Following 'X-Men: Apocalypse' (May 27, 2016), the next X-Men film takes place in the 1990s.
Word on the street is the next X-Men film following Apocalypse will be set in the 90s. This news leaves a lot of question marks, and a ton of intrigue. With rumors of the New Mutants set to start filiming in 2017 it's easy to see how the next Fox adaptation would feature the never before seen fresh mutants. After all we've seen the original team of X-Men portrayed not one but twice. However, things could be done just a tad bit different if they so choose to continue with this cast.
This Is a Chance For a Redo
Truthfully I was very disappointed in the way the original X-Men trilogy went down. Thanks to Days of Future Past and their attempt tried to undo all the terrible damage done by the previous X-Men trilogy. I enjoyed watching the team led by Cyclops battle Magneto for Rogue, then again in the battle against William Stryker, and once more in the ever so disappointed conclusion Last Stand where the team fought The Phoenix. Still, some characters were sadly misplaced and/or cast off entirely. I’m glad they are using Nightcrawler the right way in Apocalypse the same goes for Jubilee and Angel. Following up Apocalypse they should continue to explore the early years of the X-Men. There a few things the trilogy missed that this next film could help with.
We Never Got to See the Team Grow
Yes in Last Stand we saw the fight for Jean Grey between Magneto and Professor X in a flashback scene. C’mon you have to admit you wanted to watch them grow into a team. You wanted to get some of that 1990s story arch told on the big screen. Now thanks to Apocalypse we get to see the original team as young mutants kind of like X-Men Evolution. Now we need something more, more depth, different enemies, additional team members as we watch them continue to discover themselves in the aftermath of Apocalypse. Changing their hair, costumes, and acting more mature could easily help with aging them from the 80s to the 90s. One original member of the team needs to be introduced… Keep reading.
Iceman Never Saw His Full Potential
Bobby Drake is one of the most powerful mutants in the X-Men universe as an Omega Level mutant (thanks Emma Frost). He’s also the youngest member on the original team. While Bobby was originally the "second member" of the X-Men (Cyclops recruited him, kinda) there is a way to insert him into the sequel and tell his story the right way. Drake is funny, charismatic, and he's been part of some big battles including Apocalypse. While they missed the boat making him the second member make him... Bobby Drake the brash, bigheaded mutant whose obnoxiousness often-playful ways conflicted with Professor X and Cyclops. Or have him introduced as a former member no longer with the team and Cyclops and the X-Men are forced to turn to him for help. Either way is better than the side bar character whose nothing more than back-story and love interest to Rogue. Speaking of...
Rogues's Story was Annoyingly Botched
Though Rogue is a natural introverted loner whose latest small screen depiction saw her as a bit gothic, she’s still a tough as nails, tormented soul, with southern charm. I grew up on the 90s X-Men series where Rouge was a lot more heroic and lively. Even in the 2000s X-Men: Evolution she had a little bit of an @$$ kicker mentality with the loner attitude. Rogue was portrayed as a bit weak and boring in the trilogies. Rogue's background is deep with connections Nightcrawler and Mystique it makes her even more compelling. She was taken in by Mystique did her evil biddings before being taken in by the X-Men. The most important feature that makes Rogue, Rogue is her run-in with Carol Danvers aka Ms. Marvel whom she had absorbed and left as an empty vessel. Don't worry about Disney and their Ms. Marvel Fox can have their own (see Quicksilver) plus this Ms. Marvel will be used for nothing more than being absorbed. Anywho let's make it happen. Speaking of Rogue and Mystique...
There are a Couple of Bad Guys that could be Explored
Onslaught, is an enemy that took more than the X-Men to beat down. He's the fusion of Professor X and Magneto psyche. Onslaught killed some big time Marvel characters. Having the X-Men battle Onsalught gives us a chance to explore Juggernauts relationship to Professor X, and the X-Men being lead by someone else other than Professor X. Professor X in anger unleashes his abilities on Magneto leaving him in a catatonic state. Professor X succumbs to Magnetos aggression and his own darkness forming the mutant Onslaught. This one is tough to pull off so soon after Apocalypse, though the story would be great.
The Brotherhood was nothing more than an exhibition bout sadly and tragically thrown to the wayside in the first X-Men film. A group of mutants lead by Mystique fulfilling her vision, completing her missions is a collection of and mash-up of a number of mutants. Mystique and Rogue had much to do about nothing the first time around, this time there could be an epic battle the centers around Rouge. This story may be a bit fatigued if you’re tired of seeing some hot actress in makeup playing Mystique (was that sexiest?). There are some fresh battles that would be just as good like…
The Morlocks, who like the Brotherhood were terribly wasted in the trilogy. The group of underground deformed mutants were a direct result of Apocalypse with the help of Dark Beast they used science to create these mutants. We saw the infamous battle between Storm and Callisto in the terrible Last Stand film, but it did nothing to satisfy my hunger for the Morlocks. This is the easiest story to tell. The aftermath of Apocalypse could segway directly to the Morlocks.
Mister Sinister (Byran Cranston bandwagon) and his group of vicious, merciless, murderous, assassin mutants, The Marauders lead by Gambit would be epic. Introducing them to the world by way of slaughtering mutants is so gritty it ideally suites the X-Men. This would be a great way to introduce a new challenge to the X-Men and give the world a taste of the assassins. Like the Morlocks this is a great follow-up to Apocalypse, in fact this makes an even better follow-up to the Morlocks. Unfortunately seeing the X-Men fighting too many groups gets tiresome, so they'll have to be real creative if they wanted to introduce both the Marauders and Morlocks.
What would you like to see happen during this next wave of X-Men?