The Fox X-Men film saga has always been a maverick within the superhero universe. With multiple incarnations, spin-offs , and films focused on a single character, it's undoubtedly the most uneven and heterogeneous franchise. To keep you from getting lost, we've compiled everything you need to know about the X-Men saga: films, characters, plots, and trivia, so you can become a true expert on the subject.
The X-Men are an incredibly popular group of superheroes in the Marvel Comics Universe. Their charisma and stories have made them favorites of many, so it's no surprise that they've had an extensive cinematic run , which we'll tell you about today.
But first, we have to know a couple of details to explain the mess of producers, sagas, franchises and characters.
The origin of the X-Men movies
When Marvel was about to go bankrupt in the 90s (who has seen it and who sees it now), it tried to sell rights to different superheroes to film producers. This is how we end up with a tremendous mess when it comes to making movies that have sensible continuity or are consistent with the comics.
Because of this, some of Marvel's most popular characters ended up scattered around like the children of a divorce.
Spider-Man ended up at Sony, Hulk at Universal and the X-Men (along with the Fantastic 4, but better not go there) ended up at Fox.
And then they started making movies to recoup the investment . The thing is, they didn't start badly, but it's been a very uneven saga, full of ups and downs.
What movies make up the saga?
Up to 13 films have been made that can be considered part of the X-Men universe . Some feature them as main protagonists, while others are set in that universe but only include cameos, or even less.
So let's try to undo the ball.
X-Men Original Trilogy Movies
The beginning of the X-Men in the cinema was not bad. In fact, this trilogy is acceptable, but the final movie ruined it.
X-Men (2000)
Mutants are outcasts, discriminated against in society. One of them, Marie, better known as Rogue, runs away from home and finds another mutant, Logan, also known as Wolverine. Professor Charles Xavier sends Storm and Cyclops to bring them to his school, but Magneto has other plans for revenge against humanity and needs Rogue.
It's not bad , which is much more than can be said for most of the films we'll see next.
X2 (2003)
Colonel William Stryker, who hates mutants, kidnaps Professor X and attacks his school. To face this threat, the X-Men have no choice but to ally themselves with their nemesis, Magneto.
Without a doubt, the best of the original trilogy.
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The powerful Phoenix Force appears for the first time and is wasted. Jean Grey shows signs of awakening this tremendous power and allies herself with Magneto . Professor X must confront them with the X-Men, and in the background, a "cure" has been developed that would turn mutants into normal people.
Director Brett Ratner publicly expressed his dislike for comics, and it shows. This is the worst of the trilogy.
the prequels
After the closure of the original trilogy, the resurgence of the franchise came through prequels set in time, for which there was a necessary change of actors.
X-Men: First Class (2011)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gtnlaSbjtY
Almost certainly the best movie in the entire X-Men saga.
Matthew Vaughn is a good director and shows us things like Magneto hunting Nazis in Argentina. We're shown the origins of the saga and the roots of the complex relationship between the main antagonists, Xavier and Magneto . The villain is Sebastian Shaw, who wants to trigger a nuclear conflict and returns younger, played by Kevin Bacon.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Vaughn leaves and Singer returns ( ugh ). The charisma and strength of the characters make the film not bad, but it doesn't even compare to the previous one.
The X-Men send Wolverine back in time trying to change history to prevent the extinction of humans and mutants. Peter Dinklage plays Bolivar Trask, inventor of the Sentinels, robotic hunters of mutants. The argument is a meaningless mess, it happens with all time travel, but here, more.
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Oscar Isaac plays Apocalypse and always regretted accepting the role, and not just because of the makeup and costume, which even required a cooling system. The X-Men face Apocalypse, one of Marvel's most powerful villains , who, of course, is completely wasted.
Basically, we're being set up for (yet again) the Dark Phoenix event in Jean Grey. Perhaps it could have been the worst in the new saga's descent, but the grand finale was still to come.
Dark Phoenix (2019)
One of the most important events in Marvel and the X-Men. If Apocalypse was a waste, this Jean Grey's Dark Phoenix is ​​even worse.
They don't bother to maintain consistency, neither with the comics nor with their own films in their handling of the plot. Don't even bother watching it if you haven't already suffered through it; the saga that started so well ended with a pathetic finale, hampered by numerous problems and delays of all kinds.
Wolverine movies
As Wolverine is the most charismatic X-Men, he had his own film saga. This was further fueled by Hugh Jackman's success in the role, making it impossible to imagine another Wolverine.
Of course, in the franchise's tradition, they proceeded to take an interesting premise and drag it through the mud.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
The origins of Wolverine and his brother, as the title suggests. The opening scene is one of the best, but after that the movie is a real bore , to be honest.
In fact, the final fight is embarrassing. But seriously, take a look at the opening sequence above and you've already seen everything worth watching.
Immortal Wolverine (The Wolverine) (2013)
Hugh Jackman is the most muscular Wolverine in the franchise in yet another forgettable film . It follows the typical superhero blockbuster formula , with a final fight where a thousand things get destroyed and nothing really matters.
That there was a "cure" so that Wolverine could finally be human, or something like that, but the argument is an excuse for Jackman's biceps.
logan (2017)
It's not as good as some say, but it's good . A change of tone and time for the end of Wolverine. In Logan , we see a deranged Xavier and a mature, limping Wolverine , his powers fading.
Look, I don't think I'm giving away any spoilers by saying it 's Wolverine's death and a fitting end worthy of the character. By far the best of this trilogy.
the deadpool saga
Ryan Reynolds was a fan of Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth, and he proves it with these movies where the X-Men make an appearance . However, these are secondary X-Men from the comics, not the ones who appeared in the main franchise, at least not until Deadpool 2.
dead pool (2016)
It's a typical superhero movie in terms of structure and doesn't try to be complicated. But the freshness of its approach and its adult, irreverent tone were a breath of fresh air. Audiences responded at the box office.
It's okay, it's not the marvel that many say , but it's okay.
Deadpool 2 (2018)
A bigger budget due to the success of the previous film, but much less originality . It's strange to see Josh Brolin as Cable while also playing Thanos, including a dig at the latter.
The main X-Men make a brief cameo , acknowledging Deadpool as one of their own.
Other movies set in the X-Men Universe
It is not worth it, but you have to complete everything well.
The New Mutants (2020)
You might not know there was a New Mutants movie, a spin-off. But don't feel bad if you don't know what I'm talking about; almost nobody remembers it, and the actors are probably trying to forget it.
The pandemic didn't help, and the fact that the film looks like it was made on a shoestring budget in a shabby location didn't help. Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams are in it, but seriously, don't even bother. It's incoherent and feels like a made-for-TV movie.
Main characters and actors
Who's who in the X-Men? Don't worry, we'll give you a summary guide.
For the actors who play the characters, again we are going to take the filming order of the movies, putting those from the original trilogy first and then the actors from the prequels in case they are different.
- Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart / James McAvoy): The mutant with the most incredible mental powers and sentenced to a wheelchair. He runs the school for mutants, in order to track them down, educate them, and keep them from getting out of control.
- Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen / Michael Fassbender): The main antagonist is a mutant with extraordinary powers based on magnetism, which allow him to do almost anything.
- Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Mutant with skeleton and claws adamantine, as well as healing powers.
- Mystique (Rebecca Romijn/ Jennifer Lawrence). Mutant with the ability to take on the appearance of any other person.
- Jean Gray (Famke Janssen/Sophie Turner). The most powerful mutant in the X-Men universe, host to the Phoenix Force. Her telepathy and her telekinesis will lead to tremendous and unstable powers that will make her a threat.
Other notable characters include the mutants Storm, Rogue, Beast, Nightcrawler or Quicksilver and the villains Psylocke and Sabretooth.
Curiosities about the saga
Here are some things you probably didn't know about the X-Men saga of movies.
- The actor Dougray Scott was in charge of giving life to Wolverine in the first film, but by playing the villain in Mission Impossible II, they had to find a last-minute replacement, one Hugh Jackman almost unknown and much less muscular then...
- we almost have a 1989 James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow X-Men film. It couldn't be at the end and Wolverine was going to be played by Bob Hoskins. I don't know how it would have been, but it couldn't have been worse than most of the films in the saga that ended up seeing the light.
- In 2010, during the filming of X Men First generation, James McAvoy wore hair extensions. He messed up and shaved his head in preparation for his first role as Professor X, but he doesn't lose his hair until the third film.
- There were plans of a movie with a young Wolverine from the 70s, played by Tom Hardy. She would have gone after X Men First generation, but its director Matthew Vaughn, said that Fox preferred another direction, and that they did not understand the continuity issue.
As you can see, the most interesting things in the X-Men movie saga seem to have been left out. We will see what Marvel and Disney do with the rights to this powerful franchise, now that they have returned home after the acquisition of Fox.