Summary
- X-Men fits more naturally for a team-first movie strategy in the MCU, with far less pressure for solo features compared to the DCEU and 2017’s Justice League which was rushed by Warner Bros.
- Marvel can prioritize more popular mutants for individualized stories after a successful team-up debut.
- Unlike DC’s Justice League, X-Men’s team dynamic allows for future flexibility in developing solo character arcs.
Warner Bros.’ worst decision with Justice League might actually work for the MCU with the upcoming X-Men. While the concept of mutants and more connections to the X-Men have gradually been making their way into the MCU, the X-Men have yet to be fully rebooted. However, Marvel Studios should look at replicating what worked so poorly for the DCEU once they’re ready to bring a new version of Marvel’s classic mutants to the big screen.
The MCU is currently in the middle of its Multiverse Saga. While the concept of the X-Men has been seen in other realities, only the briefest hints of mutants and X-genes have been featured thus far in the main Earth-616 timeline. However, it’s widely expected that Marvel Studios intends to fully dive into the X-Men once the Multiverse Saga reaches its conclusion with Avengers: Secret Wars. To that end, the MCU may want to do the exact thing that was so controversial for the DCEU’s Justice League: having a full X-Men team-up movie first.
The DCEU’s Justice League Was Rushed By Warner Bros
A Team Movie Before Each DC Hero Had Their Own Solo Feature
While many controversial decisions were made surrounding 2017’s Justice League from director Zack Snyder, one of the very first was the decision to fast-track a full team-up movie before each hero had received their time to shine with their solo features. At the time, the only DC hero who had been given their own movie was Henry Cavill’s Superman with 2013’s Man of Steel. This was then followed by 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice which not only starred Ben Affleck’s Batman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, but also teased Ezra Miller’s Flash, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg for Justice League which released the following year.
Wonder Woman did receive her own movie between Dawn of Justice and Justice League. However, all the other heroes’ movies were expected to receive their own solo features after Justice League’s release. Naturally, this plan largely imploded following the team-up movie’s poor performance and various controversies behind the scenes.
Wonder Woman got a lackluster sequel in Justice League’s aftermath with Wonder Woman 1984, and Aquaman received two movies (one being his own lackluster sequel). Meanwhile, Batman and Cyborg’s movies were never made, and The Flash’s movie ended up in development hell for years before his very sub-par feature was finally released in 2023. Ironically, The Flash was released months after the DCEU had already been canceled ahead of the upcoming DCU reboot by new studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Marvel Could Succeed With The X-Men Where DC’s Justice League Failed
Marvel Can Decide Who Needs A Solo Movie After
Despite all the issues Justice League and the DCEU faced by rushing the team-up movie first, it can be argued that this strategy could work out for Marvel Studios when it comes to the X-Men. After all, the X-Men were a team of mutant heroes from the very beginning in the comics, comprised of students from Charles Xavier’s school. In essence, there’s really no way not to have multiple X-Men featured in the same movie, at least at the onset while Marvel Studios will likely need to integrate mutantkind with the rest of the established MCU.
Marvel Studios could kick things off with a full X-Men team-up movie in the MCU to signal the start of a new mutant era. Then, they can look at which mutant characters (or pairings) are the most popular or are the most deserving to receive more focused stories going forward. After all, not every X-Man needs to have their own dedicated movie in the same way each member of the Justice League deserves to have had. There’s a lot less pressure on the back end if Marvel wanted to use the team-first release strategy, and it would probably be in its best interests.
The X-Men Were A Team First (That’s Why It Can Work)
The Justice League Isn’t As Tightly Connected
Ultimately, some mutants just work better with a full team of X-Men than they ever would on their own. That said, certain characters would thrive with solo features including Wolverine, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Storm, and more. In essence, Marvel Studios will have the luxury to see what works with a team-up before diving into solo features, especially seeing as how the X-Men isn’t the only thing the MCU will have going for it. It’s not like Warner Bros. where there was a clear sense of desperation to make a major Avengers-type crossover happen as quickly as possible, while also having nearly all the eggs in the Justice League basket.
