Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige lately confirmed that the upcoming X-Males film could be a “very youth-oriented” reboot (yet one more one), but it surely was greater than only a casting be aware. It was a press release of intent, signaling that the reboot will deal with a youthful, extra various solid of gifted kids who “really feel like they don’t belong,” aligning extra with the core themes of the X-Males comics. Feige’s new route suggests a contemporary method to the franchise, transferring away from the older, established characters that have been beforehand depicted.
Nonetheless, Feige’s contemporary method isn’t precisely novel from the angle of comedian e book lovers. Regardless of being the most important cinematic franchise in historical past, the MCU can also be the most important adaptation, and Marvel followers understand that the creatives at Marvel and Disney are sometimes following a beforehand set blueprint. If Feige’s objective is to really deal with younger individuals, their struggles, and their sense of displacement, a blueprint for such a story already exists in one of many franchise’s earlier diversifications: the early-2000s animated collection X-Males: Evolution.
The X-Males comics have been, and proceed to be, a metaphor for real-world discrimination, no matter whether or not it’s primarily based on race, faith, sexuality, or every other distinction. Our mutant heroes are highly effective, and the powers they use for good make them extraordinary, but additionally feared and hated by the society they defend. X-Males: Evolution took this message however reimagined the narrative during which the mutant staff isn’t a bunch of seasoned heroes however highschool college students studying to navigate adolescence in a world that fears them, whereas additionally addressing their typical teenage points and occasional angst within the background.
Principally, the collection didn’t instantly toss the protagonists into world conflicts and multiversal threats. As an alternative, it grounded the characters within the acquainted pressures of highschool, all with friendships, rivalries, crushes, and the awkward processes of determining who they’re. What’s most attention-grabbing about that exact framework is that it didn’t dilute the core message X-Males conveyed. If something, it sharpened the message, as themes of prejudice, isolation, and id all the time really feel extra pressing once you’re a young person trying to determine your house below the solar.
And that is precisely the form of emotional territory Feige described in his current press rounds, calling the X-Males comics a spot to inform tales about younger individuals who really feel completely different, and who really feel like they don’t belong. This can do two issues: it should differentiate the MCU’s tackle the franchise from Fox movies that got here earlier than, and it’ll introduce youthful actors to painting rising heroes. Okay, we are able to perceive the previous; whereas there are some nice Fox-made X-Males films, the run ended with Darkish Phoenix, which was panned for weak storytelling, rushed character arcs, and franchise fatigue.
To not point out 2020’s The New Mutants, which landed with little cultural affect, additional contributing to timeline confusion and continuity contradictions on prime of franchise fatigue. The brand new franchise “refresh” below Feige may use the MCU’s multiverse to put the legacy iterations to relaxation whereas introducing new ones. Professor X already made his look in Physician Unusual 2, and Hugh Jackman returned as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine (which additionally put an finish to Chris Evans’ Human Torch), so it’s fairly affordable to anticipate the remainder of the solid to look in upcoming MCU movies.
Contemplating that Patrick Stewart‘s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto, Famke Janssen’s Jean Gray, and James Marsden’s Cyclops are slated to look in Avengers: Doomsday, there’s a risk that we’ll be saying our goodbyes to the outdated guard fairly quickly. This can successfully wipe the slate clear for Feige and the inventive staff on the MCU to construct one thing new. Plus, many actors are near getting old out of their respective X-Males roles, so introducing contemporary faces is an effective method to go ahead. Maybe we’ll get our Cavillrine, in any case.
The casting of youthful actors can also be pragmatic, particularly now that MCU films aren’t robotically hitting the billion-dollar mark. In different phrases, the push for contemporary faces is also coming from the will to maintain the prices down. Adapting the X-Males: Evolution animated collection into live-action may assist Feige and the MCU accomplish all the pieces narratively by specializing in youthful, less-established characters, which not solely creates more room for character development over the course of a number of films but additionally lowers the barrier to entry for brand new audiences.
Plus, a solid of twenty-somethings may feasibly carry the franchise for a decade or extra. This might be a recipe for franchise success, particularly since X-Males: Evolution’s fan base, a lot of whom have been teenagers themselves, at the moment are adults, able to carry their very own youngsters into the MCU fold and the fantastic world of Marvel Comics. Marvel did the identical factor with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man film collection, and it’s most likely the closest the MCU has come to the Evolution system.
So, by drawing inspiration from X-Males: Evolution, Marvel Studios has the chance to craft a story that resonates with youthful audiences, whereas staying true to the essence of the X-Males and the franchise’s core messaging. Ultimately, maybe the route Feige envisions for the MCU’s X-Males isn’t only a coincidence, in any case.
The submit If Kevin Feige Is Asking for a Youthful Method to the X-Males, Does He Have to Look Any Additional Than ‘X-Males: Evolution’? appeared first on Black Woman Nerds.