The Next X-Men Movie: See Henry Cavill As Wolverine
Disney has acquired 20th Century Fox and along with it they now own the full rights to the next X-Men movie, putting the famous mutants back in the Marvel family.
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Disney has acquired 20th Century Fox and along with it they now own the full rights to the next X-Men movie, putting the famous mutants back in the Marvel family. They will definitely want to reboot the entire X-Men franchise and when they do, they’ll be recasting all the characters… except maybe Wolverine, depending on what Hugh Jackman is doing.
Making Wolverine More Inclusive
One of Marvel’s biggest focuses in a post-Endgame world is to make all of their properties more inclusive. They want more LGBTQ representation and a lot of it. As part of that, word is they’re considering making Wolverine bi-sexual.
News of this plan comes from proven Marvel scooper Daniel Richtman who is a little vague but strongly hints that’s what they’re considering.
It’s something that has already happened in the recent Marvel comics. Here’s an example…
Though Richtman has been pretty reliable in the past, at best this is probably just something Marvel is considering and not something they’re committed to, at least not just yet.
Changing The X-Men Name
Back when the X-Men were first created in the comics, the English language was different. The word “men” was an inclusive term which could indicate you were talking about a group of males, but it also was used to indicate groups of men and women in much the same way “mankind” used to.
Now, due to the work of activists, the word “men” has had its inclusiveness stripped from it and when people hear “men” they only think of a group of males. As a result, word is that Marvel is considering changing the name of the “X-Men” for the next X-Men movie because they don’t feel it sounds inclusive enough.
At this point the idea is only in the discussion stages at Marvel and we don’t know what they’d change it to if they do decide to go this route. X-People sounds terrible. So do X-Humans or really just about any other X-combination you can come up with besides X-Men. They could always go with something like X-Force, which is already the name of another comic book mutant group, but one that hasn’t made it to theaters yet.
The X-Men brand has 60 years of history behind it. Sacrificing that on the alter of modern political correctness seems like a fairly risky financial move.
The Plot Of Marvel’s X-Men Movie
Marvel’s new X-Men movie is still in early development stages, so anything we learn about what they’re considering for the plot could change before the film makes it to screen. That said, Mikey Sutton is a proven Marvel insider with a known track record, and he says he knows what they’re planning.
According to Sutton, the next X-Men movie will explore The Savage Land storyline from the comics. If you’ve read those or seen the excellent 90s X-Men animated series, then you know the Savage Land is sort of like Land of the Lost, a place where dinosaurs still exist and an evil mutant flying dino named Sauron (no relation to the one from Lord of the Rings) rules.
Using this popular X-Men storyline is a great way for Marvel to differentiate its movies from the X-Men movies that have already been done. Superheroes battling dinosaurs is something no one has ever seen before and I trust Marvel to pull it off without letting it get too silly.
However even though Sauron would be one of the villains of Marvel’s X-Men movie in this scenario, Sutton says he wouldn’t be the real bad guy. Apparently they’d also bring in Mr. Sinister, as a secret figure behind the scenes pulling the strings. More on Sinister below…
Casting Iceman
Shawn Ashmore played Iceman in the previous X-Men movies and he has now moved on to play the superhero Lamplighter on Amazon’s The Boys. So Marvel is looking to recast the part.
The latest word from WGTC is that Marvel may be considering Shia LaBeouf to take on the role of Bobby Drake aka Iceman in their X-Men reboot. He’s also reportedly under consideration to play Moon Knight in Marvel’s upcoming series, but he’s a top contender for Iceman and not so much for Moon Knight.
Here’s one fan’s idea of what Shia LaBeouf would look like as the X-Men’s new Iceman…
Casting Shia LaBeouf as anyone in anything seems like kind of a risky bet, given his very public recent behavior and possible mental instability. But as an actor who once tattooed his entire chest to play a character, there’s no doubting Shia’s dedication to the craft of acting. He’ll do anything, literally anything, to play a role.
Casting Jean Grey In Marvel’s X-Men Movie
Jean Grey will be recast for the new X-Men movie and there’s a fan campaign to get Lady Gaga the job. Why her Monsters think she’d be a fit is anyone’s guess, but they’re so passionate about it they’ve put together this rendering of what Gaga would look like as Phoenix…
Sorry Lady Gaga, I still don’t see it.
Casting Storm
It’s hard to say who Marvel will cast in their new X-Men movie, but fans are already lobbying for Janelle Monáe to get the part. She’s primarily known as a singer but she’s also had a career as an actress.
Janelle Monáe even appeared in an episode of Stargate Universe, back in 2009. And she definitely looks the part of Storm, as evidenced by this fan art which puts her in the role perfectly…
Most recently Janelle appeared on the series Homecoming. That was just released this year so even though her music career has skyrocketed, she’s still working as an actress. Make it happen Marvel!
Casting X-Men Diversity
Aside from Storm the X-Men are largely caucasian and that doesn’t really fit in with Marvel’s stated goal of increasing the levels of ethnic diversity in their movies. So it seems likely they’ll be hiring people of color to play previously caucasian characters in the next X-Men movie, starting with Professor X and Magneto.
The rumor of Professor X and Magneto being race-swapped started with this source and spread from there. We’ve heard names like Denzel Washington and Giancarlo Esposito being circulated as possibly on the list for the two characters before. And now Fortress of Solitude says that Giancarlo Esposito will indeed be cast as the new Professor X in Marvel’s refreshed X-Men franchise.
Anyone who has seen Breaking Bad or more recently The Mandalorian knows Giancarlo is an incredible actor with all the gravitas needed to pull off just about anything. While casting him as Professor X would likely require changing Xavier’s origins at least somewhat, Giancarlo is such a great actor it might be worth doing.
Casting Mr. Sinister For The Next X-Men Movie
Most of the rumors around Marvel’s plans for the X-Men have them using Mr. Sinister as the new franchise big bad. Sinister is a huge figure in the X-Men comics and was also a big part of their highly successful animated series, but he hasn’t really made it into any of the previous movies.
Now word is that Marvel has their eye on none other than Mad Men star Jon Hamm to play Sinister.
This isn’t the first time his name has been bandied around for the superhero villain role. Back when Fox was still running the X-Men franchise they were supposedly casting Jon Hamm to play Mr. Sinister in The New Mutants. Hamm may have even shot scenes as the character in New Mutants, but those scenes were reportedly cut from the film and won’t show up if and when it’s ever released.
Henry Cavill As X-Men’s Wolverine
It’s safe to say that the only superhero people want Henry Cavill to play is Superman. But since the DC side of the superhero world doesn’t seem to actually want him back in those tights, why not have him jump over and play Marvel’s biggest name hero?
Here’s one fan’s idea of what Henry Cavill could look like as Wolverine…
Right now we don’t know who Marvel will end up casting as Wolverine in their new X-Men movies, but maybe Henry Cavill is a good fit.
Hugh Jackman As Wolverine?
Word is that Disney really wants Hugh Jackman to return as Wolverine in their future X-Men reboots, but after wrapping up the character’s run perfectly in the movie Logan, Jackman has been adamant that he’s done playing the character. But Disney wants him so badly that Marvel’s Kevin Feige actually went to Jackman and made him an offer to return as Logan. Unfortunately, rumor has it that Hugh Jackman turned the offer down.
Jackman just won’t come back as Wolverine at any price. There’s a small chance he could be convinced to do a very brief cameo at some point in one of Marvel’s upcoming X-Men movies, but he’s 51-years-old and has no interest in trying to keep himself in the kind of shape necessary to play Wolverine full time.
As if to confirm he’s done playing the character, Hugh Jackman posted this incredibly heartfelt message to fans, thanking them, on the anniversary of Logan’s release…
Chris Pratt In The Next X-Men Movie?
Ok actually Chris Pratt probably doesn’t want to be in the next X-Men movie and definitely no one is thinking of him to play Wolverine. Except like everyone else, Chris Pratt was stuck in Coronavirus quarantine and started going a little crazy. So he started playing dress up on Instagram Live and decided to do his hair Wolverine style and do his best impression of the character.
Here’s Chris Pratt going full Wolverine…
Hugh Jackman was apparently watching and decided to make fun of him by reposting the image of Pratt in full Wolverine mode with a Trolls sticker that said “cute”.
Charlie Hunnam As Wolverine In The Next X-Men Movie?
Charlie Hunnam is one of the names rumored to be in contention to replace Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the next X-Men movie. He’s currently best known for his work on the television show Sons of Anarchy. He also recently starred in the Guy Ritchie movie The Gentleman.
A lot of fans are excited about the idea of Hunnam as Wolverine. One fan was so excited, he decided to just take matters into his own hands and make it happen. What follows below is a fan made trailer, which transforms Charlie Hunnam into Wolverine. It’s pretty amazing, check it out…
Dacre Montgomery As Wolverine?
Word is also that Disney is considering going younger with the character if they can’t convince Hugh to come back. They may now be looking at 25-year-old Stranger Things actor Dacre Montgomery to play Wolverine. If the name isn’t familiar, you might know him better as his character: He played Billy Hargrove on seasons 2 and 3 of the Netflix series. He’s also played the Red Power Ranger in the already all but forgotten 2017 Power Rangers reboot.
