It’s Too Late For The X-Men In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Studios has faced the crushing weight of rightful criticism following the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s increasingly inconsistent quality. With ongoing releases drastically displaying how carefully or carelessly Marvel Studios has approached their next era of superhero storytelling for big and small screens alike, the attempt to retain audiences’ unwavering and undivided attention has felt desperate. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe becomes a bit too large and more scattered, tonally, Marvel Studios has been promising the return of the X-Men in live-action, but suddenly, their aforementioned reboot doesn’t sound necessary. It might be too late for the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It’s not the X-Men as a team that’s warding off fans’ desires, but more so, the caution around how Marvel Studios will attempt to reassemble such prominent characters for an already-overlapping multiverse. X-Men ’97 has proven that there is excellence readily available in modern X-Men-centric storytelling, but that the X-Men don’t need to be pulled into live-action for them to be completely relevant. The attempt to press on with overexposing the X-Men isn’t fully desired, and Marvel Studios’ ultra-delayed decision to craft X-Men-driven projects feels a bit out of touch with audience desires.

The X-Men Won’t Fix Marvel Studios’ Ongoing Problems

Marvel Studios cannot look to the X-Men as a cure-all for its ongoing missteps that the production company refuses to fully address. They cannot simply lean their weight on a pending production as an excuse for disappointing and underwhelming additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that have been created simply for relevance’s sake. There’s been such a mass mishandling of other Marvel Comics stories, heroes, and villains that there’s even greater hesitancy about Marvel Studios attempting to grasp the nuances of the X-Men to begin with. Marvel Studios has desensitized its work before to appease audiences and avoid massive backlash due to sociopolitical themes; they cannot bastardize the X-Men or strip them of their roots to cash out in overseas markets. Marvel Studios cannot be cowardly about how the X-Men’s stories might possibly be told, and must be completetly be prepared to be bold in narrative risk-taking.

Marvel Studios’ decline in innovative storytelling, disinterest in equally distributing quality, and lazy craftsmanship cannot be buried beneath the X-Men’s impending Marvel Studios arrival. Titles such as She-Hulk: Attorney at Law or The Marvels were discarded by the studio in full execution, left to suffer. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder stand as cautionary tales of Marvel Studios’ gross mishandling of how the Marvel Cinematic Universe is fleshed out, cursing themselves with abysmal screenwriting and insulting CGI enhancements. There’s also Blade, damned to development hell, with little hope left for its salvation. If Marvel Studios is to fully invest in the X-Men, it cannot continuously turn a blind eye to their failures along the way. Moviegoers and Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are sure to remember the sting of disappointment while helplessly watching Marvel Studios’ decline.

Instead of attempting to take on overly ambitious projects such as an X-Men reboot, Marvel Studios needs to refocus its entire cinematic universe to repent for glaringly unignorable flaws. Quantity doesn’t always equate to quality, and Marvel Studios’ quantity problem directly correlates with exhausting quality concerns. Continuing to rely on certain superhero teams, villains, and those in between as bait for curious fans doesn’t always mean that Marvel Studios is prepared to expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are plenty of unresolved storylines and characters dangling on threads, patiently awaiting their grand return to the greater story. Some are doomed to never be seen again, such as Kit Harington’s Black Knight or Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight. Marvel Studios’ greed and lack of understanding of its next creative ventures have resulted in great skepticism around the X-Men’s proper debut, for they too may suffer from the mistreatment that the superhero movie studio has exhibited when vying for massive box office payouts. Tapping in legacy characters can’t undo Marvel Studios’ cinema sins.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Doesn’t Need The X-Men

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been slowly integrating legacy X-Men into the greater scale of the never-ending sprawl of comic books brought to life, yet with each character’s introduction, it becomes increasingly clear that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is insisting upon the X-Men’s foundational role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe far too late. With the focus turning over to The Avengers, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy for decades, it’ll be a challenge for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to compensate for neglecting the X-Men for such a prolonged period of time. X-Men ’97 reiterates the fact that the X-Men thrive in animated media, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t need to introduce self-competition through live-action counterparts. It’s easy to understand that the X-Men are an utterly unnecessary addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe needs to readjust its scale to address what’s already canon, not what it wants to be canon. Featuring the X-Men may sound fascinating on paper, but in the greater scope of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, may threaten to congeal the multiverse even more on baffling level. Marvel fans aren’t asking for more — they’re asking for Marvel Studios to actually understand the stories they’re wanting to tell without sacrificing the key notes of characters that make these comics so beloved. Looking to the X-Men to step in, espescially with so many ongoing series still insisting upon their longevity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, doesn’t make complete sense. Is this even a genuine want from fans, or is Marvel Studios projecting the idea that moviegoers want the X-Men’s possible mischaracterization and misunderstanding in live-action? Marvel Studios has proven that their narrative abililites cannot handle the breadth of the X-Men’s sociopolitical boldness. Forcing them to fit adjust to the comfort level of the everday fan doesn’t just dilute their entire purpose, but makes Marvel Studios’ motives even more questionable.

If anything, the Marvel Cinematic Universe can technically claim that they’ve already microdosed the X-Men into canon after the 20th Century Fox X-Men cast have made their cameos. Deadpool & Wolverine also allowed Channing Tatum’s Gambit to make an on-screen appearance, and with Avengers: Doomsday planning more multiversal madness with multiple former X-Men icons confirmed to return, there’s truly no need for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to revisit the team from a new angle. Marvel Studios’ decision to rely heavily on former X-Men actors to step back into their roles for a new age of superhero movies is concerning enough already. It’s a telltale sign that Marvel would rather prioritize nostalgia over innovation for the foreseeable future. If anything, the X-Men feel like an afterthought for a live-action reboot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That demand from fans that was raging decades ago has subsided significantly, and the most optimal time for the X-Men to be reinvented for the Marvel Cinematic Universe feels almost a decade too late. Marvel Studios is past its prime, and cannot force the X-Men to suffer as one of the biggest names in entertaiment media continues to crumble.

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