X-FORCE Already In The Works; Will Likely Feature 'X-23' As The New WOLVERINE
Here's some more good news as a new report has revealed that the X-Force movie is much further along than initially expected. Plus, we have fresh details on the next iteration of Wolverine!
Thanks to the roaring success of Deadpool, we know Cable will soon make his debut in the highly anticipated sequel, which means the long-rumored X-Force film can't be too far off and according to Fandango, it's actually a lot further along in its development process than we initially thought as in the script is being penned as we speak. Plus, if that wasn't enough, it sounds like the next iteration of Wolverine will almost definitely be an integral part of the team.
A few weeks back, we caught word that James Mangold's Wolverine 3, which will (presumably) be Hugh Jackman's final adventure as the fan-favorite hero, might be looking to introduce his clone, X-23, to the X-Men films universe as a potential replacement to take on the mantle of Wolverine in future X-Men films. 20th Century Fox neither confirmed or denied the report, so Fandango decided to take it upon themselves to clear up the matter with X-Men: Apocalypse director Bryan Singer.
While speaking with him at the X-Men: Apocalypse press junket in London, they learned that not only had Singer pitched an X-Force movie to the studio, he had already pitched the idea of a female Wolverine as well: "I have discussed that with the studio, I actually initially pitched the X-Force and the female." Singer didn't reveal much more about the new Wolverine, not even whether we would first see her in the Wolverine 3 or in the X-Force, but he did confirm that work on an X-Force script is currently underway: "Simon [Kinberg] is in the earliest script stage, so that’s kind of where that stands, and we’ll see how it evolves." Singer added that his involvement at this time is strictly on the idea level.
On another positively exciting note, with the burgeoning success of Deadpool and the development of more unique X-Men spin-offs like Josh Boone's New Mutants and the X-Force, Singer teased that he absolutely envisions a scenario in the relatively distant future where we could see all of these properties unite with the X-Men on the big screen for a massive event picture. However, before everyone gets ahead of themselves, he assures fans, he has no plans on rushing it: "It has to be done right, Anytime you throw all these characters together to hit a start date, it can make a lot of money, but it can also be a clusterf**k. To me, it has to be done with a lot of care. These things can get overwhelming, and if a character doesn’t belong in a movie, don’t use him. If the tone can still maintain itself, I’m all for it. What I’m not for is throwing a bunch of characters together and hoping it works.” Sounds like the right way to do it, and would be a great opportunity to use Galactus as a common extinction-level threat.
As for Singer's future with the long-running franchise, considering he's been a producer on almost every single X-Men movie, save for the first & third, it's a safe bet that he'll be involved on some level moving forward. On the directing front, Singer doesn't rule out possibly returning to helm the next X-Men sequel or even the aforementioned X-Force movie: "If I am the guy to produce or direct it, my input will grow. To where I'm either finding a director -- like Matthew Vaughn, who did a magnificent job directing X-Men: First Class -- or I'll be on set myself, back in the same universe just trying to make a difference." Luckily for him, he still has a ways to go before he has to make an official decision and for now, following the impending release of X-Men: Apocalypse, he can shift gears to his next project, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, which kicks off production this fall.
So, what do you guys think? Excited for the future of the X-Men? Sound off with your thoughts below!