8

I am a die-hard fan of the X-Men animated series X-Men Evolution and I also like the X-Men Movie Trilogy

In addition to the main trilogy there are two more movies (X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: First Class) which are prequels.

Why have the writers and directors decided to do prequels rather than a sequel?

Wikipedia says that they are planing for a sequel for the X-Men First Class movie but there is no clarification about an X-Men 4 movie.

Improve this question
1
  • 1
    It is just my opinion, but I can't be the only one who is tired of misunderstood teenagers or just teenagers in general being main characters. It is a trend, so superhero-movies are not an exception(i am number four, the amazing spider-man). Hopefully they will stop doing this and return to more interesting characters, not just people at puberty.
    – Dragos
    Apr 26, 2012 at 12:10

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
10

I think this quote on the X-men: First Class wiki page gives us a decent amount of insight as to why they're making "prequels":

As producer Simon Kinberg read the comic series X-Men: First Class, he suggested studio 20th Century Fox to adapt it. Kinberg, however, did not want to follow the comic too much, as he felt "it was not fresh enough in terms of storytelling", considering them too similar to John Hughes movies, and also that the producers wanted an adaptation that would introduce new characters. Both Kinberg and Shuler Donner said they wanted characters with visuals and powers that had not been seen yet, and that worked well as an ensemble even if they did not work together in the comics.[11] Shuler Donner later said the original idea was to green-light First Class depending on the success of X-Men Origins: Magneto

So we see that they wanted a shift in focus from the main set of characters established in the X-Men trilogy. While quite a few characters were introduced, the main plots revolved around only a hand full of characters.

Another reasoning is that the X-Men universe is quite vast and dynamic. Each character has more than one story arc that just can't be covered in one or two movies. For example, if we look at the story arcs for Wolverine, we get something like this:

  • Pre-Memory loss (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
  • Post Memory Loss (X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2)
  • Wolverine and the X-Men (X-Men 1-3)

Also, character story arcs criss-cross in the X-Men universe. It is literally a giant bowl of spaghetti, complicated even more by time travel in some instances.

Improve this answer
0
6

I cannot provide as much insight (or any knowledge about the comics) as DForck42's answer. But from a mere movie viewpoint the finale X-Men tirlogy was a pretty closed end, with many main characters dying, or losing their powers (Xavier, Jean Grey, Magneto).

I guess this can make it a bit harder to start a new story after those events, whereas the time before all those events is still fresh and it might be an easier option to turn there for new X-Men stories (at least for now).

Improve this answer
10
  • 1
    Ah but it is hinted at that Xavier got a new body and "The Cure" is not as permanent as it seems.
    – Tablemaker
    Apr 25, 2012 at 23:03
  • @TylerShads Oh yes, the final scene (with Magneto moving the chess figure) is indeed a nice hint for potential sequels. But what do you mean with Xavier getting a new body? Where was this hinted?
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Apr 25, 2012 at 23:05
  • @TylerShads what are you talking about? Xavier got a new body?
    – Ankit Sharma ♦
    Apr 25, 2012 at 23:16
  • 1
    @TylerShads By coincidence it just aired on TV, but I didn't see this scene. But I read about it on Wikipedia, nice to know Xavier survived, his death always bothered me. Seems I'm paying the toll for getting cut away the end credits on TV.
    – Napoleon Wilson ♦
    Apr 26, 2012 at 20:29
  • 2
    @ChristianRau try here
    – Tablemaker
    Apr 26, 2012 at 20:50
2

There have been 4 movies since the original trilogy (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine, and X-Men: Days of Future Past).

The reason Fox decided to make prequels instead of sequels is because of the third X-Men movie (The Last Stand).

Firstly, that movie got terrible reviews and a lot of fans hated it, which made Fox scared that a sequel wouldn't succeed. However, the main reason is because The Last Stand really messed up all chances of a sequel by killing so many important characters.

Professor X died, Cyclops died, Jean Grey died, Magneto lost his powers... How would they make a sequel with only Wolverine, Storm, Rogue and Beast?

However, in the latest X-Men movie Wolverine goes back in time and changes the past so that nothing from The Last Stand ever happened, and everyone's still alive. So the next X-Men movie, X-Men: Apocalypse, will be a sequel and not a prequel.

Improve this answer
1
  • Professor X didn't died completely ( refer end credit), Magneto still have powers (chess scene) and Jean Grey returned in comics by some twist which was possible for movies too. And one correction Apocalypse is said to be prequel of X-2, 3 but sequel to first class and days of future past.
    – Ankit Sharma ♦
    Mar 18, 2015 at 6:40

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .