x-men

Get ready to get raw ... uncut ... and extreme.

It’s a refreshing change of pace.

Get ready for ‘X-Men ’97.’

I’m an old enough nerd to remember when the first X-Men movie came out in theaters. At that time, comic books were not the number one driver of all things in popular culture. Bryan Singer’s X-Men certainly featured all the comic’s beloved heroes and villains, but there did seem like there was a concerted effort to tamp down some of their comic-book-ness. Everyone dressed in black. There was no spandex. The story was grounded in weighty real-world themes like prejudice and vengeance. It was the X-Men you knew, but watered down just a bit. It was a rum and coke, not a shot of gin. X-Men: Apocalypse, in comparison, looks like a bottle of Beefeater.

Yesterday, we learned that 20th Century Fox had worked out a new accord with Marvel permitting the studio to ferry one of its hottest properties into the lucrative land of milk and honey that is television. Fox has announced plans to develop two shows spun off from their X-Men franchise, one about an elite organization of mega-rich mutants called Hellfire and another about David Haller, a.k.a. the son of Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Legion. A new report from Den of Geek (still awaiting confirmation from Marvel) suggests that there may be an unknown flip side to this deal that would place The Fantastic Four, one of Marvel’s most iconic properties, back in their portfolio with another big-screen project to follow.

When an Entertainment Weekly cover revealed our first look at Oscar Isaac as the titular villain in X-Men: Apocalypse, most fans were not impressed, drawing comparisons to cheesy Power Rangers villain Ivan Ooze. But, director Bryan Singer is back to defend the costume, saying it’s actually “very similar” to the comic book design, and has shared some new hi-res X-Men: Apocalypse photos at the same time.

The ‘X-Men’ franchise is headed for an ‘Apocalypse’ in the near future, making headlines left and right with its latest castings, but a small-screen outing of Marvel’s mightiest mutants might evolve into place as early as 2016. FOX has confirmed development on a potential ‘X-Men’ TV series, though Disney may well block the efforts.

It wasn’t that long ago that we learned Channing Tatum would be playing the role of Cajun mutant Gambit in an upcoming ‘X-Men’ spinoff film. To make the news a bit better, we also learned that ‘RoboCop’ remake writer Josh Zeteumer was working on the script, which is based on a treatment by ‘X-Men’ comics writer Chris Claremont, who also co-created the original character. And today, in even better news, Tatum has announced the release date for ‘Gambit,’ which will be coming to a theater near you in 2016.

With every new ‘X-Men’ movie comes new mutants (no, not the New Mutants) and ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ will be no exception. While some may say that the ‘X-Men’ films are perhaps a little too overstuffed with every mutant they can get their hands on (did we really need Sunspot or Blink?), it’s hard to deny to return of Cyclops and Jean Grey; major characters and core mutants who will make their long-awaited appearance in the new era of “young” ‘X-Men’ films. So, now that we know we’ll see these characters, it’s time to find out who is going to play them in the movie.

The superhero TV boom took off even more than expected in recent months, adding 'Supergirl' and 'Titans' series to the existing pantheon of 'Arrow,' 'The Flash,' 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,' 'Daredevil,' 'Gotham' and 'Constantine,' and another major team may be joining the ranks. A new rumor suggests that the 'X-Men' universe will develop its own live-action TV series, but how might it fit into the franchise with 'Apocalypse' on the way?