Who's Next For X-Men Origins? Vote Now!
While fanboys drool over Marvel Films' now daily headlines (Captain America has a director! Kenneth Branagh's giving Thor an Elizabethan accent!), everyone has plum forgotten about Fox's X-Men Origins franchise. But it's time to bring back the buzz. Next May's Wolverine looks promising, if for no other reason than Sabretooth is no longer played by a professional wrestler. Then there's Magneto, the ideal choice for Origins in that the character's background as a Holocaust survivor is cinematically compelling, and his origin dovetails nicely with Professor Xavier's. Indeed, as recent reports have confirmed, the movie (co-written by The Dark Knight's David S. Goyer) will delve into Magneto's early days with the X-Men founder, and is certain to feature cameos by other young mutants.
But beyond Wolvie and Magneto, do any other mutants deserve a solo outing? To answer this question I've teamed up with the editors at ComicMix to offer you the top five future Origins contenders. Take a look, then throw in your two cents. Your vote could finally give America the Banshee film it deserves.
Gambit
Friday Night Lights' star Taylor Kitsch is playing Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and unless Kitsch really blows it, the popular card-throwing Cajun seems a perfect candidate for a solo film. Once his origin is out of the way, Gambit could be brought into current X-Men movie continuity, throwing a wrench into the Iceman/Rogue romance (His on-again/off-again relationship with Rogue is a longtime staple of both X-Men comics and creepy fan fiction). The bad boy attitude and swarthy good looks will bring in the ladies, (to put it in Lost terms, Gambit is the Sawyer of the X-Men), and his background as a thief could make for an interesting film. Let's just hope Kitsch doesn't overdo the Cajun accent.
Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat
ComicMix news editor Bob Greenberger votes for X-Men: The Last Stand's breakout star to ditch her Juno hoodie and get back in black leather: "Ellen Page is such a good actress," he says. "A Wolverine and Kitty Pryde movie would be fun." Anna Paquin's Rogue served the "young mutant whom Wolvie begrudgingly befriends" role in the first X-Men film, but it's Wolvie and Kitty's relationship that holds the most weight with Uncanny X-Men readers. Page's schedule pending, Kitty Pryde (aka Shadowcat) would be a
great addition to a Wolverine sequel. Anything to avoid Wolvie's other gal pal Jubilee -- Seriously, Jubilee's Valley Girl schtick was tired in 1994.
Bishop
Ultimate X-Men and X-Men Legends writer Glenn Hauman (VP of Production for ComicMix) thinks Marvel's time-traveling mutant could shake up the X-Men movie formula. "[Bishop's] an easy 'high concept' to explain to Hollywood money types," he explains. "'Think X-Men meets the Terminator films!' It allows you to cast new actors, which saves funds, and puts into sharp relief exactly where the X-films could take us." Indeed, a solo Bishop film could easily set the stage for a fourth movie, and he'd be the first prominent African-American male in the X-Men movie universe. Yes we can.
Mystique
Sure, she lost her mutant abilities during X-Men: The Last Stand. But would you really complain if she suddenly got them back and starred in her own film? Need I remind you, fanboys, that under that blue scaly skin lies a naked Rebecca Romijn? Mystique was easily the best villain in the X-Men trilogy after Magneto, and lest you think her a mere bad guy, check out Brian K. Vaughan's issues of Marvel's Mystique series, which delves into the character's background as a spy. It's Alias meets X-Men meets Rebecca Romijn. In other words, a license to print money.
Phoenix
I would love to see Fox retcon Jean Grey's transformation into Dark Phoenix a la The Incredible Hulk, so botched was Brett Ratner's attempt at it in The Last Stand. Famke Janssen's performance as the volatile Jean was underrated, and setting the story partially in outer space as it was originally written could be potentially mind-blowing.
So who should get the next X-Men spin-off? Angel? Professor X? Kid Omega? (Please not Kid Omega. He's basically Quill with a stupid name.) Vote now!
When not writing, Nick Nadel is in line at the comic book store
alongside the other geeks, er, fans of speculative fiction. His most
prized possession is a 1960s Batman comic wherein the Dynamic Duo are
trapped inside a fortune cookie factory. He lives in Brooklyn and
updates his aptly named website (nicknadel.com) with comedy writing and videos. Special thanks to Glenn Hauman and Bob Greenberger of ComicMix.com.
Gambit and Bishop are my choices for the next XOrigin set up. Maybe Multiple Man or Madrox as he's known in some quarters or Maverick, Wolvie's mercenary friend. And what about Cyclops' brother Havok? What happened to him? And then there are the Starjammers with their father, Christopher Summers out there in space somewhere. The possibilities are limitless, but will they? I doubt it.
You know, if they did an X-Factor movie that would take care of Madrox and Havok right there. Madrox/Multiple Man had one of the best scenes in "Last Stand"--that's definitely a character worth revisiting. (And I'm surprised that "Heroes" has never aped his ability.)
Maverick is going to be in "Wolverine," but as his recent incarnation Agent Zero. I prefer the Maverick costume from the Jim Lee era. They're throwing a bunch of characters, like Deadpool and Beak (Beak? Really?) into Wolverine apparently.
If the did continued the Dark Phoenix arc, and sent her into space to destroy the D'Bari race, the Starjammers and Shi'ar characters could show up. I would love to see the X-Men films get into that insane Chris Claremont space epic stuff.
I vote for Kitty Pryde, but Ellen Page was miscast in "Last Stand." She's talented, but I liked the actress from X-Men 2 better. Actually, I liked the actress from the first X-Men movie, who only showed up for half a second, better as well.
Looks like they're thinking of doing a Deadpool spin-off. I love that idea, and I love giving lesser known characters play, but I dunno about Ryan Reynolds. I didn't really like him in Blade: Trinity -- I don't think he can pull off the bad-ass superhero thing. What do you think?
http://www.variety.com/VR1117996099.html
Yeah, Ryan Reynolds seems to be considered for every goofy superhero role. (Warner Bros. is still threatening to use him for The Flash.) I guess it was his unforgettable performance as Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity. I think a Deadpool movie could be fun. There haven't been all that many successful villain-centered comic book films. (Cough, Catwoman, cough cough.)
They would have to pad it out with his assassin buddy Domino (not the Kiera Knightley supermodel hitwoman) and maybe a few other ridiculous characters from the Rob Liefeld X-Force era.
I'm on the fence about X-Men: First Class. It won't be like the comic, set during the first days of the original team. It sounds like they're taking the younger characters, and basically doing New Mutants or Young X-Men. That could work, but I fear "Twilight" with mutants. (Cue Twilight defenders posting en masse.)
Oh, and unless Ellen Page is under some sort of ridiculous contract forcing her to star in any and all Last Stand sequels/spin-offs, Fox is kidding themselves if they think she'll play second fiddle to whoever played Colossus in the third film.
I'd be super hot on a Mystique origin movie if they rolled Nightcrawler into it the way Chris Claremont originally wanted them to be related; with Mystique as his father and Destiny as his mother (for Mystique "bisexual" is more than just an attitude). Bonus points for including Rouge in her Brotherhood days.
A Longshot movie could be so wonderfully twisted and weird. But he's pretty much absent from film continuity, so it's probably pretty doubtful.
Love the Bishop idea.
I would see a movie about Stryker (Brian Cox). He's just as compelling as any of the mutants, and Brian Cox would bring the goods!
In my personal opinion cyclops would be a good choice with his family history alone losing hs parents finding his brothers (havoc and vulcan) and his struggles with his inability to control his power. his struggle between Madelyne Pryor, Jean Grey, and Emma frost. being Xavier's right hand man almost a son. and bringing him back alone would fix the wrong they did in last stand people would watch just to see what happened. the emotional struggles that cyclops goes through is often unnoticed cause of his cool behavior when leading the x-men. With a movie like this they can gain back the true x-men fans they lost with the making of last stand.
It would have to be a mutant with age progression disease like wolverine otherwise their storylines would conflict with the xmen trilogy. Mystique would be a good option, plus she hasn't always worked for magneto...
Yeah, I would like the next origins movie to take place right before the first X-Men movie so you can see how the characters got there. A Mystique movie could work, because they could adapt the recent comic book where she's a secret agent.
A Deadpool movie has already been announced, but it probably won't under the X-Men Origins banner. Gambit would make sense. And they're still talking about that "Young X-Men" movie, but I think that's going to be a total reboot, ala Star Trek, and have very little to do with the original X-trilogy.
I'd also like to see a Rogue/Iceman movie, and a Jean Grey movie where they do Dark Phoenix saga right. Basically, I want to pretend like X-Men: The Last Stand never happened.