FEATURE: Five More X-MEN Spin-Off Movies We Want to See

Few could have predicted just how long the X-Men franchise would last. 17 years later, and the series has put out ten movies to date. We’ve had the main trilogy set in the present day, with another trilogy exploring the past. We also have three Wolverine movies and a Deadpool film. Next year, Fox is releasing New Mutants, Deadpool 2, and Dark Phoenix. Movies featuring Gambit, X-Force, X-23, Exiles, and Alpha Flight are also in various stages of development.

Of course, that’s not the end. The X-Men universe is vast, and it can easily live on for another decade or so. There is definitely potential to add several more spin-offs to the slate. Below, we’ve compiled a list of five spin-offs we would like to see.

Storm

Ororo Munroe is a key supporting player in the X-Men franchise. She was played by Halle Berry in four movies, while Alexandra Shipp takes on a younger version in Apocalypse and next year’s Dark Phoenix. Beyond that, it’s likely we’ll see this Storm in other future movies. So, why not a solo film?

Storm is one of the most iconic female characters in X-Men lore. Also, following the success of Wonder Woman, some focus is finally being turned towards female superhero films, with several movies in development at different studios. A Storm movie would also mark the first comic book film starring an African-American female hero (Catwoman doesn’t count), adding even more diversity. Storm can be a unique character, and one way of showing it is to flesh her out in her own film – especially if she continues to be overshadowed in the team movies.

Cyclops

After being played by James Marsden in the original X-Men trilogy, Tye Sheridan took over as a younger version of Scott Summers in Apocalypse. Many fans agree that Cyclops got the short end of the stick in the original films, as he was frequently overshadowed by other characters. The fact that he was killed off so quickly in The Last Stand (and later brought back for a brief cameo in Days of Future Past) didn’t help. And much of his screentime in the original trilogy was spent with Scott being entangled in a love triangle with Wolverine and Jean Grey.

However, having Cyclops star in a solo movie would fully flesh out the character. Sheridan’s performance was one of the highlights in Apocalypse, and hopefully, he’ll have much to do in Dark Phoenix. But by putting him in his own standalone movie, audiences could finally see that he’s a great character who doesn’t have to be overshadowed by the other mutants.

Magneto

Magneto has been a key character in both X-Men trilogies. Michael Fassbender plays him in the second one, and despite Apocalypse being the last movie on his contract, he too will return for Dark Phoenix. While Magneto could always return for future sequels, I would love to see the character go solo in his own movie.

Erik Lensherr is one of the greatest comic book villains/anti-heroes of all time. A film exploring him apart from Charles Xavier and the X-Men could be fascinating. A personal, smaller in scale film on par with The Wolverine or Logan would be great for Magneto. And if studios develop more comic book movies from the perspective of a villain or anti-hero, Magneto would be an obvious option. Plus, Fox was once developing X-Men Origins: Magneto. While many parts of the script were put into First Class, it shows that the studio was, perhaps still is, interested in a solo Magneto production.

Cable

Nathan Summers is finally coming to the big screen in Deadpool 2, played by Josh Brolin. Brolin signed a four-picture contract to play the character. We know that Cable will appear in X-Force, while he can always return in a sequel to either film or even one of the mainline X-Men movies. But what if one of Brolin’s options is a solo film?

Assuming Cable is a fan-favorite in Deadpool 2, Fox will likely want to push the character as much as possible. A standalone movie is one way to go about that. Deadpool 2 is not expected to go into detail about Cable’s convoluted origin, but a solo film could shed some light on it. It can also focus on Cable’s time travel shenanigans, which is always a lot of fun.

Bishop

Speaking of time travel, we have now reached our last suggestion. Lucas Bishop previously appeared in Days of Future Past, played by Omar Sy. In that movie, Bishop was an ally to the last mutants in an alternative future. He was ultimately killed by the Sentinels, but these events were later erased from the timeline. So, Bishop could always come back for a future film, including a solo story.

Like Cable, a Bishop movie could focus on the character’s time travel adventures. One story idea is to have him travel from a dystopian future into the modern era, where he meets members of the X-Men and tries to adapt to modern times. There’s certainly some solo potential for this character, whether Sy reprises the role or they recast.

Honorable Mentions: Excalibur, Starjammers, Dazzler, Daken, X-Women

Which X-Men spin-off movie(s) would you like to see?