Sequels Recasting the X-Men for the MCU

[Protar]

Of course someone of minority is not the only person who could direct an X-men film. But given that the vast majority of MCU directors have been white guys and Marvel studios is now making an effort to give roles to a greater variety of people and given that the X-men are allegories for minorities - a poc or LGBTQIA director.

 

[Marvel united]

There's a reason why Marvel scouted black directors for Black Panther, Asian directors for Shang-Chi, a Pakistani writer for Kamala Khan's show and Woman to direct Black Widow & Captain Marvel

When you're telling a story that is rooted in a specific type of experience that people experience in real life, the best person to helm and realize that story is... Someone who has experienced it. It's all about authenticity and respect.

And most of these minority directors get wayyy less opportunity in comparison to their white male counterparts so letting them tell their own stories is a good place to start.

X-Men should be able to have a diverse team with many poc and LGBT minorities, let them reimagine the X-Men for a new audience.

 

[Airwings]

Of course someone of minority is not the only person who could direct an X-men film. But given that the vast majority of MCU directors have been white guys and Marvel studios is now making an effort to give roles to a greater variety of people and given that the X-men are allegories for minorities - a poc or LGBTQIA director.

That someone is of a minority doesn't automatically make the person a good choice for X-Men either. It should always be the most suited director for the job.
If someone present the right vision for the film and has the best skills required, that's the one to hire. No matter if it's a white man/woman, colored man/woman or asian…. no matter what religion or sexual orientation.

 

[Protar]

That someone is of a minority doesn't automatically make the person a good choice for X-Men either. It should always be the most suited director for the job.
If someone present the right vision for the film and has the best skills required, that's the one to hire. No matter if it's a white man/woman, colored man/woman or asian…. no matter what religion or sexual orientation.

This is an argument I see used very often and I find it disingenuous. Maybe the right person for the job is a poc or an LGBTQIA person? Both because they are a talented writer or director and because their background gives them personal experience with the topic at hand. Could a straight white man write a fun and enjoyable X-men flick? Of course. And hey a straight white man can write about discrimination and oppression as well. But to get something truly authentic, that comes from a place of personal experience you need to cast a wider net, especially when minority directors get so little opportunities comparatively and this story is about them.

 

[Airwings]

When you're telling a story that is rooted in a specific type of experience that people experience in real life, the best person to helm and realize that story is... Someone who has experienced it. It's all about authenticity and respect.

And most of these minority directors get wayyy less opportunity in comparison to their white male counterparts so letting them tell their own stories is a good place to start.

It could be done through story writing too. They can take care of the scripts and tell their stories there.

You talk about getting people with experience. That also includes directors who can handle big properties.
X-Men is not only an allegory for minorities, it's about superheroes and supervillains too. We can never forget that element of the mutants. There must be a combination when making the film, not solely handle X-Men as nothing else than a metaphor for minorities.
The mutants should not only try to be accepted for what they are. They will also fight with their powers to either take control of the world (villains), or save it and humankind (heroes). That's superero material in in purest form. Good vs evil

 

[Airwings]

This is an argument I see used very often and I find it disingenuous. Maybe the right person for the job is a poc or an LGBTQIA person? Both because they are a talented writer or director and because their background gives them personal experience with the topic at hand

Then hire that person. As as said, it should always be the best.
Everybody should have equal chance of presenting their drafts to the studios.
And if it turns out to be the typical white male anyway, then HIS version should be the best one. He should not be hired by anything else than the quality of his draft.
The same with minority people, only hired by the greatness in their vision.
This shouldn't just be valid for X-Men but every superhero property.

Only one scenario would justify that someone is hired because of who he is. That is if Ridley Scott, or Spielberg, or Cameron, suddenly devoted his heart to make a Marvel/DC superhero film. All three of them would get a free pass by the name alone.
But it would be highly unlikely for any of them to change their opinion about the genre.

 

[fan4stic]

If he was part of some superserum project, that would be a big part of his trauma, because being experimented on would naturally be pretty traumatic. And I'd rather that his trauma be grounded entirely in something real.

And the fact is that people have seen WWII done a hundred times before in movies, tv, video games. People are just desensitised to it at this point. If you want a character whose origin is rooted in a real world tragedy, WWII is just too overplayed, especially if you're going to add fantasy elements.

It doesn't have to. I think it could be akin to getting a shot. A kid could have no idea what that'd mean at the time.

I'm not. Ive seen things in recent years and have remained angry, and disgusted by it.

 

[Marvel united]

It could be done through story writing too. They can take care of the scripts and their their stories there.

You talk about getting people with experience. That also includes directors who can handle big properties.
X-Men is not only an allegory for minorities, it's about superheroes and supervillains too. We can never forget that element of the mutants. There must be a combination when making the film, not solely handle X-Men as nothing else than a metaphor for minorities.
The mutants should not only try to be accepted for what they are. They will also fight with their powers to either take control of the world (villains), or save it and humankind (heroes). That's superero material in in purest form. Good vs evil

Riight. And all of the properties I just mentioned are superhero properties with all of the elements you mentioned. The overwhelming majority of MCU directors are not blockbuster directors, much of that stuff is handled second unit by Marvel Studios themselves

 

[Airwings]

Riight. And all of the properties I just mentioned are superhero properties with all of the elements you mentioned. The overwhelming majority of MCU directors are not blockbuster directors, much of that stuff is handled second unit by Marvel Studios themselves

It still works out good because it's Marvels own film studio. Of course they understand their own properties.
Unlike Warner bros, DC isn't their own creation but they have the rights to the DC characters.

 

[JamesHOWLETT]

Just for fun I put pictures of X-Men into a celebrity lookalike generator to see what options for the characters came up these are my findings (I'll only mention the actors in the right age range):
Storm

1. Beyonce: Surprising!
2. Lupita Nyongo: N/A
3. Natari Naughton: A pic I hadn't considered but is quite interesting!
4. Kylie Bradbury

Jean Grey

1. Ashley Benson: This one is not fair because she's the reference for this artist but she is still a good choice.
2. Brooklyn Decker: Interesting choice that I never considered.
3. Lauren Cohen: Ditto for her too.
4. Cara Delevingne: Not a fan...

Wolverine
The guys were so hard to find matches that fit the parameters!

1. RJ Mitte- by far the best find of the Wolverine options!
2. Sendhil Ramamurthy- Too old but looks young enough to work still however may be to tall.
3. Tyler Hoechlin- would not work for obvious reasons.

1.Daniel Gillies
2. Thomas Dekker

These are both trash.


1. Kyle Howard
2. Aiden Turner
Better here but slim pickings and there are far better choices though howard is a solid choice for his height and more down to earth looks.

1. Shane West- I love him as logan
2. Luke Hemsworth- Same with Luke. Great pick.
3.Daniel Gillies
4. Russell Brand- too tall and Russell Brandish...
5. Colin Donnell- another interesting option.

Honorable Mentions are Johnathon Schaech who came up in every match practically but aged out of the role.
My last picture actually gave some nice choices.

Cyclops
Was extremely hard to find matches for too (though not as bad as Logan surprisingly) because of his visor had to do multiple tries just to get more than two options.

1. Dave Franco: Too short but honestly another good choice.
2. Daniel Sharman: eh not a fan but he deserves an audition.

1.Jackson Rathbone: Not bad. Haven't seen him in noteworthy since Twilight though.


1. Zach Roerig
2. Colin Jost: maybe Scarjo gets him an audition? but seriously I genuinely like him for the role.
honorable mentions of this round that are a bit to old (or problematic for the MCU) are Casey Affleck and Gabriel Macht also Jonah Hill somehow made the cut which would be a bigger transformation than Chris Pratt or Kumail Nanjiani combined!

Mystique
Longest and best list out of all of the characters.

1. Christina Hendricks
2. Holland Roden
3. Christina Ricci
4. Olivia Cooke
5. Sienna Miller
6. Lindsay Lohan
All these EVEN LINDSAY would be fantastic options! Shocked how good that one turned out.

 

[Airwings]

Lindsay Lohan, how does she even look today? Incredible worn and weathered?

The celebrity generator for Wolverine didn't get Kevin Zegers or Daniel Radcliffe, but it did get Thomas Dekker? Isn't he the most good looking fella of them all? A trait that has been met with complaints here at SHH.
Hugh Jackman also posesses it. But when I broaded out the subject how much good he did the role in terms of acting and looks, especially in Logan, the counter-arguments stopped.

 

[JamesHOWLETT]

What are you going on about? Why are you trying to make Kevin Zegers happen so badly? At least with Radcliffe, I can see the potential even if I don't personally subscribe to it. With him though? I just don't think he fits the role.

Here is a recentish pic of Lindsay Lohan which looks way better than she has a right to look. I thought she would look way worse!
That being said, I do not in a million years believe that Disney would hire her to mow their lawn let alone star as one of the most important villains in their most vital franchise outside of Avengers.

My point was it was an interesting choice I would have never thought about because of her troubles. In many ways it is her! I mean a gaslighting, manipulative, fem fatal seems like a role she could do in her sleep. The problem is someone would actually have to check to constanly see if she wasn't, in fact, sleeping through the role.

Either way, she would be under so much makeup and padding I doubt she could mess it up too bad lookwise but don't put Linday up for a challenge at self-destructive behavior you will lose every time!

Bottom line it won't happen and I was only being half serious anyway.

 

[Airwings]

What's so wrong with rooting for an actor? Do you dislike it?

 

[JamesHOWLETT]

When you constantly bring it up when it has nothing to do with the conversation... yes.

 

[Airwings]

When Dekker was mentioned, it surely tied back to Zegers. So it had something to do with the conversation.

 

[JamesHOWLETT]

When Dekker was mentioned, it surely tied back to Zegers. So it had something to do with the conversation.

No it didn't. You trying to mental gymnastics this will never make it makes sense why you brought up one (Zegers) when the only reason the other (Dekker) was brought up was because I did a scientific study at random and let a computer decide my findings.

I even mention in the post that his appearance in the list is "trash" and I disliked it but he met the requirements I set up at the beginning of the study to qualify so I kept it fair. So I fail to see the correlation. Please elaborate if you have any other elements I am missing.

 

[Airwings]

Never mind!

 

[Iceman]

Just for fun I put pictures of X-Men into a celebrity lookalike generator to see what options for the characters came up these are my findings (I'll only mention the actors in the right age range):
Storm
View attachment 33679
1. Beyonce: Surprising!
2. Lupita Nyongo: N/A
3. Natari Naughton: A pic I hadn't considered but is quite interesting!
4. Kylie Bradbury

Jean Grey
View attachment 33680
1. Ashley Benson: This one is not fair because she's the reference for this artist but she is still a good choice.
2. Brooklyn Decker: Interesting choice that I never considered.
3. Lauren Cohen: Ditto for her too.
4. Cara Delevingne: Not a fan...

Wolverine
The guys were so hard to find matches that fit the parameters!
View attachment 33687
1. RJ Mitte- by far the best find of the Wolverine options!
2. Sendhil Ramamurthy- Too old but looks young enough to work still however may be to tall.
3. Tyler Hoechlin- would not work for obvious reasons.
View attachment 33686
1.Daniel Gillies
2. Thomas Dekker

These are both trash.

View attachment 33685
1. Kyle Howard
2. Aiden Turner
Better here but slim pickings and there are far better choices though howard is a solid choice for his height and more down to earth looks.
View attachment 33688
1. Shane West- I love him as logan
2. Luke Hemsworth- Same with Luke. Great pick.
3.Daniel Gillies
4. Russell Brand- too tall and Russell Brandish...
5. Colin Donnell- another interesting option.

Honorable Mentions are Johnathon Schaech who came up in every match practically but aged out of the role.
My last picture actually gave some nice choices.

Cyclops
Was extremely hard to find matches for too (though not as bad as Logan surprisingly) because of his visor had to do multiple tries just to get more than two options.
View attachment 33681
1. Dave Franco: Too short but honestly another good choice.
2. Daniel Sharman: eh not a fan but he deserves an audition.
View attachment 33682
1.Jackson Rathbone: Not bad. Haven't seen him in noteworthy since Twilight though.

View attachment 33683
1. Zach Roerig
2. Colin Jost: maybe Scarjo gets him an audition? but seriously I genuinely like him for the role.
honorable mentions of this round that are a bit to old (or problematic for the MCU) are Casey Affleck and Gabriel Macht also Jonah Hill somehow made the cut which would be a bigger transformation than Chris Pratt or Kumail Nanjiani combined!

Mystique
Longest and best list out of all of the characters.
View attachment 33684
1. Christina Hendricks
2. Holland Roden
3. Christina Ricci
4. Olivia Cooke
5. Sienna Miller
6. Lindsay Lohan
All these EVEN LINDSAY would be fantastic options! Shocked how good that one turned out.

Haha, some strange picks in there but this was an interesting experiment.

 

[Jig96v]

Agreed, Dalton would be much better as Magneto than Xavier.
I can't imagine him bald either.

Have you seen Doom Patrol? Niles Caulder is Charles Xavier.

 

[Jig96v]

He's too tall, probably too old, and off the table since being cast in Black Widow, but the only person in Hollywood I can seamlessly picture as Wolverine is David Harbour.

 

[JamesHOWLETT]

Since Beyonce was on my mind for Storm I decided to make concept art with her in costume.
First concept is a amalgamation of 90s and Giant Size X-Men
20200418-190740
Second concept is my favorite but I didn't do justice in setch form. Basically, Storms etire cape is an X. I like idea hate the execution.
20200418-190804
20200418-190712
Anyone not sketch rusty want to give it a go?

 

[Jig96v]

Just for fun I put pictures of X-Men into a celebrity lookalike generator to see what options for the characters came up these are my findings (I'll only mention the actors in the right age range):
Storm
View attachment 33679
1. Beyonce: Surprising!
2. Lupita Nyongo: N/A
3. Natari Naughton: A pic I hadn't considered but is quite interesting!
4. Kylie Bradbury

Jean Grey
View attachment 33680
1. Ashley Benson: This one is not fair because she's the reference for this artist but she is still a good choice.
2. Brooklyn Decker: Interesting choice that I never considered.
3. Lauren Cohen: Ditto for her too.
4. Cara Delevingne: Not a fan...

Wolverine
The guys were so hard to find matches that fit the parameters!
View attachment 33687
1. RJ Mitte- by far the best find of the Wolverine options!
2. Sendhil Ramamurthy- Too old but looks young enough to work still however may be to tall.
3. Tyler Hoechlin- would not work for obvious reasons.
View attachment 33686
1.Daniel Gillies
2. Thomas Dekker

These are both trash.

View attachment 33685
1. Kyle Howard
2. Aiden Turner
Better here but slim pickings and there are far better choices though howard is a solid choice for his height and more down to earth looks.
View attachment 33688
1. Shane West- I love him as logan
2. Luke Hemsworth- Same with Luke. Great pick.
3.Daniel Gillies
4. Russell Brand- too tall and Russell Brandish...
5. Colin Donnell- another interesting option.

Honorable Mentions are Johnathon Schaech who came up in every match practically but aged out of the role.
My last picture actually gave some nice choices.

Cyclops
Was extremely hard to find matches for too (though not as bad as Logan surprisingly) because of his visor had to do multiple tries just to get more than two options.
View attachment 33681
1. Dave Franco: Too short but honestly another good choice.
2. Daniel Sharman: eh not a fan but he deserves an audition.
View attachment 33682
1.Jackson Rathbone: Not bad. Haven't seen him in noteworthy since Twilight though.

View attachment 33683
1. Zach Roerig
2. Colin Jost: maybe Scarjo gets him an audition? but seriously I genuinely like him for the role.
honorable mentions of this round that are a bit to old (or problematic for the MCU) are Casey Affleck and Gabriel Macht also Jonah Hill somehow made the cut which would be a bigger transformation than Chris Pratt or Kumail Nanjiani combined!

Mystique
Longest and best list out of all of the characters.
View attachment 33684
1. Christina Hendricks
2. Holland Roden
3. Christina Ricci
4. Olivia Cooke
5. Sienna Miller
6. Lindsay Lohan
All these EVEN LINDSAY would be fantastic options! Shocked how good that one turned out.

Beyoncé as Storm is probably the best call in all of this, I would have never considered her. Love your drawings too!

 

[DawnWarrior]

Have you seen Doom Patrol? Niles Caulder is Charles Xavier.

Doom Patrol was almost an early test-version of the X-Men, much like Challengers of the Unknown was an early test-version of the FF.

 

[Airwings]

Have you seen Doom Patrol? Niles Caulder is Charles Xavier.

What are you talking about? I did say that Dalton was more suitable for Magneto than Xavier

 

[Jig96v]

What are you talking about? I did say that Dalton was more suitable for Magneto than Xavier

And I'm saying that in Doom Patrol, Timothy Dalton plays a character so similar to Professor X that there are longstanding theories the latter was ripped off from the former: