'Never-Ending Reboots': The Cinematic Future of the X-Men

So we've had quite a bit happen since my "Inhumans vs. X-Men" post in regards to the X-Men's place in Marvel's future. But now we're not just talking about comics, but film as well.

Starting with the big news, it's looking possible that Fox has plans to reboot the X-Men as Bryan Singer steps away from the franchise. On one hand, I feel this is disappointing because I really would have liked to see where the young X-Men shown at the end of "Apocalypse" would go. If anything, they could have done a soft reboot. But I guess this would give them more of a fresh start and drop the "each film takes place 10 years later" pattern they've gone through. Besides that, now would be the best time. Not only did "Apocalypse" bring things full circle, but Hugh Jackman's last performance as Wolverine is slated for next year's "Logan" film.
Here's the thing though. Fox needs to tread carefully. I applaud the X-Men franchise for lasting this long without fully hitting the restart button, despite the revitalizations of the "First Class" trilogy. Audiences are wary when it comes to reboots. As much as I loved the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, it was never fully accepted, mainly because some felt it was too soon after the original trilogy, leading to many compare and contrast debates. But of course, this lead to Spider-Man being rebooted again into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a much warmer embrace. I've already mentioned before about a rumor of Marvel consulting with Fox on their future movies, but let's come back to this later.

Another major announcement this week was an Inhumans TV series set to debut next September. Originally, Marvel had been planning an Inhumans film at the tail end of Phase Three/beginning of Phase Four, but was taken off the schedule for unknown reasons. While Inhumans have been appearing on "Agents of SHIELD", the actual Inhumans spin-off will most likely do what the movie would have and feature the main characters of the Royal Family such as king Black Bolt and queen Medusa. Despite the Inhuman presence on "SHIELD", they haven't exactly taken off in the comics like Marvel has hoped for. This could be a factor to why the movie was scrapped and moved to TV. This is probably a good thing though. Despite the connective nature of the MCU, events of the TV series, even the Netflix shows, have yet to be mentioned in the films. So chances are a character like Daisy Johnson/Quake probably wouldn't even had made an appearance in an Inhumans film.

Lastly, it was revealed that there was deal made between Marvel and Fox. Nothing too big, just a character swap. As James Gunn was writing the script for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", he was doing so with a major focus on Ego, the Living Planet. However, he would find out that Fox, not Marvel actually had the rights to the character. This really put him in the bind because he didn't have back-up plan, which would have been problematic for the cosmic sequel. But as luck would have it, Fox would approach Marvel to use Negasonic Teenage Warhead for the Deadpool movie, and thus a trade was made, and one that's most likely to work out best for both studios.

Considering that the Inhumans have been "downgraded" to TV, and that Marvel and Fox are working together to some capacity (including the "Legion" TV series), you're probably wondering where I'm going with all this and what this has to do with an X-Men reboot? Here's a couple more things: the Doctor Strange movie has introduced the multiverse concept, and the originally two-part "Avengers: Infinity War" has been settled to just one with "Avengers 4" being its own entity (as of the end of July).

The conclusion I'm reaching: Marvel and Fox are working to make a new X-Men film universe separate from the main MCU but will include crossovers, with "Avengers 4" becoming an "Avengers vs. X-Men" film to introduce said universe.
Fox knows they're gambling with a reboot, but a reboot with Marvel's seal of approval would benefit both sides. You're probably thinking "why don't they just bring mutants into the main MCU?" Well as I said in a previous post, Marvel has already positioned the Inhumans into the mutant role, and it's too late to turn back on that now. I've always seen the X-Men franchise as being able to sustain its own universe, but seeing it interact with the main MCU would bring about something new. In the main MCU, heroes like the Avengers are seen as role models, despite criticisms they face like in "Civil War". But with the X-Men, considering their evolutionary stance, people do have reason to hate and fear them, not fully accepting them as heroes. The X-Men could view the Avengers and their world as an ideal to strive for.
Imagine this: considering the Infinity Stones are all in play in "Infinity War", it's possible the Space and Reality stones could open a portal to the X-Men's world, and in a post-credits scene, we're introduced to Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Angel stranded in the MCU.
The fact that the Inhumans are stuck on TV gives more credence to Marvel shifting that focus toward an X-Men franchise, especially since the Inhumans were supposed to fill the X-Men role, although they could still on TV. As an acquaintance on a message board has pointed out, given the results of this year's presidential election and the prejudices that have escalated since then, the need for heroes like the X-Men in both comics and movies will probably be stronger than ever.
Now even if the X-Men do start from scratch, it's still possible for the Deadpool movie to remain in tact (keeping Ryan Reynolds in the process). If you think about it, that movie had such a different feel and mostly disconnected from the other X-Men movies, as evidence by how different Colossus was from previous installments. Even the "Legion" TV series could work in the same way, especially with Marvel involved.

Of course, this is all just speculation. But anything could happen, right? The evidence does point to some good will between the two studios. How far that good will go is hard to say. The way I see it though, there would be no downside to this kind of deal with Marvel having some part in the X-Men while Fox retains the rights but allowed to do their own thing without interfering with MCU plans. Everyone would win, especially the fans. Time will tell I suppose.

Movie Review: Doctor Strange - Every Little Thing He Does is Magic

When it comes to a character like Dr. Strange, producing a movie based on him is a no-brainer. Even when the MCU was still beginning, it was something people wanted. Sure enough, the film was slated for Phase Three with Benedict Cumberbatch of "Sherlock" fame in the role.
So I'll be honest. I wasn't as hyped for this film compared to everything else I've seen this summer. Part of it is when you see a Marvel Studios film, they've done no wrong so far so you just expect it to be good. I mean, you know that Cumberbatch will be good and so will the visuals. Even going in after knowing about the great reviews, I still didn't think it would be up there with Cap, Avengers, or Guardians. Well, consider my face red because my expectations were GREATLY exceeded.
I have to hand it to Marvel firstly for not giving away too much in the trailers and TV spots; that's part of the same reason why Winter Soldier blew me away, and it repeats itself here.

Starting with the actors, I don't think there was a bad one in the bunch, and the interaction between them was amazing.
Cumberbatch was beyond excellent in the lead role. I mean, I knew he'd be good, but I wasn't expecting him to give one of the best performances in the MCU yet. His character arc is amazing, from the confident yet arrogant surgeon, to his downward spiral after his accident in a pretty heart-breaking montage of his recovery and rehab, to becoming a well versed sorcerer. In some ways, I saw a bit of other Marvel heroes in his story. Like Tony Stark, he's super sure of himself (as you'd probably expect from one-half of the Awesome Facial Hair Bros). Like Thor, he becomes arrogant and has to learn some humility (not to mention he even has someone close to him who dresses in green). Like Cap, he has something to prove, wanting to help people but try not to kill anyone. What was also nice to see was how green Strange was. In my experience with Strange, I'm used to seeing him at the peak of his abilities. Even if they talk about his beginnings, they usually skim over the training. He doesn't become the Sorcerer Supreme yet, but he's well on his way.
The Ancient One was pretty much what you'd think of when it comes to an all-powerful teacher. I know there was a lot of flack when it came to Tilda Swenton being cast in a traditionally 'old asian man' role (I think they even poke fun at that expectation in the film itself), but seriously, I couldn't see anyone doing any better in the performance she gave.
Brother Mordo is usually seen as a villain, but this film shows us his own beginnings as a fellow student with Strange with the two forming a friendship. I think it was a great move to save him as the villain for a sequel, as this film does a great job of foreshadowing Mordo's dark path after all he goes through.
Benedict Wong as...Wong (seriously, someone did that on purpose) was another fun part of the film. In some stories, Wong is usually seen as Strange's servant, like the Alfred to his Batman. Honestly though, I always thought Wong was more of a sidekick, able to hold his own but not as strong as Strange himself. If anything, the film shows the two on even ground, not to mention the interaction they have is also pretty fun. I think what makes it most interesting is that Wong is the one who's more knowledgeable in the mystic arts instead of Strange. It may be a long shot, but I do hope Wong makes some sort of appearance in "Infinity War", just to see how the two's relationship has grown, saving us from waiting on a sequel.

Now the visuals. I knew this film was going to be trippy and worth the 3D viewing, but it took things further than I expected. Think "Inception" meets "Ant-Man", but cranked up to 10. I reference "Ant-Man" because some of the strange dimensions we see, like the Dark Dimension, actually remind me of the Quantum Realm Scott shrank down to (I'm not too sure, but I think the Quantum Realm was actually shown here too). The best comparison to "Inception" was the skyscrapers being manipulated, but with magic instead of being a dream, making me feel that if "Inception" had gone a little further, it could have been similar to what we saw here. The use of magic by individuals was also interesting as well, from the creation of portals and weapons (making me think of Scarlet Witch's hand motions), not to mention a pretty cool astral projection fight.

In a way, "Doctor Strange" is another game-changer as magic and the supernatural, while being teased with The Hand on "Daredevil" and Ghost Rider on "Agents of SHIELD", has now been fully introduced into the MCU. I wouldn't say it's the same game-changing level as the Avengers or Captain America movies though, as magic isn't actually revealed to the public, but for the audiences, it was still something brand new and amazing.

I really don't want to say much without spoiling anything, I really recommend seeing "Doctor Strange", especially in 3D. Even if you're not sure about it, trust me, you will NOT regret it. Plus, you might as well get familiar with him before "Infinity War".

My Marvel Cinematic Universe Film Rankings:
1. Captain America: Civil War
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. The Avengers
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
6. Doctor Strange
7. Ant-Man
8. Iron Man 3
9. Thor
10. Captain America: The First Avenger
11. Iron Man
12. The Incredible Hulk
13. Iron Man 2
14. Thor: The Dark World