Remembering 20th Century Fox's X-Men Movies

[DallasEast]

What were your favorite, not so favorite and everything in-between 20th Century Fox/X-Men movies?

 

[nobody]

The first three X-men movies... were Wolverine 1-3 guest starring the X-men. There were good and point points about them. X-3 was terrible. The first Wolverine movie was worse than X-3. The second was nothing to write home about. The one about Old man Logan was pretty good, but by that point it was Wolverine 6 and I never much liked the character anyway.

First Class I enjoyed even with the massive changes. Days of Future Past tried to fix the timelime, so I was cool with it. Apocalypse was laughable. I am not keen on Dark Phoenix....so I'm glad Disney is going to hand the property pack to Marvel studios.

 

[DallasEast]

... X-3 was terrible...

...I am not keen on Dark Phoenix....

I think it is almost criminal FOX had not one but TWO opportunities to do the Dark Phoenix saga justice but blew it both times. Crazy.

 

[nobody]

I think it is almost criminal FOX had not one but TWO opportunities to do the Dark Phoenix saga justice but blew it both times. Crazy.

I refuse to see Dark Phoenix in theaters, so I have no clue how bad they might have botched it. From the comics I remember reading, Fox chose poorly both times when casting an actress for Jean. However, I don't know how much of that perception was clouded by bad writing and direction.

I am optimistic that Marvel will actually decide to make an X-Men movie and not Wolverine, guest starring the X-Men. I think they need to wait to do it though and give it a little time before another reboot. (Days of Future Past was a soft reboot)

I do not think Disney will let them wait long.

 

[DallasEast]

I refuse to see Dark Phoenix in theaters, so I have no clue how bad they might have botched it. From the comics I remember reading, Fox chose poorly both times when casting an actress for Jean. However, I don't know how much of that perception was clouded by bad writing and direction.

I am optimistic that Marvel will actually decide to make an X-Men movie and not Wolverine, guest starring the X-Men. I think they need to wait to do it though and give it a little time before another reboot. (Days of Future Past was a soft reboot)

I do not think Disney will let them wait long.

I am not as hard on the Jean Grey casting, although I am sure proper known or even unknown upgrades existed at the time Famke Janssen (sp?) and Sophie Turner were picked.

Totally agree that Marvel's focus should initially be on the group itself in the order of film origination. In the books, Xavier collected his children of the Atom together when they were unknowns. Even a character like Wolverine operated in the shadows of history before banding with the Professor. I would not be opposed to Disney doing a similar presentation of movies (e.g. group before individual) like FOX did...well before FOX went Wolverine insane that is.

On the other hand, Disney/Marvel's cinematic long-range plan had Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America all precede The Avengers. They were successful for the most part in the ordering of the principal character debuts before the team film was launched. I will give them some leeway for how they would approach the problem--just as long as they do not lead with Wolverine.

Looking back, the time span between Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming was only three years. I hope Disney/Marvel will keep the re-launch of the franchise and/or individual characters to around that time frame. Yet, I will adhere to @stasheroo 's prior advice and not hold my breath waiting either.

 

[Runwildboys]

The first three X-men movies... were Wolverine 1-3 guest starring the X-men. There were good and point points about them. X-3 was terrible. The first Wolverine movie was worse than X-3. The second was nothing to write home about. The one about Old man Logan was pretty good, but by that point it was Wolverine 6 and I never much liked the character anyway.

First Class I enjoyed even with the massive changes. Days of Future Past tried to fix the timelime, so I was cool with it. Apocalypse was laughable. I am not keen on Dark Phoenix....so I'm glad Disney is going to hand the property pack to Marvel studios.

I liked the Wolverine character in the comics. Maybe it was just too much focus on him, but I didn't care much for him in the movies either.

 

[DallasEast]

I liked the Wolverine character in the comics. Maybe it was just too much focus on him, but I didn't care much for him in the movies either.

I can certainly see why some of the audience had Hugh Jackman burnout. Wolverine was the primary character for seven out of the 12 films. Until Deadpool, FOX never attempted to see if any other X-Men character was box office viable in a solo film--and Wade Wilson was never an Xavier disciple in the books!

There were a number of factors attributing the studio's anti-solo character stance and name recognition was one. Even so, a few of the actors could have been gambled upon like Halle Berry from the original cast and Michael Fassbender or Jennifer Lawrence from the second casting--actors who have headlined outside the genre. [EDIT: Well Berry did play Catwoman beforehand and thus headlined within the genre also but that flop was not primarily her fault. Sexiest female movie comic book superhero/villain character ever (sorry Scarlet ) ]

Whatever the case, FOX was determined to keep Jackson at the forefront. They killed Cyclops (James Marsden) off quickly in The Last Stand to make certain their movie focused on Logan and Jean only. Overkill. They made Wolverine basically Mr. EVERYTHING in Days of Future Past even though the original story featured Kitty Pryde as a primary co-character. I would suggest that FOX should have stopped with the X-Men premise and just went with X-Man instead. Of course that would have pissed me off since there was a character called X-Man but I digress.

The one thing I do give FOX credit was their handling of the Logan/Wolverine question in First Class. Erik and Charles approach Logan in a bar. He tells them (in classic form) to <expletive> off. Erik and Charles leaves him there drinking alone a few seconds later. Good stuff IMO. 'Logically' FOX must have their way, re-hire Bryan Singer ( ) to direct and re-introduce Wolverine in the very next film. SMH.

 

[Boom]

Until Deadpool, FOX never attempted to see if any other X-Men character was box office viable in a solo film--and Wade Wilson was never an Xavier disciple in the books!

As we all know, Fox deserves no credit for the foresight on Deadpool. They only green lit the film with a shoestring budget after intentionally leaked test footage created an internet uproar.

 

[DallasEast]

As we all know, Fox deserves no credit for the foresight on Deadpool. They only green lit the film with a shoestring budget after intentionally leaked test footage created an internet uproar.

Did not know that. At least they tried something out of the box.

 

[Runwildboys]

I can certainly see why some of the audience had Hugh Jackman burnout. Wolverine was the primary character for seven out of the 12 films. Until Deadpool, FOX never attempted to see if any other X-Men character was box office viable in a solo film--and Wade Wilson was never an Xavier disciple in the books!

There were a number of factors attributing the studio's anti-solo character stance and name recognition was one. Even so, a few of the actors could have been gambled upon like Halle Berry from the original cast and Michael Fassbender or Jennifer Lawrence from the second casting--actors who have headlined outside the genre. [EDIT: Well Berry did play Catwoman beforehand and thus headlined within the genre also but that flop was not primarily her fault. Sexiest female movie comic book superhero/villain character ever (sorry Scarlet ) ]


Whatever the case, FOX was determined to keep Jackson at the forefront. They killed Cyclops (James Marsden) off quickly in The Last Stand to make certain there movie focused on Logan and Jean only. Overkill. They made Wolverine basically Mr. EVERYTHING in Days of Future Past even though the original story featured Kitty Pryde as a primary co-character. I would suggest that FOX should have stopped with the X-Men premise and just went with X-Man instead. Of course that would have pissed me off since there was a character called X-Man but I digress.

The one thing I do give FOX credit was their handling of the Logan/Wolverine question in First Class. Erik and Charles approach Logan in a bar. He tells them (in classic form) to <expletive> off. Erik and Charles leaves him there drinking alone a few seconds later. Good stuff IMO. 'Logically' FOX must have their way, re-hire Bryan Singer ( ) to direct and re-introduce Wolverine in the very next film. SMH.

Berry did play Catwoman beforehand and thus headlined within the genre also but that flop was not primarily her fault. Sexiest female movie comic book superhero/villain character ever.

Agreed...unless you count Kate Beckinsale in Underworld as a superhero.

 

[Boom]

Did not know that. At least they tried something out of the box.

Maybe it wasn't as widely known as I thought. I was clamoring for a Deadpool movie ever since Origins butchered him. When the test footage dropped, the 13yr old inside me screamed like a girl at a NSYNC concert.

Now, if QT finally makes Kill Beatrix, I can die in peace.

 

[DallasEast]

Berry did play Catwoman beforehand and thus headlined within the genre also but that flop was not primarily her fault. Sexiest female movie comic book superhero/villain character ever.

Agreed...unless you count Kate Beckinsale in Underworld as a superhero.

In my defense, I associate the word genre in this sense with films involving DC and Marvel characters. At NO time did I intentionally attempt to offend Ms. Beckinsale in any shape form or fashion. That's my official story and I am sticking to it!

My my. She does look extremely good in leather doesn't she?

 

[DallasEast]

Maybe it wasn't as widely known as I thought. I was clamoring for a Deadpool movie ever since Origins butchered him. When the test footage dropped, the 13yr old inside me screamed like a girl at a NSYNC concert.

Now, if QT finally makes Kill Beatrix, I can die in peace.

Please please please tell me if you hear or read anything about Tarentino doing a sequel. The Kill Bill volumes are in my top 30 movies of all-time.

 

[Runwildboys]

In my defense, I associate the word genre in this sense with films involving DC and Marvel characters. At NO time did I intentionally attempt to offend Ms. Beckinsale in any shape form or fashion. That's my official story and I am sticking to it!

My my. She does look extremely good in leather doesn't she?

I'm genuinely unsure if a vampire counts as a superhero. I don't see why not, since they get their powers in many different ways.

 

[DallasEast]

I'm genuinely unsure if a vampire counts as a superhero. I don't see why not, since they get their powers in many different ways.

As Stuart would caution, "ARE YOU TRYING TO START A RUMBLE???"

Definitions differ. My personal definition of a fictional superhero is an individual who performs feats regularly and successfully beyond anything exhibited by those who they protect and/or for 'righteous' reasons. For this reason, I can quantify characters like Batman as superheroes while others cannot.

In my opinion, Selene is a superhero. She overcomes adverse odds defending those who cannot defend themselves. She is open-minded when necessary. Her vampiric powers have grown throughout her film franchise, even though she was the most feared Death Dealer at the start.

I consider Blade a superhero. Selene is in that same category in my book.

 

[Roadtrip635]

I can certainly see why some of the audience had Hugh Jackman burnout. Wolverine was the primary character for seven out of the 12 films. Until Deadpool, FOX never attempted to see if any other X-Men character was box office viable in a solo film--and Wade Wilson was never an Xavier disciple in the books!

There were a number of factors attributing the studio's anti-solo character stance and name recognition was one. Even so, a few of the actors could have been gambled upon like Halle Berry from the original cast and Michael Fassbender or Jennifer Lawrence from the second casting--actors who have headlined outside the genre. [EDIT: Well Berry did play Catwoman beforehand and thus headlined within the genre also but that flop was not primarily her fault. Sexiest female movie comic book superhero/villain character ever (sorry Scarlet ) ]

Whatever the case, FOX was determined to keep Jackson at the forefront. They killed Cyclops (James Marsden) off quickly in The Last Stand to make certain their movie focused on Logan and Jean only. Overkill. They made Wolverine basically Mr. EVERYTHING in Days of Future Past even though the original story featured Kitty Pryde as a primary co-character. I would suggest that FOX should have stopped with the X-Men premise and just went with X-Man instead. Of course that would have pissed me off since there was a character called X-Man but I digress.

The one thing I do give FOX credit was their handling of the Logan/Wolverine question in First Class. Erik and Charles approach Logan in a bar. He tells them (in classic form) to <expletive> off. Erik and Charles leaves him there drinking alone a few seconds later. Good stuff IMO. 'Logically' FOX must have their way, re-hire Bryan Singer ( ) to direct and re-introduce Wolverine in the very next film. SMH.

They did kinda follow Marvel's path in a way. It seemed that Wolverine was popping up in anything and everything in the Marvel comics, cameos, his own solo title, limited series etc. There was a time they could have renamed "Marvel Comics" to "Wolverine's Marvel Comics"

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

The CGI sequences of Quick Silver in the Fox movies is better than the Disney ones. I'll give them that.

 

[nobody]

I can certainly see why some of the audience had Hugh Jackman burnout. Wolverine was the primary character for seven out of the 12 films. Until Deadpool, FOX never attempted to see if any other X-Men character was box office viable in a solo film--and Wade Wilson was never an Xavier disciple in the books!

There were a number of factors attributing the studio's anti-solo character stance and name recognition was one. Even so, a few of the actors could have been gambled upon like Halle Berry from the original cast and Michael Fassbender or Jennifer Lawrence from the second casting--actors who have headlined outside the genre. [EDIT: Well Berry did play Catwoman beforehand and thus headlined within the genre also but that flop was not primarily her fault. Sexiest female movie comic book superhero/villain character ever (sorry Scarlet ) ]

Whatever the case, FOX was determined to keep Jackson at the forefront. They killed Cyclops (James Marsden) off quickly in The Last Stand to make certain their movie focused on Logan and Jean only. Overkill. They made Wolverine basically Mr. EVERYTHING in Days of Future Past even though the original story featured Kitty Pryde as a primary co-character. I would suggest that FOX should have stopped with the X-Men premise and just went with X-Man instead. Of course that would have pissed me off since there was a character called X-Man but I digress.

The one thing I do give FOX credit was their handling of the Logan/Wolverine question in First Class. Erik and Charles approach Logan in a bar. He tells them (in classic form) to <expletive> off. Erik and Charles leaves him there drinking alone a few seconds later. Good stuff IMO. 'Logically' FOX must have their way, re-hire Bryan Singer ( ) to direct and re-introduce Wolverine in the very next film. SMH.

The story I heard was that Marsden had a conflicting schedule due to being cast in Superman Returns as Lois Lane's boyfriend and made the choice to do that instead. If that's true, I don't blame him since it was Wolverine 1 and 2 previously and not X-Men and X-3 was likely to be Wolverine 3.

 

[DallasEast]

The story I heard was that Marsden had a conflicting schedule due to being cast in Superman Returns as Lois Lane's boyfriend and made the choice to do that instead. If that's true, I don't blame him since it was Wolverine 1 and 2 previously and not X-Men and X-3 was likely to be Wolverine 3.

The possibility of a script character re-write would add to the various factors that plagued the movie if true.

Marsden: Sorry folks but this is a once-in-a-lifetime role playing in Superman Returns.
Screenwriter: So you're ditching us for another re-hashed Supes flick huh?
Marsden: Yep.

Screenwriter: Well alrighty then! We will make the necessary changes for your part in our movie.​

Marsden: Like what exactly?

Screenwriter: Let's see... I got it! Jean is re-born as Phoenix. The first person she sees is you. Then her out of control cosmic powers atomizes you! Good stuff if I do say so myself!
Marsden: Let me get this straight. The love of Jean's life gets obliterated? Without a trace? And in short order? That kind of ending seems pretty anticlimactic for a love struck couple doesn't it? There is no coming back from that. I thought my role would be re-written where I am off fighting with Spider-Man or some other nonsense. Guess I am the BIG sudden death of the movie right?
Screenwriter: Nah. We plan on quickly obliterating Patrick Stewart out of the movie too.​

 

[Stash]

What were your favorite, not so favorite and everything in-between 20th Century Fox/X-Men movies?

I see Fox's X-Men as wasted opportunity. Some middling successes wrapped up in disappointing failures
(like this week). A tale of "what might have been", given the intellectual property, characters and potential stories they had. And Fox's failure (and when you ultimately sell the rights back, you failed) to truly capitalize on what they had only makes Disney and Marvel's continued and ever-increasing success that much more impressive.

I see it as the difference between careful planning and little or no planning. Fox truly had no big picture or long term plan from the very beginning, and that's why they picked characters off the shelf from whatever X-Men timeline they saw fit, no plan. And then they carelessly killed off a whole bunch in X3. Why? Again, no planning.

Making the right choices of who you have in charge is huge, and when you get it wrong like Fox did, or like D.C. did with Zack Snyder, the results can be catastrophic.

The X-Men films had a measure of success despite FOX, not because of them. And now I'm just eager to see Marvel do right by their own characters, both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

I said before this film was released, just get this over with. And based on the terrible reviews and box office, fans agree with me.