How Should the X-Men be introduced into the MCU?
The X-Men are coning home!! Marvel finally have the rights to the mutants and the Fantastic 4. The Fantastic 4 are easy to integrate (more on that in a later article) but the X-Men are a little harder. Where have they been all this time? What have they been doing? Why now have they been discovered? How were they discovered? Here's what I think?
Firstly, Wolverine, Cyclops and Magneto all need breaks.
Wolverine will re-enter the universe eventually, hopefully in a Weapon X centered story (that involves Fantomex) but should remain a loner for a little while.
Same with Magneto. I LOVE Michael Fassbender as Magneto, especially in First Class so he'll come back in maybe the second or third movie which would set up a movie with Onslaught as the villain.
And with Cyclops. I just really hate him so I hope he just never shows up. He was such a whingy character and I just think he is completely irrevelant to the story. The love triangle should be Wolverine, Jean Grey and Emma Frost not Wolverine, Cyclops and Jean.
Anyway now that's out of the way...
The Story
Basically, this movie serves as an intro to the X-Men and the main characters. It should also introduce the X-Mansion and tell the audience where the X-Men have been all this time.
To summarize, the X-Men have been living in hiding on the secret island of Genosha. Mutants were a secret until an accident in the late 80s revealed them to the world. People are terrified, and governments are coming up with plans to eliminate mutants. SHIELD is approached by a telepathic mutant (Prof. X) who says he can hide the mutants but only with their help. The likes of Hank Pym and Howard Stark help and they manage to cloak an island and build a device that allows Xavier to find other mutants in harms way (Cerebro). Xavier ends up using the device to wipe clear the memories of everyone on Earth, except Fury, Pym and Stark. This would explain mutant’s absences in the MCU. Mutants would be taken from their families when their powers emerge and their families minds wiped (this also gives Prof. X that dark side that leads to Onslaught).
Here on Genosha, mutants live their lives like regular lives. They go to school, they work, all that. People leave the island once they turn 18 as they know how to control their powers. A host of students have just graduated including Jean Grey. They head out into the world. Jean is teleported to New York and goes to a job interview. The man she talks with is Nathan Essex. Essex offers her some water and they start talking about her skill set and stuff like that. Essex says "Looking at your resume your skill set could be quite vital to our operation". Suddenly Jean blacks out and Essex says "Very vital indeed"
We see Jean tied up in a black cellar hanging from chains when Essex (now in costume) shows up and tells her that he’s a mutant as well and that she is going to provide him with the power necessary to expose mutantkind and the horrible things that Prof. X has done (Jean is obviously very confused by this). Jean sends out a telepathic message to Xavier before falling unconscious again. Xavier calls a message out to his senior students, who are told Jean has been taken and will be drained of her powers and killed. He also mentions that there is something deep inside Jean that, if awoken, would end all life on Earth and that it is the up most importance she is saved. He says he has taught them how to use their powers and that they must use those skills to save Jean. The team includes Dust, Iceman, Storm, Kitty Pride, Indra, and Danielle Moonstar. They go and fight Sinister only to be singled out by Sinister’s acolytes, being a teenage/young adult Mystique, Emma Frost, The Blob, Ink, Marrow and Post. They eventually overcome Sinister and his acolytes and run off with a weak Jean Grey. Emma Frost asks Sinister what happens to his master plan now and he says, “Nothing, we proceed as planned”. “But she’s gone”. “Is she?” We zoom onto the cellar to see Jean still hung up and that they have taken a clone of Jean, Maddie Pryor. Due to what just happened, the world is super aware of mutants and Prof. X can't wipe anyone's memories anymore.
Post Credit 1: Black Panther, Iron Man, Captain America and Bruce Banner (assuming they don't die in Infinity War) all discussing mutants and they're like "Where did these mutants come from, who are they and are they dangerous?" Only for Nick Fury to walk out and answer their questions.
Post Credit 2: Wolverine off doing something.
The Cast:
Professor X - Mark Strong (Kingsman)
Mark can play that nice, caring mentor kind of character while convey the hints of a dark side
Iceman - Joe Keery (Stranger Things)
I want Iceman to be the witty, quippy one in the group. Joe can easily do that.
Kitty Pride - Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things)
Another Stranger Things star, Kitty should begin shy but really emerge into the leader role. Natalia is extremely talented and can really bring Kitty to life.
Dust - Nazanin Boniadi (Homeland)
Dust would be one of the first muslim characters in cinema and definitely the first live-action comic book character. She would be strong-hearted yet wouldn't run into battle without a plan. She would act as the main leader of the group (with Kitty). Nazanin one a SAG for her role as a CSI analyst and that kind of role is what Dust should be.
Indra - Dev Patel (Lion)
Indra is a really interesting character. His power is pretty awesome but more intrestingly, he's violence-free. He won't act in the name of violence or stand for it. That adds some serious depth to his character. Dev's work in Lion perfectly sums up the character of Indra.
Storm - China Anne McClain (Descendants 2)
China's role in Descendants 2 shows the badass, super-powered person she can be. Perfect for Storm. She'd crush it
Danielle Moonstar - Ngô Thanh Vân
Ngô's role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi may have been short but it made her one of the best characters in the movie. Her sacrificie was so heroic and it convinced me she has what it can take to portray Danielle Moonstar. She's also headlined a large number of other films
Jean Grey / Maddie Pryor - Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect)
Anna has already that "good, innocent girl" kind of feel that I feel is essential for Jean. I would also love to see Anna's take on absolutely crazy which I believe she could easily do.
Mr Sinister - Matthew Modine (Stranger Things)
I may have a little bit of a Stranger Things obsession but this art of Matthew Modine as Mr Sinister by bosslogic is exactly why I chose him. His character of Dr Brenner further explains my choice.
Mystique - Natallie Dormer (Hunger Games)
She's the perfect fit for a kick-ass Mystique with just that little bit of edginess. Her acting chops are unbeliveable. She also somewhat looks the part.
Emma Frost - Lana Parilla (Once Upon A Time)
Lana Parilla plays the Evil Queen in Once Upon A Time and that's exactly how I picture Emma Frost, an evil queen. She would go rogue from Mr Sinister at one point and start a school/gang for evil mutants like the H.I.V.E of Marvel.
I'm just going to spped through the minor characters in Sinister's acolytes...
The Blob - Unknown
Ink - Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen)
Marrow - Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black)
Pyro - Lincoln Lewis (Tomorrow When the War Began)
Post - Keith David (Halo 3)
Thanks for Listening guys!! I have another post lined up about the F4, a fancast of the more popular X-Men and a X-Men movie about Forget-Me-Not (which I think could be a really sad and sweet movie). BYEE