Superhero Films In 2017: A Look at the X-Men Series

Next in this series of editorials, I thought it'd be fun to tackle the X-Men Universe, produced by Twentieth Century Fox. As part of Marvel's film deals in the 1990's, Fox gained the film rights to the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Daredevil, and thus in 2000 we got X-Men (2000) directed by Bryan Singer. While not regarded as a classic, the film was surprisingly successful at the time and gained a sequel in X-Men 2 (or X2: X-Men United in the States) in 2003, followed by the infamous Ben Affleck-led Daredevil film; a Fantastic Four movie and Elektra spin-off in 2005; and then X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006, which marked a significant turning point. While their other Marvel projects hadn't taken off, The Last Stand marked the first disliked X-Men movie, and when Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) failed to reach the success Fox were hoping for, Matthew Vaughn was brought in for a soft-reboot with X-Men: First Class (2011), which helped kick-start the current slate, followed by The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and Logan (2017).
Now, before I go much further, there's a lot of information to un-pack in here. Bryan Singer left after X2 before coming back for Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, instead making DC's Superman Returns. Thus, Brett Ratner took on X3 and due to all sorts of issues Origins: Wolverine turned out a complete mess (and generally regarded as a complete and total cinematic disaster). First Class was both a prequel and reboot, in part due to Matthew Vaughn basically making the entire production in eleven months outside of constant producer influence, and because of its critical and moderate box office success, a Wolverine sequel and direct X-Men sequel were green-lit - probably after the success of Marvel's The Avengers in 2012. Days of Future Past made a load of money worldwide, which helped get Deadpool off the ground in 2016 to huge financial success; Apocalypse garnered mixed critical and box office success; and Logan earlier this year made a load of money on its moderate budget thanks to a unique marketing strategy and critical acclaim.
Where does that leave the franchise now then? The X-Men movies themselves are hit-and-miss, the Wolverine films have now reached a natural end and Deadpool is relatively untested as actual franchise material. Will Deadpool 2 make as much money? Well, as long as its not too expensive, it needn't get a huge amount to be profitable, but with Deadpool 3 and X-Force on the way, Deadpool 2 needs to make near to or even surpass the first's success to guarantee its sequels' success.
With Apocalypse's disappointing reception, its not too surprising that X-Men: Dark Phoenix next year is attempting to capitalize on a popular X-Men comic story-line, but with fans' negative responses to almost everything surrounding the film so far, it's difficult to see exactly what Fox is hoping for with Dark Phoenix. It's a rebooted version of X3, and from the sounds of it isn't breaking new ground for the franchise. It's exactly what killed Apocalypse, and Fox want to try it again. I do wonder if a direct, smaller sequel would have been the better route to get fans back on-board the hype train, especially if rumours are to be believed and Dark Phoenix really will be a two-part epic released in 2018 and 2019.
And then there's New Mutants. While that film spin-off has been kept relatively under-wraps, it suggests a small, tight production that could made quite a bit of cash based on a >$100 million budget. It's a superhero horror film that could intrigue an audience tired of the usual shtick (see Deadpool and Logan for "original" success in the genre) and gain a mini-franchise of its own. Gambit, on the other hand, appears to be a 2019 moderately-budgeted flick that will sink or swim based purely on quality alone. Channing Tatum doesn't guarantee success, but Channing Tatum in a good and unique superhero film might.
Where next though? Well, it's all quite difficult to tell at the moment. I've listed all of the films announced from Fox so far, but there's little to say overall. The X-Men franchise has thrived on change and unique stories - hence the success of the first two films, First Class, The Wolverine, Days of Future Past, Deadpool and Logan. Each succeeded for very different reasons, so its difficult to find a common success streak that isn't basically just making unique films.
On the TV front though, Legion and The Gifted have each made their debut this year, and while Legion has definitely engaged a niche audience, it does have a very passionate and eager viewership who adore the show (and rightly so, from what I've seen), The Gifted has kicked-off to a rather lukewarm reception. Both will probably or maybe are already getting second seasons, and today Fox have apparently announced two more X-Verse series'. Will they succeed? Time will tell, especially given a Hellfire Club spin-off didn't reach the Pilot episode stage not so long ago.
I feel like I don't have much to say on the X-Men front. The films are ticking along, the shows are doing fine and...wait, do I have to mention Fantastic Four? Damn.
The Fantastic Four "franchise" reached a new low with 2015's Fant4stic. If you haven't seen it, it was awful. If you have seen it, you know it was awful. Fox did want a soft-reboot sequel, but since then a family-friendly Fantastic Four film based around their children has been green-lit and Noah Hawley is supposedly working on a Doctor Doom movie. Um...yay? The only light in the darkness appears to be Matthew Vaughn's enthusiasm to make a "good" Fantastic Four film, but for now it appears that the Fantastic Four just aren't made for the big-screen. Maybe a series would work better? Who knows, but for now Fox seem to be doing okay with their Marvel properties.