The cinematic history of the X-Men is complex to say the least , and now it’s going to get even more complicated when we have to include it in the chronological order of Marvel movies and series. It’s not little. Not only because of the number of films, but also because of the presence of several timelines, created in the case of ‘X-Men’ by ‘Days of Future Past’, as well as decisions that they later ended up regretting. Not even Marvel movies are infallible, as our ranking of all Marvel movies attests.
From the inception of the new superhero cinema in 2000, to the pessimistic and bitter farewell, the ups and downs of the X-Men (and the occasional mercenary with a mouth) have kept us entertained for two decades thanks to their misadventures on the big screen. And it is that before ‘X-Men’ (Bryan Singer, 2000) all this was field . ‘Superman IV: In Search of Peace’ (Sidney J. Furie, 1987) had ended the man of steel on the big screen and, although Tim Burton did achieve something new, the advent of Joel Schumacher forced to place the 90s adventures of the caped crusader in another era. Singer, whether we like black leather or not, took the first step towards establishing the most profitable subgenre in current cinema.
A successful cast, even those that caused the most rejection at the time such as the then unknown Hugh Jackman, was largely part of its success.(and, all this time later, he’ll be back in ‘Deadpool 3‘). Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart took the characters in the foreground in which they appeared and comic fans ended up as satisfied as the general public thanks to the interest in telling a good adventure without straying too far from the established in the cartoons. Although many still accuse ‘The Matrix’ (Lilly and Lana Wachowski, 1999) of the excess of black leather that prevented them from seeing Logan in yellow, its resounding results at the box office contrasted with Fox’s initial fear that all this would explode in their faces , reason for which the producer did not dare to bet to the maximum, noticing in some designs that they were too cheap. Yes, we are talking about poor Sabretooth.
But all this changed when the box office handed down its verdict, starting an unstoppable comic fashion that led Fox to create a complex temporary puzzle that, after Disney swallowed the brand, has been left hanging in an alternate reality. The success of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ has strengthened its future in the medium (if not long) term of superhero cinema and, with the arrival of the multiverse in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the synergy obsession of Kevin Feige and company in the meshed soap opera , mutant inclusion seems imminent. Everything indicates that it will be in Phase 5 of Marvel.
Before the X Patrol returns to the big screen, we try to order their already released adventures, which one do you prefer?
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLFLAND (PROLOGUE)
The prologue of ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ takes place at the end of the 19th century and we see the origins, never better said, of Logan and his brother Sabretooth.
Set in the 1960s, this movie introduces us to Magneto before he became Magneto; Charles Xavier before he used a wheelchair and had a school for young talents; and how Mistica fits into all of this. Includes one of the most curious cameos in film history.
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (PAST SCENES)
Set between the 1970s and the not-so-future, this film completely upends the entire mutant timeline. With time travel, Wolverine will change the present… Well, no. He creates an alternate timeline, which we’ll call ‘timeline B’. All with the help of James Cameron .
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLFISH
The bulk of Wolverine’s first solo film takes place in the early ’80s, though it creates a tricky script hole with Ryan Reynolds and his Deadpool… that will later be patched. At the end of the movie, Charles recruits Wolverine.
This movie takes place in the 80s, and is the result of that TIMELINE B , since Wolverine is being held by William Stryker, although the young men of the Patrol end up freeing him by mistake. The pity is that Oscar Isaac does not keep a good memory of that.
The ‘Dark Phoenix’ movie takes place in the 90’s, in the early 90’s specifically, and continues in TIMELINE B. It shows us the fully unleashed powers of Jean Grey, and the consequences of it will be vital for the future of the group.
Set in the early 2000s, its story is from TIMELINE A. Wolverine meets the eternal Charles Xavier and the rest of the Patrol characters for the first time, as well as falling in love with Jean Grey.
The magnificent ‘X-Men 2’ established in the previous film, we see that William Stryker was experimenting with Wolverine and gave him his adamantium skeleton (something we have already seen in ‘Origins’), in addition to Jean’s sacrifice, which will have repercussions in the next movie.
X-MEN THE FINAL STAND
The no longer exactly brilliant ‘X-Men: The Final Stand’ takes place not long after the previous one, the Government has found a cure to eliminate the mutant gene. Jean reappears and will join Magneto to fight the cure. In the end, Wolverine has to end up killing Jean (or Phoenix).
X-MEN: IMMORTAL WOLFWOLF
After what happened in ‘The Final Decision’, Wolverine has separated from the X-Men and has decided to go into seclusion, having recurring nightmares with Jean, with whom he is still in love. But he travels to Japan to help an old friend… and he gets all messed up.
IMMORTAL WOLF (POST-CREDITS SCENE)
Some time later, Wolverine returns from Japan, and there he finds Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr (Magneto), who ask him for one last favor: to help them stop an impending war. In the background we see an advertisement for Bolivar Trask, responsible for the creation of the Sentinels.
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (SCENES PRESENT)
That mission is ‘Days of Future Past’, so Wolverine travels back in time to prevent the war against the mutants, creating an alternate timeline (TIMELINE B).
‘Deadpool’, which is already part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, takes place, from what we see on screen, in the 2010’s. Although jokes are made about it, the time line it belongs to is not very clear, but we assume that, since there is no trace of the Sentinels, it is part of that TIMELINE B, since the Sentinels have disappeared and they are not hunted the mutants. At least not with giant robots.
‘Deadpool 2’ takes place shortly after the first installment and, although it has a nod to the X-Men of ‘First Generation’, that cameo is temporarily impossible, since at the time in which the film is set, they would have to both Xavier and Bestia are close to 60 years old. But of course, seeing the same actors from ‘First Generation’, ‘Apocalypse’ and ‘Dark Phoenix’, they give us the key to affirm that ‘Deadpool’ is in that TIMELINE B.
With ‘The new mutants’ we already gave up. The story about this mutant mental institution takes place between universes, with a bit of here, a bit of there, and even a dash of ‘Logan’. Let everyone do what they want with it, totally, Disney doesn’t care.
With a surprising announcement, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman announced the return of Wolverine for the third Deadpool installment, the first in Disney’s MCU, Deadpool. Also, and this made our work easier, they were quick to ensure that the events of ‘Logan’ will not change, and that they remain canonical. That is to say, Logan dies in Logan (forgive the redundancy) and this film will show us the character before the year 2029, the date on which ‘Logan’ is set.
The film has a scheduled release date of September 6, 2024.
Set in 2029, this film exists in a timeline totally unrelated to the other two… which we could call the TRIBUTE TIMELINE. I explain:
. It is not part of TIMELINE A , since in ‘Days of Future Past’ we are told that the mutants have been practically exterminated by the Sentinels, but in ‘Logan’, the person in charge has been Charles Xavier, and years after what that we see in ‘Days of Future Past’.
. It is not part of TIMELINE B , since ‘Deadpool 2’, which takes place several years before, makes continuous references to Logan’s death, although nobody wants to believe that we will not see Hugh Jackman as Wolverine again.
The most logical thing is to put it in a sort of separate TIMELINE, a kind of tribute/farewell to two of the actors who have played characters so loved by everyone.
