10. A DYSTOPIAN FUTURE
In order to necessitate sending an X-Man back in time, the situation must be very desperate. We need to see a world that is so devastated that the X-Men cannot fix it. This is the kind of world that Magneto fights so fervently to prevent, a place that reminds him of the Nazi Concentration Camps. There are many images that could be used to show this depraved America.
- Mutant concentration camps
- Slums with vicious primal humans
- Destroyed monuments and buildings
- Hundreds of gravestones with the names of recognizable heroes
It is crucial that this dystopian future is established not only to explain why an X-Man is sent back, but also to set the tone of the film. Days of Future Past is a dark tale.
9. FUTURE SELF IN PAST BODY
The Days of Future Past storyline must involve time travel.
In the original comic, the consciousness of an older Katherine Pryde is sent back to inhabit the body of her younger self. Kitty has been introduced in X-Men: The Last Stand, however she is much too young to have been born in the time of X-Men: First Class, so could not be sent back to inhabit her younger self. The concept of having an older, wiser, harder X-Man inhabit the body of their younger self is a very good one.
In the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series, a version of Days of Future Past was adapted. In this case it was Professor X sent back in time to inhabit his younger self, who was in a coma.
It is possible that the film will use a combination of these stories by sending the old Professor X (Patrick Stewart) to inhabit the body of the younger Professor X (James McAvoy). It would be great to see McAvoy channelling Stewart in his performance.
8. A NEW X-MEN TEAM
At the end of X-Men: First Class, Professor X is left in a wheelchair with only three mutants on his team; Beast, Havoc and Banshee. Magneto on the other hand has five others in his Brotherhood; Mystique, Emma Frost, Angel Salvadore, Azazel and Riptide. Professor X will need to recruit some new X-Men into his team to fight the Brotherhood.
He could possibly recruit Cyclops, Jean and Storm, but they may still be too young depending on when the film is set. It would not make sense to use the other original X-Men Iceman and Angel as Iceman would definitely be too young, and Angel was only introduced in the Last Stand.
Polaris, who is Magneto’s daughter and Havok’s love interest could be introduced. Dazzler could make for a more interesting addition to the team. She could potentially have a very good introduction sequence.
7. A NEW X-MEN FIELD LEADER
Along with a new team, Professor X will need to find a new field leader as he is now wheelchair bound.
The original X-Men field leader was Cyclops. As discussed, Cyclops may be too young to be field leader. It would be great to see Cyclops receive the respect and recognition that he deserves as a great leader and master strategist, given the poor treatment he has received in other X-Men films.
The next logical candidate for field leader is Storm, but the same issue with age applies. It would be good to see more of Storm’s background in film, in particular when she was worshiped as an African rain goddess. The reality, power and presence of Storm is yet to be fully shown in film.
The other potential field leader is Havok. In the comics, Havok is the younger brother of Cyclops. They haven’t yet defined the relationship between Havok and Cyclops in the films, but it is unlikely to be the same as in the comics, unless there is some time travel involved. It could be that Havok is the older brother and is the leader until Cyclops is groomed into the role. It could even be that Havok is Cyclops’ father, but that would ruin the sibling rivalry dynamic that is so interesting.
Fox owns the film rights to the X-Men and to the Fantastic Four. There has been talk of combining the two teams into one cinematic universe. Days of Future Past provides the perfect opportunity to do this through Franklin Richards.
Franklin Richards is the child of Reed and Sue Richards, also known as Mr Fantastic and Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four. Franklin is one of the few survivors in the Days of Future Past timeline. He is also an item with Rachael Summers.
Franklin is an extremely powerful mutant, with the ability to manipulate reality on a cosmic scale. In the original story, Franklin does very little, but his role could easily be expanded. He could potentially assist the X-Men in navigating the Baxter Building. There is huge potential for how Franklin could be used in the film.
5. BATTLE-HARDENED STORM
One of the interesting aspects of having an alternate timelines is seeing how characters are different due to their experiences. There are three X-Men that attack the Sentinel’s primary base; Storm, Wolverine and Colossus. The one that is most changed under the rule of Sentinels is Storm.
Storm was a gentle tender soul, not willing to take a life. She was effectively Mother Nature incarnate. The Days of Future Past storyline was the first time we saw a very different Storm. She is still kind, but she has lost her tenderness. Storm herself says she has “become as hard, as ruthless, as merciless as Wolverine” and she has become so numb she can’t even hate herself.
Storm has had a lot of screen time in the original film trilogy, but she hasn’t had very much character development. The Days of Future Past storyline presents the perfect opportunity to explore the character of Storm in a fresh new way.
4. KITTY & COLOSSUS
The Days of Future Past story happened very shortly after a very young Kitty joined the team. There were hints to Kitty having a crush on Colossus prior to Days of Future Past, but nothing more had yet developed. In the Days of Future Past timeline Kitty and Colossus are married. They even had children that were killed by the Sentinels. The relationship between Kitty and Colossus did develop further in the normal X-Men timeline, after Kitty had grown up a bit.
In X-Men: The Last Stand, we finally got Kitty and Colossus together in the main X-Men team. Unfortunately there was no hint of a romance between Kitty and Colossus, with Kitty used as a rival to Rogue for Iceman, and Colossus didn’t even get any lines. The Days of Future past film is the perfect opportunity to delve into the romance of Kitty and Colossus.
3. SENTINELS
Ever since the first X-Men film, there have been calls from the fans to show the Sentinels. An early draft of the original film did include Sentinels. Sentinels were set to appear in the sequel, but were deleted due to budget concerns. A Sentinel did finally appear in the Danger Room in X-Men: The Last Stand, but only as a silhouette and severed head.
The Sentinels are the key villain in the Days of Future Past storyline. They control America and many are fought and destroyed by the X-Men. Days of Future Past must show the Sentinels in all of their malevolent metallic mutant-hunting glory.
2. A FULL X-MEN vs. BROTHERHOOD BATTLE
Even though there have been three X-Men films with the X-Men fighting the Brotherhood, we are yet to see a full blown X-Men vs Brotherhood battle.
The first X-Men film did have some fights between individual X-men and members of the Brotherhood. Due to the constraints of the battlefield (and no doubt budget restrictions), we did not see all of the X-Men fighting all of the Brotherhood at the same time. The second X-Men film had the X-Men and the Brotherhood working together for most of the film. X-Men: The Last Stand finally presented an opportunity to show a full X-Men vs Brotherhood battle. When the film got to the climax, there were only 2 members of the core Brotherhood, and they took turns fighting. X-Men: First Class gave us something close to a full-on battle, but with relatively unknown villains.
Days of Future Past presents an opportunity to have a full X-Men vs Brotherhood battle, with all of the X-Men and Brotherhood fighting at the same time. It will be exciting to see a youthful Magneto with Mystique and Emma Frost fighting an all new X-men.
1. EVERYBODY DIES
The entire X-Men team sent to destroy the Sentinel’s primary base is killed, including the near immortal Wolverine.
This was a very powerful moment in the Days of Future Past storyline. It showed that the X-Men don’t always win. It would also serve as a powerful way for the X-Men: First Class timeline to permanently sever connections to the original trilogy timeline.
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