FOX is looking for anyway they can to continue the X-Men property going and not lose it to Marvel. Hopefully someday it can revert back to Marvel and we can get a fun X-Men movie series based on the entire team, but hope springs eternal. In either case, they’ve discussed giving spin offs to Magneto and Gambit, and are also going to continue the Wolverine solo movie series. Considering Wolverine is basically the center of the X-Men movies, he technically has six movies under his belt, already. Magneto also had a movie centered on him, which was called “First Class,” the movie originally penned to be the Magneto origin movie later altered in to an X-Men prequel, so the plans for his spin off feel incredibly redundant.
Gambit has potential, but who knows if they’ll actually go with his thievery background in New Orleans, and just give him a generic adventure through America (with cameos from other X-Men)? From a humongous roster of X-Men characters and spin offs, FOX is short sighted in giving spin offs to the two most prominent characters in the X-Men movie series, and we decided to list five X-Men properties much more deserving of spin offs and prequels than the three most over exposed characters of the Marvel series.
Rogue
Rogue is much more than a gorgeous young woman whose Southern accent fades in and out while she whines to Iceman over and over ad nauseum. She’s conflicted about her superpowers, and she is a strong willed individual. Not to mention, she accidentally murdered Ms. Marvel, consuming her powers and her memories. Rogue is then imbued with amazing powers of flight, super strength, and agility, but she is also haunted by her past crimes against other mutants. As well, she is incapable of touching anyone, thus her longing for human contact. She’s so much more than a damsel in distress.
Nightcrawler
Whether mutant or Demon, Nightcrawler is a complex character who could either be adapted as the swashbuckling dark elf he was depicted as in “Excalibur,” or as the religiously devout misunderstood monster from other versions of his lore. In either form, Nightcrawler is a charming and admirable hero and my favorite X-Man. He’s a young and horrified being perceived as a monster by many, and seeks to maintain his hope in his religion and mankind, though looked at as a demon. He could explore his origins, take on other supernatural foes, and really shine in a movie, making up for where Brett Ratner failed.
X-Factor
X-Factor is an off shoot of the X-Men, except they’re mutants working within the government system and by their rules. So since FOX had the bright idea to turn Havok in to one of the first students of Professor X, the smart thing to do would be to introduce Cyclops! This time, as the leader of the X-Factor, a no nonsense mutant conflicted between his duties to his superiors and his duties to his kind. It’d be the perfect platform for Cyclops to shine with his own team without Wolverine hogging the spotlight, and it’d be a different angle to the series for someone more talented than Bryan Singer to take on.
Kitty Pryde/ShadowCat
Kitty Pryde isn’t just an X-Men supporting character, as she has an entire mythos all her own to help lead three movies and then some. Kitty should have rightfully been the main character in Singer’s “X-Men” movie as she’s a young humble girl given a remarkable ability to pass through literally any surface. It’s a horrifying power that needs to be controlled. Not to mention, Kitty also has a small dragon named Lockheed who becomes her loyal pet and ally. In a world where “Game of Thrones” made dragons popular again, Lockheed would most definitely become a popular character again, and Pryde could head her own PG-13 adventure film, giving young girls their own movie heroine from the comics, finally. And keep Ellen Page, she’s the quintessential Pryde.
New Mutants
This could be set in the future with a brand new slew of mutants that can learn from the descendant of the X-Men, or perhaps one of the X-Men now well in to their old age. No, not Wolverine. Shut up about Wolverine, already. In either case, this could be the perfect chance to showcase new characters, new villains, and probably begin a new series launching from the X-Men property. And it could be more teen centric and less gloom and doom than the “X-Men” movies.