Future X-Men Films Won’t Focus on Xavier/Magneto Dynamic

   The complicated friendship and rivalry between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, has formed the heart of Fox’s X-Men franchise for the past 17 years. They’re mirrors of one another, reflecting two sides of a philosophical debate about humanity and mutantkind that frequently erupts into physical conflict. Yet, after battles, imprisonment and even death, their relationship endures.

          However, as the studio moves beyond the acclaimed “Logan” and the widely criticized “X-Men: Apocalypse,” it will move away from that series-defining friendship.

“We cannot, once again, explore the Erik/Charles dynamic,” longtime franchise producer Lauren Shuller Donner toldVanity Fair, adding that the new approach is “both liberating and makes me nervous — it’s mostly liberating.” While the two character remain “essential” to the world of the X-Men, she conceded, “there are other stories to tell.”

           Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen originated the roles of Professor Xavier and Magneto, respectively, in 2000’s “X-Men,” where they were portrayed as old friends who parted ways over a disagreement about whether mutants can peacefully coexist with humans. That philosophical split played out in the sequels “X2” and “X-Men: The Last Stand,” while the roots of their friendship and conflict were explored in the prequels “X-Men: First Class,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “X-Men: Apocalypse,” where their younger versions were portrayed by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.

Now, it seems, the X-Men are ready to move beyond that.

“Logan,” Hugh Jackman’s farewell to Wolverine, is in theaters now. Josh Boone’s “X-Men: The New Mutants” is expected to begin filming in April in Montreal, followed in May by the reported “soft reboot” of the X-Men series, tentatively titled “X-Men: Supernova.”

SOURCE : CBR