If you’re an X-Men fan, you’ve probably already heard the rumors that an X-Men: First Class movie is in the works. The XM:FC comics are great; they feature the original X-Men team and their often funny adventures when things were just starting to roll at Xavier’s place. The XM:FC movie, on the other hand, would still be set within the universe created by Bryan Singer.
The current rumor is that Matthew Vaughn, director of Kick-Ass, has been offered the director’s seat and has apparently turned it down.
I’ll admit that I haven’t been watching news about this movie very closely. I’m still pissed about X-Men: The Last Stand, and I don’t have a lot of faith in Fox to not completely screw up this movie.
So why this post? Because I’d like to take a moment and plead with the powers that be to reboot the X-Men series. I know, I know, I’m as sick as you are of reboots, especially of series that came out ten years ago. Does Spiderman need to be rebooted? Nah. But hear me out.
See, one of the things I absolutely adore about the XM:FC comic book is the camaraderie between the original five X-Men. Scott’s the solid one, Warren’s the flighty one (pun intended), Hank is the smart one, Bobby is the smartass, and Jean is… Jean (i.e. awesome). They work together very well, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch these five young people become close friends and a coherent team.
I want to see that on the big screen.
If Fox goes ahead and makes a First Class movie with the movieverse’s original team, we’d have Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Beast… As much as I like Storm in the comics (Halle Berry was terrible in the movies; sorry to her fans), there’s just not the same dynamic in that group as there would be in… well, any group with Iceman included.
So as much as I’m hesitant at the idea of rebooting every series that ever made money, I’d really like to see Marvel Studios start fresh with the X-Men.
TDF Pamela
The Discriminating Fangirl, who is more likely to answer to Pamela if you shout it at her, is the proud owner of an MA in English, focusing on children's/young adult literature and popular culture. Because of her ample free time thanks to being gainfully unemployed, she reads voraciously. She also loves geeky movies and tv shows, reads comic books as often as she can buy them, and when she's procrastinating, she enjoys playing video games. She can be contacted at t.d.fangirl @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.
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This is Emily’s long and rambly comment on the state of the X-Men movieverse. Beware.
I have mixed feelings about this to say the least. My first thought that I would LOVE to see the X-Fandom dealing more with the teenage angstyness of going through a mutant change. The movies only dealt with that for Rogue, but it’s really an essential part of the canon. The original team were teens when they started out and there have pretty much always been young people front and center. I also love the dynamic of First Class (particularly Hank and Bobby’s bromance).
That said, as someone who avidly follows the X-Men fandom and has seen all four movies several times, as well as the 1990′s cartoon, X-Men: Evolution and Wolverine and the X-Men, and even the truly terrible Generation X tv movie; I’m kind of getting sick of seeing the same damn characters over and over. The X-Men roster has TONS of depth that has not been explored in live action. I’d really love to see a movie (or more accurately, a TV series) utilizing the New Mutants, Generation X, and/or the Young X-Men rosters when they are high school. And with Xavier dead, it’d be an awesome time to utilize Emma Frost, who I’ve only seen done well in Wolverine and the X-Men. Her Wolverine Origins and Generation X depictions were not quite right. With the right actress, that’d be an awesome part. I’d also like to see someone like Northstar or Dust (someone who is of a racial or sexual orientation that is oft discriminated against) bring back the racial aspect of the mutations.
I’d also be really sad to see the movieverse rebooted because, Last Stand aside, I really like the movieverse. I don’t want to throw out the first two films, damnit. I don’t even want to throw out the casting for Last Stand because Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde and Kelsey Grammar as Beast would’ve been awesome if only they, like, actually had storylines. And I am FULLY convinced that if someone besides Brett Ratner (henceforth, “He Who Shall Not Be Named”) did a fourth X-Men film you could undo the damage of X3 without straying too far from canon. One word: Bishop. He’s always travelling back in time to undo some terrible wrong. And X3 was a terrible wrong. Srsly.
Where are you, Bishop?
I agree, if they do a “First Class” they really need to do it with Beast, Angel, Iceman, Marvel Girl and Cyclops. To do it with a movieverse First Class would be ludicrous, not least because the movieverse characters are such different ages.
…and also because Halle Berry sucked as Storm. Iman (had she been younger) would have been better. :P
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