Fox Should Just End the X-Men Movies Now

The last week has brought some pretty big insights into what's happening at 20th Century Fox's movie division, ever since the studio was acquired by Disney. Those reports have revealed that Fox is still planning on completing work on its two X-Men films in production, The New Mutants and X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but for some fans, the question is quickly becoming: Why bother?

New Mutants and X-Men: Dark Phoenix are being positioned as the ending to Fox's X-Men movie universe, before the whole thing is incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some future point. But with both films going through production delays and reshoots, it seems like Fox is pouring money into a losing proposition. Fox should just end the X-Men movie universe now, and be done with it.

It's not hard to come up with arguments for why Fox should finish production on its current X-Men projects and put them out:

1. They're already in production, might as well finish them.
2. More superhero movies are good for fans.
3. They're low pressure because Marvel will be rebooting them anyway.
4. They could be great films.

Those are all fair points, but there's a larger view that comes into focus when you think about how these films may affect the future.

First of all, "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is one of the most famous storylines in Marvel Comics, and fans understandably want to see it done right. The movie adaptation has been looked at as a risky venture since the beginning, as Fox's X-Men franchise is hit-or-miss in general, and has already screwed up that particular story in X-Men: The Last Stand.

If Fox's Dark Phoenix is a misfire, then in the minds of the larger movie-going public, major elements of it, like cosmic-themed X-Men stories, or the Phoenix character and storyline, may be off limits for years on end. It's safe to assume that most Marvel purists want to see the "Dark Phoenix" story get a bigger and "proper" arc over the course of a series of MCU films, where the Phoenix Force could occupy its proper place of prominence in a full-fledged Marvel Universe.

That same logic extends to the cast: nobody wants to be the next Amazing Spider-Man, but save for staples like James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, none of the current X-Men cast members are so beloved that fans have to get another dose of their respective performances in theaters. In fact, it's fair to argue that the casting of the next crop of MCU X-Men is more anticipated than the next film starring the current ensemble. If there is no future for the current cast, there's no reason to risk another Last Stand (where so many characters were skewed the wrong way) and leave that impression as a hurdle for the next X-Men to have to jump. Apocalypse was harmlessly forgettable with its new class of X-Men, and it's probably best to just leave it there.

The same applies to The New Mutants — while the superhero/horror angle was indeed intriguing, these are characters that could be introduced into the MCU within five years, in a much more fan-friendly way. The actors are not big box office draws, and Fox's film would be an introduction to a franchise that will go nowhere in its current form. In short: it's a futile effort that's coming too late. Meanwhile, other spinoff projects like the X-Force movie or Channing Tatum's Gambit seem pretty much dead and gone. What was once going to be a bigger, better, X-Men movie universe, has withered on the vine before ever truly coming to fruition.

Finally, the X-Men movies have made such a mess of their continuity that trying to fit in any new events or characters seems like more of a headache than anything, especially when they then ask viewers to throw out that continuity immediately afterward. Even if Dark Phoenix and New Mutants found ways to set themselves up as segues into a MCU reboot (as has been rumored), that will still make the actual films redundant and needless. At this point, the road behind just seems to bumpy, and the destination ahead too bright. It's time for losses to be cut.

So what should be done?

The reality is that 20th Century Fox has come too far with these films to pretend they don't exist at all, but there's no real worth or future in investing in them as theatrical releases. So what to do about this dilemma? Embrace the day and go digital.

There are a lot of fans of Fox's X-Men franchise, and they'd want to know how these films turned out, no matter what. For those fans — and other interested mainstream viewers — a digital rental or streaming release would bring the studio both money and publicity, while still maintaining a clear line that these are not to be taken as "official" parts of any franchises or canon — just an indulgence for those fans interested. Instead of any additional reshoots, post-production or promotional costs, put out whatever material filmmakers Josh Boone (New Mutants) and Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Apocalypse, Fant4stic) already have in the can, and take what you can get. Double-bill it as an "End of the X-Universe" two-film event and make viewers take it as an all-or-nothing package. Either way, it still saves them from having to make the larger (and wasted) investment in a full theatrical viewing experience.

In our opinion, Fox should just call it quits on the X-Men movies now, but what do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix hits theaters on Feb. 14, 2019. The New Mutants will follow on Aug. 2, 2019.