan will attempt to destroy him and Weapon X, Thorton activates his newly created experiment called “X-23.” Seeing as Logan is no longer of use to him (now that X-23 is complete), he changes the mission from capturing Logan to killing him.
From there the film switches perspective into two different plots. The first plot is a flashback of Logan’s time in X-23 and their final mission together; stopping a mutant known as Omega Red, who was created by a terrorist organization known as HYDRA.
The second plot involves Logan searching for Thorton and the new Weapon X facility. As he searches, he comes across X-23 and attempts to enlighten her to the truth about Weapon X.
As Logan searches for the new Weapon X facility, he has flashbacks to his final mission as a part of Team X. He and his team consisting of Victor (Sabertooth), John Wraith (Kestrel), David Nord (Maverick), and Logan’s former love Silver Fox. They receive intelligence that a terrorists Organization known as HYDRA has been experimenting in an attempt to create mutant soldiers. The experiment was shut down, yielding only one success which is called “Omega Red.”
The team arrives in Russia. Logan watches Victor, who shows early signs his mental health deteriorating. For months, the team stakes out in a safe house as they individually search for leads on Omega Red. Logan and Silver Fox talk about leaving the team after this mission and starting a life for themselves. During Victor’s shift searching for clues, he has a slip in his sanity and attacks a bar. Logan and Kestrel subdue him, but it slips out that they’re searching for Omega Red. A HYDRA spy in the bar reports to Omega Red who then attacks Team X’s safe house and kidnaps the team.
Omega Red explains that Team X will be used in HYDRA experiments. Omega Red then goes to explain his plan. As a result of the experiments, he has gained amazing powers. One of which, is the ability to secrete poisonous spores from his body. He shows the Team a HYDRA cannon that he can hook himself up to. Once he’s hooked up to the cannon, Omega Red will fire his deadly spores to America and other countries around the world to demonstrate HYDRA’s power. Logan manages to free the team by provoking Victor, who breaks his bonds and then everyone else’s.
The team manages to shut down the cannon, but they end up facing Omega Red. In the battle, Silver Fox is killed. Logan, in a fit of rage kills Omega Red. When the team returns to American, Logan leaves Team X. But Thorton forbids him from doing so. Logan invites Thorton to stop him, and he walks out, sparking the hunt for Logan since the beginning of the film series.
The flashback weaves with present day as Logan is searching for the Weapon X facility. Logan asks for Kestrel’s help. Kestrel and Logan look through the former Weapon X facility (that they attacked in the first movie) and are attacked by X-23. Logan faces X-23 while Kestrel searches for information of other Weapon X facilities. Once he grabs the files, Kestrel grabs Logan and teleports them out of the facility.
Kestrel shows Logan the files he found on the X-23 project. Using a sample of Logan’s DNA, Thorton attempted to clone and recreate Weapon X. However the program failed the first 22 times. The file goes on to explain that X-23 was subjected to the same memory modification that Team X was subjected to. Because she is a part of Logan, he feels obligated to save her from Weapon X.
Logan uses himself as bait to lure X-23 to him. During their fight, Logan tries to convince her that Thorton is using her. She doesn’t believe Logan and continues to try and kill him. One of Thorton’s agents is watching the fight and reports back to Thorton. Thorton realizes that there’s a chance Logan could jeopardize X-23 because of their shared DNA, and he refuses to let that happen. He goes with Victor and a handful of soldiers to kill both Logan and X-23.
Logan once again meets X-23 and tries to convince her again that Weapon X is using her. Once again, she refuses to believe that and the two fight again. The battle is stopped by Thorton. X-23 tries to tell Thorton that she has almost completed her mission. Thorton stops her and says she’s lived out her usefulness, and orders Victor to kill her. Logan steps between them and protects X-23 from Victor. She realizes Logan was telling the truth and helps him fight off Victor and Thorton’s soldiers. During the scuffle, Logan cuts off Thorton’s hand. Thorton calls off the attack and he and Victor retreat.
Logan and X-23 watch them retreat and Logan promises to help her get her life back. In return, she promises to help her take down Weapon X. Logan asks what she wants him to call her (to sever her ties with Weapon X), and she takes the name Laura Kinney. The film ends as Thorton sits in his lab. Now more than ever, he is determined to destroy Logan. He attaches a robotic claw to his severed hand.
Post-Credits Scene: In a secret lab (the HYDRA logo is displayed), an unseen scientists looks over a large frozen tube. The scientists hand wipes away the foggy glass, to show Silver Fox in cryogenic sleep.
Film 4, Mutant X: The film opens with a woman named Yuriko Oyama laying on an operating table. As surgeons operate on her flashbacks reveal her and her father, a doctor named Kenji Oyama, creating the process for bonding adamantium to the human skeleton. Flashbacks also show that a young Professor Thorton (who was posing as Kenji’s pupil at the time) stole the research for the process to start Weapon X and he fatally wounds Kenji in the promise. As he dies, Kenji make Yuriko swear to destroy the “abominations” that Thorton creates. Yuriko swears to do so as her father dies. Flashbacks during the film’s opening continue to show her training scientists to bond adamantium to the human skeleton, and that she will be receiving the procedure, along with cybernetic implants.
The film shifts to Logan and Laura engaged in a training spar. Logan compliments how she’s improving but that she still needs work. The pair is interrupted by Logan’s friend and former Team X member David Nord, who was Maverick in his Team X days but now works as a mercenary under the name Agent Zero. Logan and Laura take David to their safe house, an isolated cabin in the woods. There, David tells Logan that Kestrel, Wraith, was murdered. Logan’s first thought is Weapon X and Thorton, but David reveals they even Weapon X was attacked. David warns Logan when the cabin is attacked by mercenaries who were following David. Logan and David fight off the mercenaries while Laura grabs the Weapon X files that Logan stole in the previous film.
The remaining mercenaries report back to Yuriko, who has since come to America. Yuriko looks through the stolen Weapon X files and realizes she’s found the last member of Weapon X. Logan. Reading the report, she discovers the he received adamantium bonding. She decides to find him and handle him personally.
David takes Logan and Laura to Kestrel’s murder scene. Logan teaches Laura about tracking. Logan and Laura follow an unfamiliar scent into the sewers. Logan follows the scent to a piece of cloth. Nord reveals the cloth to be of Japanese make (as he’s done several jobs in Japan). Logan looks through the files and finds the information on the Adamantium bonding process. The file explains how the process was originally created by Kenji Oyama. Logan has Nord research on Kenji while Logan continues training Laura. While he’s researching, Nord is ambushed by Yuriko, who demands she take him to Logan.
Logan and Laura are trapped by Yuriko. Logan tries to reason with her, saying they both want to take down Weapon X, but Yuriko says her mission is to destroy not the program, but its creations. Nord causes confusion by breaking free of his captors. Logan fights Yuriko as Nord and Laura take down her mercenaries. Nord distracts Yuriko, sacrificing himself so Logan and Laura could escape. Yuriko kills Nord.
Logan and Laura manage to find a new safe house where Logan mourns both Wraith and Nord. He flies off in a rage, blaming everything on Weapon X. He storms out, leaving Laura alone for hours. Laura ventures out and finds Logan drunk and starting a fight in a bar. Laura steps in for Logan, and beats down a man three times her size. She takes Logan out of the bar and tries to get him back to the safe, only for them to be ambushed by Yuriko. Logan, both drunk and mad tries to fight her, but she easily defeats him. Laura attempts to fight her, but she is also easily beaten.
Logan and Laura wake up in an old warehouse. Yuriko holds up a knife. She explains it’s made of treated vibranium now called anti-metal which is capable of cutting through adamantium. She’s about to kill Logan when Laura manages to break their bonds and a brawl ensues. Logan and Laura take out all of Yuriko’s mercenaries and then fight her. In the battle, Yuriko boasts to Logan how she killed both Wraith and Nord. Logan flies off the handle again and pummels her. Logan is about to land a killing blow when Yuriko jabs the anti-metal knife into his side. Logan pulls out the knife and stabs Yuriko in the chest and stomach repeatedly before jamming the knife in her throat. Laura and Logan leave Yuriko to die.
A few months later, Laura and Logan are sparring again in the woods. This time, Laura emerges as the victor. Logan smirks and says that they’re ready to finally take down Weapon X.
Film 5, Weapon X: The Final Chapter: The film opens with the unseen scientists from the post-credits scene of the third film. He goes to the cryogenic tube and awakens Silver Fox.
Early in the morning, while Laura is asleep, Logan is looking through Weapon X files. He comes across an old file. In the file, Logan reads how experiments on mutants were originally done in World War II by a former Nazi scientist named Nathaniel Essex, who continued his mutant experiments under HYDRA. Logan does further research on Essex, finding he’s still alive. Logan travels to Germany to meet Essex. Logan meets Essex, now an old man. Essex shows Logan all his old research notes, which would become the basis for the Weapon X program. He admits that the project was a mistake, and asks Logan to destroy what it has become.
As Logan leaves, Essex’s house explodes. Logan watches in horror and surprise when he sees Silver Fox walk through the wreckage. He is happy to greet her, but she speaks with nothing but hatred for him. She says that Logan abandoned her in Russia. Logan tries to defend himself, saying he thought she was dead. Silver Fox scoffs and explains how HYDRA scientists found her and saved her. They told her how she was abandoned by her team. Logan tries to talk sense in her, but she only attacks him forcing Logan to defend himself. Silver Fox suddenly stops. She leaves, being called away on other business. She tells Logan not to look for her and leaves.
Logan is about to chase after her when Laura calls him. She says in a panic that they found the house before screaming. It’s silent for several seconds before Victor answers. He tells Logan that if he wants Laura alive, to come to the Weapon X facility and proceeds to give him instructions on how to find it.
Logan returns to America, ready to end Thoton and Weapon X once and for all. He follows Victor’s instructions to the new Weapon X facility. He surrenders when Thorton shows Logan that Laura is imprisoned in an adamantium gas chamber. Logan surrenders, not wanting Laura to be killed. Thorton, sends Logan to the gas chamber as well, but the facility explodes. Silver Fox walks in with HYDRA soldiers, stating her mission is to shut down Weapon X which is perceived as a threat to HYDRA’s plans.
In the chaos, Victor (whose mental health has completely deteriorated now) battles Silver Fox. Logan frees Laura but the two are confronted by Thorton. Logan asks Laura to leave. Thorton and Logan finally confront each other since Logan cut off his hand. Logan angrily confronts Thorton about destroying his former life. Thoton retaliates by saying that he had every right to because Logan is only a weapon. Logan kills Thorton, finally bringing down Weapon X.
Laura gets caught between Silver Fox and Victor, but Logan intervenes. They break off into two battles: Logan vs. Silver Fox and Laura vs. Victor. For most of her fight, Laura is easily overpowered by Victor, until she finds a broken steam pipe and shoves it in his face. While Victor is distracted (and burned), Laura easily overpowers and even wounds Victor, causing him to flee. Logan tries to talk sense into Silver Fox, but she refuses to listen. The lab is destroyed around them as they fight. Silver Fox tell Logan that whatever she felt for him died in Russia. She fires a rocket into Logan’s stomach, and it explodes, burying him under rubble. Silver Fox leaves, calling the mission a success.
Laura desperately digs Logan out. A severely scarred damaged hand reaches out of the rubble as it slowly heals and restores itself. Laura helps Logan out of the rubble. The two stand in the rubble of the former Weapon X facility. Logan tells Laura about Silver Fox and that she is no longer the woman he knew or loved, and that if she won’t remember, then he has no choice but to kill her. Laura tells Logan that Victor escaped and he’s still out there. The two watch the sun set, realizing it’s a hollow victory.
Months later, Logan sees Laura off to find her way in the world. She boards a bus and Logan watches her leave. He turns around to leave when he sees someone, a man in a wheelchair, in his way. The man introduces himself as Charles Xavier. He says he knows all about Logan and that he has a place for “people like them.” Charles gives Logan a card for his establishment and leaves. The scene fades with Logan following him bringing the Weapon X saga to a close and beginning (or rebooting if you will) a new X-Men franchise.
Victor runs through the woods from the Weapon X facility. The wounds he suffered from his fight with Laura are almost entirely healed. While running, Victor runs into a man. The man introduces himself as Erik Lehnsherr and the screen fades to black.
Post-Credits Scene: Revealing to the audience he survived the explosion, Nathaniel Essex watches as Logan walks with Charles toward the Xavier institute. Silver Fox walks up behind him, and Essex congratulates her on her success (also revealing that Essex was the unseen scientist watching over her in her cryogenic sleep). Essex then says he’s waited long enough. He shape-shifts into a much younger version of himself, and donning his Mister Sinister costume. He turns to Silver Fox and tells her “It’s time to begin.” And the scene cuts to black.
CAST:
James Howlett/ Logan: Scott Caan
I felt really confined when casting Logan. Why did I feel confined? Because of Wolverine's height (also note that he doesn't yet go by Wolverine). Honestly, I've never seen people complain more than when someone miscasts Wolverine (specifically Wolverine) based on height. In my opinion, height is one of the LEAST important factors when casting: age and acting ability are fare more important. If I wasn't confined by height, I would have gone with Timothy Olyphant. The only reason I tried to stay true to height is because I didn't want a lot of hate for not getting it.
That being said, it was hard finding someone exactly Wolverine's height, but Caan came close. Also note I say this ALL THE TIME, when I cast, I try to be original and cast choices NO ONE ELSE has cast before. So don't say "Oh it should be Jon Berenthal." I support that, I just didn't use it because everyone else does.
I like Caan. I think he's a great actor and I love his work on Hawaii Five-O. The only downside I can see to Caan in the role, he may not have the voice. But he's a great actor whose great at action.
Professor Thorton, the head of the Weapon X program: Jeremy Irons
Professor Thorton is the main antagonist throughout the entire
Weapon X series. I wanted someone who could play his obsession with capturing (and later killing) Logan really well. And Irons was the first choice. I know, Jeremy Irons as the villain...how unoriginal. But he's good, regardless of what he plays.
Victor Creed/ Sabretooth: Stephen Moyer
I chose Moyer for his work on the HBO fantasy drama
True Blood. In the most recent season, Moyer's character started having a mental break, and by the time the season ended he completely lost it. I think Moyer would be perfect to bring out the savage beastly nature that Sabretooth possesses.
John Wraith/ Kestrel: Idris Elba
Idris Elba is an amazing actor known for both action and drama. In my franchise, Kestrel was the leader of Team X and is one of Logan's friends. I think Elba would be perfect for bringing Kestrel to life (again).
Wade Wilson/ Deadpool: Ray Park (body), Niel Patrick Harris (voice)
One of the reasons I chose Ray Park is that I prefer him over Scott Adkins. Also, going along with me attempt to be original, Adkins already played Deadpool so I didn't select him. However, Park has the physique and the look (just imagine Snake Eyes red and black).
Deadpool is known for being arrogant and cocky as well as witty (or he tries to be). So I asked myself, who has a voice that can portray all these things? And NPH came to mind. In the end of the second film, I had Deadpool leave with the hint of him starting his own franchise.
X-23/ Laura Kinney: Lily Collins
I know Collins is slightly older than X-23 is portrayed in the comics. I don't really have a defense for casting her that way. I've seen Collins work and she is a great actress. However, her works have been rather lighthearted. I've seen her in interviews all the time say she wants to play darker roles. Well Ms Collins...is this dark enough for you?
Silver Fox: Rosario Dawson
Ok this choice gave me A LOT OF HELL! I wanted to be as true as possible and find a Native American actress to cast but I had no luck. I searched for hours and days but nothing come up. Well that's not true. No one I recognized or was familiar with came up. Then I thought about Dawson. I know ethnically, she isn't Native American, but she looks it, and she could play it really well.
David Nord/ Maverick/ Agent Zero: Jason Statham
Mostly, I chose Statham because he's one of the great gunslingers (I REALLY hope you can use that term outside of a Western film) on the silver screen. On top of that, Statham is a spectacular actor.
Arkady Rossovich/ Omega Red: Daniel Craig
Craig is phenomenal at everything he does. He'd be great at playing the villain if he ever got the chance. I think he just has a really great voice for it as well as being a great actor.
Yuriko Oyama/ Lady Deathstrike: Lucy Liu
Now this was actually the FIRST choice I made in this cast. Lucy Liu is one of my favorite actresses. She's shown us she is amazing in action movies as well as stunning and beautiful to look at.
What really convinced me to cast Liu as Yuriko was her performance as the cold-blooded assassion O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's
Kill Bill. Watch the clips.
Nathaniel Essex/ Mister Sinister: Goran Visnjic
When I was thinking of who to cast for Sinister, I was almost adamant on casting Jonathan Rhys Meyers. But then I watched ABC's mob drama
Red Widow and Visnjic was terrifying. So I used him as the villain.
In the
Weapon X series, Sinister only makes a cameo appearance. He plays a much bigger role in the X-Men series that follows.
Professor Charles Xavier/ Professor X: Stanley Tucci
Tucci is one of the greatest actors alive right now. He has this nobility and intelligence about him that's perfect for Xavier. There really isn't much to say.
Max Eisenhardt/ Magnus/ Erik Lehnsherr/ Magneto: Mark Strong
Mark Strong makes great villains. They're both evil and terrifying, yet intelligent and charismatic at the same time. Along with his strong acting presence, Strong also has this amazing voice that's perfect for villains. Both Xavier and Magneto play only cameos in the Weapon X series, they play much bigger roles in the X-Men series.
______________________________________
Leave a thumbs up and a review please.
-MCott62094
______________________________________