X-Men: Days of Future Past: 8 Things We Learned From The Empire Cover Blitz

Not a whole lot is really known about X-Men: Days of Future Past yet. It doesn’t seem to follow the storyline of the comics too faithfully, so there’s a lot of speculation as to just how wide the variance will be and whether some characters (like Bishop, Blink and Sunspot, all of whom have figured prominently in the promotion) might play a major role in spite of not having existed back when Chris Claremont and John Byrne were doing the original story.So, even though they were static images with little or no commentary, it stands to reason that in a movie about which we know very little, Empire‘s 25 variant X-Men: Days of Future Past covers would tell us–or at least tease us with–something we didn’t know.So what did we see that might turn up on a pop quiz later? Read on…Kitty Pryde: Time Traveler?One of the big bones of contention that hardcore X-fans have had with everything we’ve seen so far from this film is that, unlike the comic books, Kitty Pryde isn’t the protagonist.In fact, based on everything we’ve seen Kitty doesn’t even travel through time; it’s all Wolverine, essentially giving Hugh Jackman a third solo film…one in which he stars alongside the X-Men.But then there’s this tweet, from the official X-Men Movies Twitter account:

So…that seems to suggest she travels back with Logan. Is this just a miscommunication between the filmmakers and Fox publicity? Or something more…?Rogue may still be a factorShortly after Bryan Singer announced that Rogue had been cut from the film, X-Men: Days of Future Past went back for reshoots and there were rumors that part of that process would include finding a way to add Anna Paquin’s character back in.It seems, if you take these covers at face value, as though the filmmakers have done just that. She’s on the cover of a magazine promoting the film–that probably means she’s, you know, actually in the film, right?Well, we’re not totally sure. Take a look at the tweet that accompanied the reveal and how…cautious…the phrasing seems to be:

She’s “part of the family,” huh? Hmm…The New MutantsSometimes there are phrases where you’re not sure somebody knows just what they’re saying.Like, is calling Warpath–a member of the New Mutants, who has never been onscreen before–a “new mutant” when he was introduced via Twitter a gaffe or a clue? It’s impossible to know.

But certainly the fact that the New Mutants eventually evolved into X-Force–a team that we already know they’re developing a movie for–makes us wonder: is that what this Sunspot-Warpath-Blink-Bishop group might be called? And if so–are they part of the foundation for the X-Force movie? That Fan Bingbing’s Blink had “new mutant” included in her character’s Twitter introduction as well seemingly doubles down on the mystery here.

When we last saw James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier, he had just started using his trademark wheelchair.In the trailer for the film, he’s in the chair, too–looking disheveled, miserable and beaten down by the world. Ten years or so after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the future leader of mutantkind’s good guys seems pretty willing to throw in the towel.

This magazine cover, though, isn’t the only time we’ve seen him standing on his own two feet in the film. There have been still photographs as well in which he’s depicted that way (such as the one where we first saw Quicksilver, skulking around in the past with Wolverine, Magneto and Professor X). So…uhh…what’s up with that?Quicksilver seems pretty cemented to the past.Released amid a grouping of characters who lived in the 1970s, Evan Peters’s Quicksilver is not only the most controversial look of the film so far…

…but a bit of a perplexing choice, if we’re honest. What’s Magneto’s son doing hanging out in the 1970s, at that age? Could it be that they’re going to tell us he isn’t Magneto’s son, or at least sow some doubt? That would be weird, since the character will appear in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and one of the restrictions that the Marvel/Fox agreement reportedly places on using Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch for their films is that they can’t refer to their parentage. What sense would it make to bring your version closer together with Whedon’s, if the two studios aren’t going to play nicely?We’d seen in previous production photos that he would appear in that time period but it didn’t really resonate with a lot of fans until now, when he’s been seen in the ’70s-style photos and wearing absurdly oversized personal electronics on his utility belt.Note that he’s also got “new mutant” tagged to his intro. Whether that bolsters the “young hero team” rumors or quashes them since he’s (seemingly) from an entirely different time period than the rest is up to you, dear reader.Will Stryker find God?Will poor William Stryker ever find God? In the comics, it was a major motivating factor in some of his most notorious actions–his own religious fanaticism. Here, though, he’s pictured in his military garb, suggesting perhaps that he’s not there yet–or maybe the film won’t touch that third rail at all.

Side note: Doesn’t Stryker basically look like a more buff version of Seann William Scott?Bishop: not a time-traveler?Bishop’s powers on the cover where he’s introduced are listed as “absorbs energy to redirect it in kinetic blasts.” That’s interesting, and an accurate enough representation of his powers, except for one little thing: in the comics, he’s from the future. And that’s actually a really, really big part of who he is.

When Bishop first appeared, he was looking to rescue the team from a traitor who would bring about his own, dark future. Could he be key to bringing the young mutants of the dark future timeline back to the past, in the hopes of keeping them aboard for future sequels and spinoffs?Or will they really strip him of one of his defining characteristics? It seems weird not to have him time travel when you’re, you know, in a movie about time-travel.We finally saw the next generation of Sentinels!The thing that everyone has been yelling about for months has finally happened: We got our first look at the future Sentinels.They still don’t look like they did in the comics, so there’s a good chance many fans will be upset–but they look like something that will be menacing and cool onscreen, so maybe once they show up in action in the next trailer, people will warm to the design change.