It was recently reported that Tim Miller and Fox are actively developing a Kitty Pryde film. Disney's acquisition of Fox is clearly not keeping Fox or Tim Miller from developing projects like this one, though it does mean that this may not ultimately hit the big screen. That being said, Fox's X-Men franchise would benefit greatly from a Kitty Pryde film. Regardless of whether Disney decides to give the X-Men a reboot, it'd be wise to at least consider giving this film the mouse stamp of approval.

RELATED: Deadpool Director Developing Kitty Pryde Solo Film for Fox

The X-Men franchise has released a myriad of successful films over the last two decades, most recently Logan, X-Men: Days of Future Past and, of course, Tim Miller's Deadpool.

Hugh Jackman owes much of his fame to the role of Wolverine, a character who has proved to be immensely popular among film and comic book fans alike. That led to spinoffs X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine, which while underwhelming from a creative viewpoint, got people calling for more solo films, and in turn led (partially) to the highly successful Deadpool.

X-Men Films Hugh Jackman Wolverine

Clearly, focusing heavily on Wolverine paid off. But in doing so, other characters were kept from expanding into well developed, memorable characters. Fox allowed a number of powerful, intriguing characters like Jean Grey, Storm and Rogue to fade into the background. Just look at Storm's appearance in X-Men: Days of Future Past, in which her role was reduced to a few fights and one underwhelming death scene.

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We can't ignore the fact that recent entries have allowed Mystique to develop more as a character than anyone would have ever thought, were they to judge from the original three films. Rebecca Romijn was able to give the character a bit of mystery along with her obvious sex appeal, but Jennifer Lawrence -- with her star power -- was able to give the character much needed depth. Because of this, Mystique has risen in popularity as a character, something that really hasn't happened for Fox's other female characters. Even so, it's unlikely we'll see a Mystique spinoff film in the near future.

The X-Men films need to start focusing on someone new (read: someone other than Wolverine or Deadpool), and the best way to do that would be through a solo film. That's what's so exciting about this Kitty Pryde project. But in Fox's X-Men universe, Shadowcat has never been more than just a supporting character, so why should she get a spinoff film?

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The bottom line is, there's no reason why Kitty Pryde can't grow to be as popular on film as she is in the comics... if Hollywood gives her a chance. Just look at how her character was explored in animation. X-Men: Evolution treated heras just as important a character as any other, and audiences responded.

RELATED: Kitty Pryde Is the Perfect Character to Merge X-Men With the MCU

Now would be the perfect time for Kitty to fly solo. Warner Bros. ignited what we hope is a new era in film with Wonder Woman, and Marvel seems poised be following suit with Captain Marvel. It makes sense for Fox to bring a powerful female character from its own film universe to the forefront. Storm has been wasted as a character, Jean Grey received some attention early on, and it seems that her character will get another chance to really say something in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. But both of those heroes have been written into a corner. Meanwhile, Shadowcat is young, her character is free to be written into any story, and there are so many to choose from, with or without other X-Men.

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In the comics, Kitty Pryde began as the youngest member of the X-Men and became something of a little sister to most members of the team. She grew up and developed over the years into someone admirable, from a bartending college girl to the headmaster of the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning. During this time, we saw her on equal standing with Wolverine, who had once been a father-figure and mentor to her.

As one of the X-Men's younger members, there's a lot for the current superhero film demographic to relate to when Kitty isn't fighting mutants or training her extraterrestrial dragon-like pet, Lockheed. In fact, relatability has always been one of the reasons why her character was and is so popular. We can all understand her on a personal level, even if some of her adventures seem (sometimes quite literally) out of this world. That's a quality too many heroines seem to lack, both in the pages of comic books and on big budget Hollywood films.

Clearly, there's a lot for film writers to build on, should they remain faithful to the comics book character. It's not many heroes who have histories filled with exciting, character-defining stories worth telling that don't rely on sex, character archetypes or gratuitous action sequences. While it might not seem like it at a glance, given how little focus Kitty is given in film or animation, a Shadowcat spinoff has the potential to be just as popular as Wolverine, giving the X-Men franchise some much needed vitality and adding to its significance as a franchise among the others.

Ellen Page, who played Shadowcat in both X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past is certainly no stranger to drama and comedy. Assuming she'd come back if Fox asked her, there's little reason to doubt that Page's acting talents would help Kitty Pryde come to life. Perhaps the bigger question would be whether she'd help popularize the character, or if the character would take Page to new heights of fame.

It's exciting for longtime X-fans, but this is all still just conjecture. We don't know what Disney plans to do with the X-Men and, by extension, Miller's project. Here's hoping Miller's Deadpool success gives him the necessary pull to bring Kitty into the spotlight, where she belongs.