With two future X-films currently in development, fans are excited to see exactly what will surface by the end of 2014. While The Wolverine hits theaters next year and is currently filming, it’s the upcoming sequel X-Men: Days of Future Pastthat has many buzzing due to the name deriving from the popular comic arc while also wondering if some members of the original trilogy will be showing up in this second installment from the First Class crew. Now with set photos always running rampant, the latest may have just revealed that instead of staying stuck in the past we could be headed beyond the events of X-Men: The Last Stand.
Coventry Telegraph (via Latino-Review) posted the following set photo of what they belive to be the logo for The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning:
Now whether or not this is actually the logo remains to be seen, but the two certainly look incredibly similar. And if the school is somehow included, we could be in for quite the futuristic ride.
In the comics, Wolverine establishes the school on the old X-Mansion campus following the events of Messiah Complex and X-Men: Schism. Wolverine names the school after long lost love Jean Grey, while serving as headmaster of this new establishment where young mutants can learn their powers along with knowledge regarding the Marvel Universe at large. Kitty Pryde serves as Wolverine’s second in command, Beast the vice principal, and other staff members include Rogue, Iceman, Gambit and more.
X-Men: Days of Future Past, meanwhile, is set to hit in 2014 and continue the events that began in X-Men: First Class. While not much has been revealed on how the film will tackle a variation of the story, the comics’ plot deal with the X-Men seeing an alternate timeline in which Senator Robert Kelly has in fact been assassinated by The Brotherhood. It’s here that mutants are kept imprisoned within camps and the future Kitty Pride decides to possess the present day version of herself in order to warn the X-Men of what’s to come.
What’s interesting is that the introduction of the school on film would not only set up what seems to be a timeline for which X-Men: Days of Future Past can include, but also open the door for various other castmembers to come back for both films. Obviously the actors who would be likely to return would be Anna Paquin, Taylor Kitsch, Shawn Ashmore and others. While the bond between Kitty and Wolverine hasn’t really been explored within the films, Rogue could easily take her place as headmistress along with other tweaks thanks to the cinematic mythology such as Storm’s inclusion, Rachel Summer’s absence and more.
Director James Mangold has not exactly revealed just how The Wolverine will tie into other X-films, though up to this point we’ve just assumed that it would lead us to the beginning of Bryan Singer’s X-Men as the events take place following X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But the idea of seeing Wolverine following the events of Last Stand retelling his past or even flashing back for the major events of the upcoming film while also setting up a possible plot line for Days of Future Past, which is set to come exactly one year after The Wolverine‘s bow in theaters, is quite an intriguing premise. If not, even to see a small glimpse of anX4 that could have been may actually land a few more diehard fans into seats.
Nothing has been confirmed just yet, but we’ll keep you posted.
The Wolverine hits theaters on July 26th 2013.
What do you think? Will a reveal of the events beyond X-Men: The Last Stand make you happy or just craving a fourth installment in the main series? Do you think the logo (if true) ties into The Jean Grey School for an inclusion into Days of Future Past or is is just a prologue to the original trilogy?
