So, this is just in: James Mangold is moving forward with a Wolverine sequel. I don’t even know what to say to this. I’m still barely trying to process what kind of movie
Days of Future Past is going to be. For someone who couldn’t be more excited both about the return of Singer to his franchise, and the adaptation of my favorite comic, seeing all the black leather again, and all the miscast actors I’d forgotten about, and all the Wolverine front and center, it kind of hit me that there is a very big chance this movie, despite the exciting crossover prospect, could be more of the same.
When The Avengers, and Batman are making a billion dollars, X-Men just isn’t even coming close. But that’s where Wolverine comes in. He’s clearly the face of the franchise, and Hugh Jackman is a viable draw for FOX to just about all markets. Another Wolverine (every franchise wants a James Bond shelf-life) is inevitable. But where the heck do we go from here?? We’ve had two Wolverine spin-offs already, and in two movies, 4 major comics have been adapted, covering his most influential storylines. His origin, Weapon X, and his time in Japan.
The question becomes, what does that leave for FOX? The rest of the great Wolverine tales involve Marvel crossovers, like
Madripoor Knights (team up with Captain America) or
The Package (Wolverine on an escort mission for Black Panther). Maybe Omega Red? He’s the last major rival Wolverine hasn’t met on the big screen. Let’s look at some other notable Wolverine stories, and what they can (and probably can’t) do with another sequel.
This is how Kitty Pryde gets the codename “Shadowcat” and is sort of a spiritual successor to Chris Claremont’s great Wolverine Japan solo tale. In this, Ogun, an immortal, has converted Kitty into an Assassin. He also happened to be a former mentor of Wolverine’s. The story is one about teachers and students, and made for one of the most popular dynamics between two X-Men characters.
It could be cool to see Hugh Jackman running around with Ellen Page, and it would be a suitable followup to
The Wolverine to just keep Logan in Japan. However I think for the sake of a new movie, too much of it would be repetitive, since Kitty would feel like just a swap for Yukio.
In this
New Mutants (pt 2) one-off, A boy awakens to some deadly new mutant powers. Tragically, he finds that he kills everyone near him. Upon SHIELD investigation, Nick Fury sends in Wolverine, the only one who can do what is necessary. Sure, Fury can easily be swapped for Professor X, but even with stakes like that, it might not be personal enough for Wolverine, or grand enough for feature film. This story is more suitable, as all comics are, for a great TV episode instead.
It’s
Vicious Circle. It’s Wolverine Vs. The Hulk. And it’s one of his most popular comics ever. And sadly, with FOX and Lauren Shuler Donner’s vice grip on the X-Men property, this can never happen anytime soon. Moving right along.
Get Mystique is a little more fun than many of these other super-serious entries. Basically, after Mystique’s betrayal of the X-Men, Wolverine goes after her. But the fun is in the flashbacks which take us to the 1920s, where the duo go on a Bonnie and Clyde-esque spree. This isn’t nearly as dumb as it sounds. It was a great character piece for Mystique in particular, and was good at highlighting some of the things these long-lived mutants have in common.
As a spin-off movie, this could fit in as fallout after the events of
Days of Future Past (if Mystique IS going to assassinate the President), in the same way
The Wolverine still took place after
X-Men The Last Stand. And the box office potential for having Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Lawrence headlining together would make the studios drool.
In
Enemy of the State, the evil organization Hydra brainwashes Logan (after the Hand “killed” him) and he goes up against most of the Marvel Universe! It’s basically a showcase for Wolverine to fight all our favorite superheroes, and since this one is likely impossible, take solace in knowing at the very least, he can slice up the Fantastic Four, who FOX still owns.
Yea, LOL on that
Old Man Logan. This ‘what if’ tale is set in a war-torn future, with Red Skull as president, and features a Hulk army. ‘nuff said. I didn't like this one, but it’s strangely very popular, and oddly, I think with some MAJOR tweaking, this could actually still work. With
Days of Future Past as a significant crossroads for X-Men movies, this might be the direction the producers are planning to go anyway.
Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to The Wolverine 2. This year’s movie, as well as 2011’s
X-Men First Class have shown that the franchise still carved out a corner for itself, in a landscape dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and The Dark Knight Trilogy. Heck, even Spider-Man has been rebooted and looks to showcase about 30 villains in 4 movies. Things have changed since Singer was last with this series. Clearly they are trying to keep up. But haven’t we already seen the best of what Logan has to offer?