The Disney/Fox merger had many major ramifications for Hollywood, but for comic book fans, the fact the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four are returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the biggest takeaway. As of right now, there's still no word on when we'll see those franchises receive the reboot treatment, but it's bound to happen in the not too distant future.
While it will understandably take some time for these characters to be established in their new home, there are a number of potential spinoffs Marvel Studios could and should prioritise in future.
In this feature, we take a look at specific storylines, characters, and teams who deserve the big screen treatment...especially after they were overlooked by Fox on so many occasions. There's admittedly a fair bit of Wolverine here, but we think you'll be on board when you see what we've picked!
So, to take a look, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button down below.
10. Origin
This often quite divisive series was adapted for all of five minutes of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but an actual movie based solely on this series could be something very special indeed. It told the tale of the young, sickly James Howlett, and how he became the man known as Wolverine.
Set in the late 19th Century, the supporting cast includes Dog Logan (James’ half-brother and the son of an abusive drunk who manages the grounds of the Howlett’s estate) and Rose, the love of the young Wolverine’s life. Unlike X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Dog isn’t Sabretooth, but keeping that particular alteration to the source material could actually work pretty well for the MCU.
If Marvel Studios is looking to take its time bringing Wolverine back to the big screen, then opening with a story (possibly in a Disney+ TV series) could flesh the character out in a big way.
9. Excalibur
Captain Britain's big screen debut in the MCU is long overdue at this point, and while a different take on Exalibur can currently be found in the Marvel Comics, we'd love to see the original crew.
Some of the most notable X-Men to have been part of this group include Nightcrawler, Juggernaut, Daxxler, Phoenix (Rachel Summers), and Kate Pryde, not to mention Captain Britain’s sister, Psylocke (we'd want to see the original here). This team went on some crazy adventures together, mixing some of the X-Men’s foes with the interdimensional threats faced by Captain Britain.
This movie would also take place solely in the UK, and that alone could lend this adventure a fresh feel.
8. Age Of Apocalypse
The Age of Apocalypse timeline has been revisited numerous times over the years, and was created when the son of Charles Xavier travelled back in time to kill Magneto. However, when Xavier died protecting his former friend, a new timeline was created where Magneto came to believe in his late friend’s dream of a peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants.
However, Apocalypse chooses this moment as the perfect time to begin his world conquest and takes over North America, killing millions of humans in the process. Now Marvel Studios has introduced the concept of time-travel and alternate timelines, there's no reason at all we couldn't end up heading into this period and seeing what potentially becomes of Marvel's mutants.
They'll need to be established before we head down this route, but the spinoff potential is obvious.
7. Cable
Cable is the son of Cyclops and Jean Grey (well, her clone), and was brought up in the future due to being infected as an infant with a Techno-Organic Virus. As he grew up in the aforementioned Age of Apocalype timeline, there are ways these stories could all be intertwined in the MCU.
Josh Brolin's Cable was, of course, introduced in Deadpool 2, and we're sure Marvel Studios would be happy to work with him again in some sort of spinoff which leads into an "AOA" event.
A potentially even better option is the adaptation of a story which saw Cable take a young mutant baby into the future – the first one born in several years – in order to protect her from the insane Bishop. We see Hope Summers grow into a young adult under Cable’s care, and that could make for a great post apocalyptic movie. After all, the X-Men love their desolate futures!
6. X-Factor
A movie based on X-Factor has the potential to be something massively different for the MCU. While the team started off as a spinoff featuring now older versions of the original five X-Men working together when the likes of Colossus, Storm and Wolverine were introduced, Peter David’s take (which focuses on the mutant detective agency X-Factor Investigations) would be awesome.
That series featured a very diverse team of heroes, and the detective agency is led Jamie Madrox, the villain turned hero known as Multiple Man. In some ways, X-Factor would work even better as a TV series, and could be a good fit for ABC, FX, or another non-Disney+ network.
Marvel Studios has countless mutants at their disposal, so why not make good use of them here?
5. Starjammers
The Starjammers are a team of space pirates led by Cyclops and Havok’s father, Christopher Summers. When they were just children, the plane they were travelling in with their parents was attacked by an alien ship, and so their mother strapped the boys into their only parachute and pushed them out of the plane to safety while they were abducted.
While she would later die (murdered in front of his very eyes in fact), Christopher stayed in space and became a hero of sorts, leading a varied and eccentric team of aliens into battle.
This admittedly sounds somewhat similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, but the two teams aren't really that much alike. Exploring the Summers lineage should be a priority for Marvel Studios, and once we meet Cyclops, a spinoff exploring his past and parents could be massively rewarding.
4. Alpha Flight
If Marvel Studios is interested in bringing yet another superhero team to the big screen, then this fairly obscure group of Canadian superheroes may not be a bad place to start.
Described as Canada’s answer to The Avengers, most members have something which pays homage to a piece of the country’s history. They were initially introduced as part of Wolverine’s back story as employees of Department H, a fictional branch of Canada’s Department of National Defence that deals with super-powered villains.
Introducing them in a future Wolverine movie or even making him part of the team would increase its chances at the box office, and they're an interesting, diverse group regardless.
3. Daken: Dark Wolverine
Daken is Wolverine’s son who he only actually found out about a few years back, and he’s not a nice guy.
In fact, he’s so bad, that his father recently drowned and killed him to stop him hurting anyone else. For a time though, Daken tied to walk the path of a hero, but only for selfish means. With a few alterations here and there, this is a character who could definitely be retooled for the big screen.
Fox missed a trick by failing to explore Wolverine's wider ties to both his past and children, and if we do get to follow his story from the very start, then laying the groundwork then for a Daken story down the line could be a smart move. It would also result in a potentially fun side adventure.
2. X-Force
There are literally dozens of versions of X-Force, but the most recent – which saw the team portrayed as a hit squad of sorts handling the jobs deemed too dirty for the X-Men under the orders of Cyclops – is perhaps the most interesting, and arguably best suited for the big screen.
The huge number of mutants who have made up X-Force over the years means that we could see new takes on familiar faces or the introduction of many fan favourites who haven’t yet had chance to shine on the big screen. We know Ryan Reynolds was once keen to make this happen, so perhaps this is where his version of Deadpool could finally be brought into the MCU.
Time will tell on that front, but Marvel Studios would be crazy to leave this team of the shelf...
1. Old Man Logan
Old Man Logan was an incredible story arc by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven which took place in the near future after the fall of Earth's superheroes. When pretty much every villain ever decided to team-up, it didn’t take long for the likes of the Avengers and X-Men to fall, and Wolverine was tricked by Spider-Man villain Mysterio into slaughtering his own teammates in the X-Men.
After attempting suicide, he went into hiding and started a family. However, years later, Hawkeye seeks him out and a battle against the Red Skull and a family of inbred Hulks kicks off in a truly epic story. Aside from a few Sony characters, Marvel Studios could adapt this in a way that Fox never could with Logan, and it could take place in the future or another reality.
Whatever the case may be, exploring the beginning and end of Wolverine's life would be amazing.