2016 marks a new dawn for the X-Men franchise, one where the carrying force will no longer be Hugh Jackman as the fan-favorite Wolverine. After 2017’s "Logan" (A sequel to 2013’s "The Wolverine") the Hollywood and Broadway powerhouse will officially hang up the claws, or at least retract them, for the foreseeable future. It is an inevitable fate for all actors portraying on-screen superheroes from Robert Downey Jr. to Ben Affleck. However, Jackman’s departure has been a spectral hindrance lingering over 20th Century Fox, as it is arguable the image of him as Wolverine is the main pull to get audiences into theaters.
The studio has attempted to compensate for this by pushing new characters such as Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique and roping in major talent in the form of Channing Tatum to play fan-favorite mutant, Gambit. Both of these strategies have proven to unbeneficial as Lawrence’s star power seems to have transcended the franchise, and the state of Tatum’s Gambit film is currently in development hell. All of this was relevant going into 2016, and Fox must have been sweating adamantium bullets at these prospects. Then, out of nowhere, a small gamble they made on the box-office roulette table paid off, as they put their money on something black, red, and very crude. That play was on Ryan Reynold's "Deadpool."
For a quarter of the budget of most superhero fare, "Deadpool" became an instant phenomena meeting and even surpassing the total grosses of most films in the genre, all while having an R-rating. Ironically, this was a film 20th Century Fox never wanted to make, as PG-13 had been the regarded safe spot to pitch a superhero film dating back to the first "X-Men" film in 2000. In comparison to this year, "Deadpool" managed to out-gross the franchise’s other release, the PG-13 "X-Men: Apocalypse," by nearly $200 million dollars. All for a fraction of what it cost to make "Apocalypse."
The takeaway from Fox seems to be that their house should be focusing more on adult-oriented content set in the X-Men Universe. Shortly following the release of "Deadpool," director of "Logan," James Mangold announced that the next Wolverine movie would, in fact, be rated R, allowing for fans to see a Wolverine that is as equally brutal to his comic book counterpart. Also in the pipeline is a television adaptation of the X-Men comic, "Legion." In conjunction with it maternal company Marvel Television (responsible for "The Defenders" Netflix shows) and Noah Hawley (FX’s "Fargo"), "Legion" tells the story of Professor Xavier’s alleged son, and his cerebral struggle in controlling his seemingly unlimited psychic powers. The few cryptic previews that have been shown display what looks like a cross between a superhero film, Stanley Kubrick, and an Irvine Welsh novel. This suggests an overall, more mature world for the franchise, but one that is still enthralling.
Although, this does beg the question as to whether or not Fox should abandon the PG-13 template that is still working momentously for Marvel Studio’s Cinematic Universe and DC Comic’s films. Perhaps they should not abandon this model and enforce R-rated elements into films that should be PG-13. Imagine the new juvenile cast of mutant favorites eviscerating their enemies with Game of Thrones level brutality, or seeing Quicksilver speed along to Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself,” it would be jarring (even though the latter does actually sound cool). Whatever future path the franchise takes, there is one thing for certain, it certainly won't end with Hugh Jackman.
