on
Note: This list was originally formed back in May of 2014, around the time that X-Men: Days of Future Past hit theaters. With the latest X-Men film, Apocalypse, arriving just a few days ago, I thought I would take a look at the list and see what I got right. Enjoy!
If you can say anything about X-Men: Days of Future Past, it’s this — once the film was done, it blew the lid right open on what could happen in the future of this franchise. To say why would be a spoiler and, well we will certainly get into that territory in a bit, it’s interesting to note just how wide the possibilities are for the future of the X-Men franchise. So I, always curious and always making poor predictions about things, decided it would be interesting to write up a little list of what could happen in the future of the X-Men franchise. There’s certain clues and expectations we have for the next few installments of the series but, once again, anything could happen really. But here’s my best guesses at what WILL happen. Check them out after the break.
And from this point forward, FULL SPOILERS FOR ALL THE X-MEN FILMS GOING UP TO DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. With that out of the way, let’s begin with my first prediction.
1) Wolverine will be in X-Men: Apocalypse
Results: Correct!
Wolverine did indeed appear in the film, albeit briefly. Also, there was no payoff whatsoever to Mystique impersonating Stryker at the end of the last one, so…yeah, not the best plot point.
This I feel is a given, just based on the way the last one ended, with a focus on Mystique imitating Stryker and taking away the unconscious Wolverine. I mean, if this wasn’t going to be immediately dealt with in the next X-Men film, why even end the film in such a cryptic way? And though Hugh Jackman returning for another X-Men film aside from The Wolverine 3 has always been debated, it seems like Days of Future Past has reinvigorated his interest in the series, and that he’s upon for a few more times with the claws. And considering writer Simon Kinberg’s recent statement about original cast members making an appearance in X-Men: Apocalypse, it seems likely that the one original character who COULD be in Apocalypse without much hassle WILL be in Apocalypse.
2) The next film after X-Men Apocalypse will be X-Men 4, and continue the Apocalypse storyline
Results: Undetermined, but unlikely.
We don’t know what’s to come exactly after X-Men: Apocalypse, although with both Wolverine and Apocalypse out of the picture, it seems unlikely this will happen. But hey, Wolverine 3 will apparently take place in the Apocalypse, so…I’m not ruling it out yet, damn it!
Okay yeah, this one might just be fanboy pipe dreams, but it would be a damn shame if Fox didn’t capitalize on the potential here. As indicated above, Kinberg has been suggesting the original cast still has a place in the future of this franchise and, after the ending of DOFP, I would love nothing more than one final grand adventure with Jean, Scott, Wolverine, and Storm back on screen together. And the set-up here is pretty simple — X-Men: Apocalypse will set up the character of Apocalypse in the 80’s, and the will presumably end with the First Class team defeating him. But Apocalypse, being a god-like and immortal being of massive power, would return in modern day, in which the current X-Men characters would have to finish him off for good. BOOM. Make it happen, Fox. Oh, and bring back Nightcrawler. That dude was great.
3) The Wolverine 2 will basically be a gigantic ret-con of X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Results: Kind of, but not really, but maybe??
It’s hard to say right now. On the one hand, Apocalypse definitely showed that Wolverine’s origins are completely different now, and will have nothing in common with Origins. However, will The Wolverine 2 and or Wolverine 3 or whatever it is feel committed to telling his origin again, or just rolling with things to get to the Old Man Logan tale? The latter is likely, but once again, we’ll find out!
I mean, they already did it with DOFP and X-Men: The Last Stand, right? And at this point it’s very apparent that Bryan Singer and Fox want to erase the memory of X-Men Origins: Wolverine from everyone’s mind, and what better way to do that than with a new origin story for Wolverine? Well it would keep all the stuff in his life before the 1970’s the same, everything after (mostly involving his induction into the Weapon X project) will be entirely different. No Ma and Pa Kent, no weird Deadpool, no Taylor Kitsch Gambit. They would be open to do the Weapon X storyline the RIGHT way, and to properly bridge Wolverine’s storyline with all the other X-Men films. And since it would take place in the late 70’s/early 80’s, it could also allow some of the First Class characters to cameo, or even have a major role in the film. An 80’s set team-up movie between Mystique and Wolverine? I would buy that for a dollar.
4) The Wolverine 2 will be a “Mid-Quel” between The Wolverine and Days of Future Past
Results: Nope!
Once again, The Wolverine 2/3/Whatever will apparently be an adaptation of Old Man Logan. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to have flashbacks that take place between The Wolverine and Days of Future Past, but it’s likely this will be a different apocalypse entirely.
But if that is not the case, then there’s only one other possibility for The Wolverine 2 in my mind — it would be a sequel to The Wolverine, but a prequel to Days of Future Past. There’s a 10 year gap ripe for exploration between those two films and, if they chose to go in this route, they could use the film to answer some of the burning questions left at the end of the last Wolverine film, such as how he go his admantium claws back or what exactly happened to his Japanese partner Yukio. Then again, this might not come to fruition, for I believe one thing to be true.
5) We will never find out about half the continuity errors in these films
Results: Yeah, pretty much
Continuity is the devil’s play thing.
There’s just too many plot holes and weird continuity errors in this series for any future sequels to answer. Even stuff like how Xavier came back to life at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand or the aforementioned admantium claw thing may not be answered, since the timeline in which those continuity issues existed pretty much doesn’t exist anymore. Did ANY of The Wolverine happen in this new timeline? Did the Styker storyline in X2 happen, or did Mystique’s muddling up of the Weapon X program prevent that film from occurring. None of it makes too much when you try to break it down (and trust me, I’ve spent literal hours trying to do so), so I wouldn’t be surprised if Singer, Kinberg, and Fox don’t even attempt too.
Either way though, by the end of Days of Future Past, this series pretty much reinvented itself, and could do anything it fucking wants in future installments. But what do you think will come from the next couple X-Men films. Or, more importantly, what do you WANT to come? Let us know in the comments.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is currently in theaters right now.
-Matthew
Originally published at www.geekbinge.com on May 28, 2014.
Also published on Medium.
Then maybe you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, where you will be updated on new articles the moment they hit the site!
Matthew Legarreta is the Editor and Owner of Freshly Popped Culture. A big ol' ball of movie, TV, and video game loving flesh, Matthew has been writing about pop culture for nearly a decade. Matthew also loves writing about himself in the third person, because it makes him feel important (or something.)
