Life After Logan: Where Will Fox's X-Men Franchise Go Next?

With the arrival of "Logan" in theaters, an era of film history has come to an end.

There's only one superhero that has been a constant of the film genre for the entirety of the 21st century: Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. 2000's "X-Men" introduced movie-going audiences to the mutant team and Jackman's clawed hero, and audiences have continued to come back for more and more, as Wolverine returned for two trilogies of X-Men films, and a trilogy of his own. It's incredible to think about, but Jackman's tenure with Logan is almost twice as long as Robert Downey Jr.'s career as Iron Man.

That's why "Logan," Jackman's final outing as Wolverine, feels so final. The X-Men film franchise has relied on Wolverine heavily over the last 17 years, with the character appearing in all but one movie in the franchise ("Deadpool"). With Jackman and, most likely, Wolverine off the table (for now), where will the series go? While there aren't any X-Men movies with official release dates following "Logan," there are plenty in production -- and plenty more Fox could turn to in order to keep the profitable franchise going.

DEADPOOL 2

Deadpool standing in the city holding a gun

"Deadpool" broke almost every rule in the book when it was released in February 2016. It was rated R, featured fearless and raunchy jokes, had a lean budget and featured a character that mainstream audiences hadn't heard of before. Despite, or probably because of, all of that, the film became a global sensation and the highest grossing film in the entire "X-Men" franchise. Of course, a sequel is on the way.

"Deadpool 2" was greenlit immediately, although we still don't have a firm release date. "DP2" hit a speedbump when "Deadpool" director Tim Miller split from the sequel, but "John Wick" co-director David Leitch jumped in to fill the vacancy. Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead will be back for more, and as "Deadpool" teased in its post-credits scene, Cable will be in the sequel, with actors ranging from Pierce Brosnan to Russell Crowe having expressed interest, and others already reportedly coming in for screen tests.

Similarly, Cable's frequent partner-in-action Domino will be in the film, and Kerry Washington is reportedly the top pick for that role. Plenty of release dates have been tossed around, and while an official one hasn't been revealed, odds are this movie arrives in theaters sometime in 2018.

NEW MUTANTS

This film, based on the very first X-Men spinoff comic, has been in the works for almost two years. "Fault In Our Stars" director Josh Boone was hired to bring the adventures of the beloved teenage squad of X-Men-in-training to life, and it looks like he will start to do just that this spring. Recently, franchise executive producer Simon Kinberg confirmed that the film will shoot this year for release sometime in 2018. He also revealed that the film's vibe will be similar to that of Netflix's hit series "Stranger Things," since both that show and the "New Mutants" film are influenced by the same sort of source material.

The film's cast has not been revealed yet, but director Boone has hinted that the roster might include Warlock, Sunspot, Cannonball, Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane and Magik. Additionally, Maisie Williams has been rumored to be up for the role of Wolfsbane and Anya Taylor-Joy is most likely playing Magik. James McAvoy is also expected to return as Professor X for the film, and a recent social media post of his seemingly confirms this.

X-MEN: SUPERNOVA

This is the big one, a film that hasn't been officially announced yet, even though it seems like everyone other than Fox is acting like it's a done deal. Fox has yet to discuss plans for a straightforward follow-up to 2016's "X-Men: Apocalypse," a sequel that would star the X-Men proper and possibly the cast teased at the end of "Apocalypse." Rumblings of the film began in late 2016, and the working title "Supernova" appeared in January 2017. The alternate working title, "Dark Phoenix," indicates that the franchise will re-adapt the classic Chris Claremont/John Byrne storyline that is viewed by many as the greatest X-Men story of all time.

Like "New Mutants," production is rumored to start for the new X-team movie this spring. That's how a number of actors have been acting, too. Sophie Turner, who plays Jean Grey, has flat out said she's filming another X-Men movie this spring/summer. James McAvoy has hinted that he's returning to the franchise this summer as well, and Nicholas Hoult (Beast) has said that he thinks he's in the film, too. Other reports state that longtime X-producer/writer Simon Kinberg will make his directorial debut with the movie, but Kinberg himself says those reports are "premature."

GAMBIT

If everything had gone according to plan, X-Men fans would already own Channing Tatum's "Gambit" on Digital HD or Blu-ray right now. Instead, the film, initially slated for release in October 2016, hit a number of major roadblocks that kept production from starting on time or, for that matter at all. First was the departure of director Rupert Wyatt, then came rumors that Tatum himself might leave the project that he worked so hard to get greenlit. That rumor didn't pan out, and Tatum is still attached (and devoted to the role, Kinberg says). The script underwent some rewrites as new director Doug Liman came on board -- and then left.

The film, which has been described as a "heist movie and a sexy thriller," is currently without a director or a release date -- but it does have Tatum. In a recent interview, Simon Kinberg gave a production update on "Gambit," saying Fox hopes to get the film in front of cameras in early 2018. If that happens, it's possible "Gambit" could strut into theaters as early as spring 2019.

X-FORCE

"X-Force," a team film starring the X-Men's lethal, heavy hitting counterparts, has been in the works for a surprisingly long time. A film starring Cable's team of bombastic young mutants was initially teased way, way back in the summer of 2013 with "Kick-Ass 2" director Jeff Wadlow attached. Note that that's before "New Mutants" or even the first "Deadpool" film were announced. Instead of "X-Force" hitting theaters, "Deadpool" has come and gone, and now "New Mutants" (which also preceded "X-Force" in the comics) is in active development. After years of inactivity, though, it looks like "X-Force" is finally close to becoming a reality.

It's been revealed that "Deadpool 2" will do a lot to set up "X-Force," most likely starting with the inclusion of founding X-Forcers like Cable and Domino. Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick confirmed that the sequel will help set up the "'X-Force' universe." The latest report indicates that Ryan Reynolds himself is co-writing "X-Force" along with filmmaker Joe Carnahan. It's also possible that Carnahan has been brought on board to direct, though Fox has given no official word.

X-23

Even with Jackman and Wolverine off the table, there are a number of places the franchise could go that would keep the iconic character at least present in spirit. The most obvious choice would be to spinoff X-23 into her own series of films. The character is unquestionably the most popular addition to the X-mythos of the past decade, and her fans have rallied around the character in the comics as she's grown from a team player to carrying on the Wolverine mantle. There's definitely a demand for more X-23 from her fans, and odds are Dafne Keen's performance in "Logan" will convince even more people of the character's potential.

There are also a number of directions an X-23 film series could go. Fox could wait a few years and let all those movies listed above get released; that way Fox could make an X-23 starring a slightly older Keen, one that's also lived a few years in-universe as well. The franchise could pick up with a 15-year-old X-23, slightly older and more battle hardened. After all, the previous Wolverine trilogy got a lot of mileage out of picking up with Logan decades after the last installment left off. And after a few years without the slice and dice action, fans might be more than ready to see a Wolverine return to the big screen.

X-MEN: EDEN

There's another option following "Logan," and it's one that doesn't require a few years of waiting. Instead, we could pick up with Keen's Laura Kinney immediately following the events of "Logan." After all, "Logan" ends -- SPOILER ALERT -- with Laura and her fellow mutant escapees making their way towards the potentially nonexistent safe haven of Eden.

The franchise could easily take a turn and produce a pre-teen ensemble (again, with the "Stranger Things" vibes) with Dafne Keen in the spotlight. After all, there's a full cast present right at the end of "Logan," one with plenty of powers and potentially personalities ripe for exploration. Plus there's still a lot about this era of the X-Men franchise to learn about. "Logan" only hints at the final fate of the X-Men, and this film could dive into further detail about that fateful day in Westchester. Perhaps in a twist, there's even an elderly X-Man or two in Eden waiting for the kids to arrive -- like X-23's comic book mentors Jubilee or Gambit.

WOLVERINE BEGINS

The X-Men franchise's producers have been firm about this being Hugh Jackman's last outing as Wolverine, but they've been less steadfast about whether it's Wolverine's last film. Jackman himself is convinced they'll recast the role, although "Logan" director James Mangold thinks the character's on-screen career should end with Jackman's last film. The producers don't seem eager to bring Wolverine back right now, either, but that doesn't mean that will always be the case.

The one workaround could be for the franchise to go in a direction with Wolverine that Jackman couldn't play even if he was still on board -- like young Wolverine. Thanks to various flashbacks and Logan's incredible long life, we know that Wolverine has looked like Hugh Jackman since the 1860s. So...what if Fox made a Wolverine movie set sometime in the 1840s or 1850s? The franchise definitely loves period pieces, and this era of history is seldom explored in big action movies. This could also be a good excuse to bring an equally young Sabretooth back into the franchise.

And honestly, if the real world of the 1840s is just not interesting enough for filmmakers, they could use this movie to go to a timeless place from the X-Men comics that's still not been used in a film: the Savage Land. Nestled in Antarctica, the tropical patch of land is home to dinosaurs and adventurers like Ka-Zar. Just picture "Kong: Skull Island," but with young Wolverine. And Logan's eventual mindwipe as part of the Weapon X program would explain why he never brought up a dinosaur land years later. Who wouldn’t want that?

STARJAMMERS

If "X-Men: Supernova" (or "Dark Phoenix" or whatever it ends up being called) truly does push the X-Men into outer space, it's possible that the franchise could introduce a number of characters that could easily hold down their own feature film.

The original "Phoenix Saga" and "Dark Phoenix Saga" comics introduced the alien Shi'ar Empire, a race of feathered humanoids that struggle against mad tyrants and have a reality-warping crystal in their possession. Those stories also introduced the Shi'ar's Imperial Guard, a Justice League-esque collection of the most powerful warriors from dozens of different alien species. Led by the all-powerful Superman analogue Gladiator, the Imperial Guard could easily hold down their own big screen spectacle.

But the characters that really deserve their own film are the Starjammers, which are basically the X-Men's version of the Guardians of the Galaxy. This team of space pirates all met in Shi'ar slave camps and broke out together, forming a team of swashbuckling do-gooders hell bent on toppling oppressive regimes (and going on cool capers). The crew includes the sword slinging Shakespearean Raza, the ferocious skunk lady Hepzibah and the articulate and intimidating lizard alien Ch'od. The crew is led by Corsair, an Earth man that just so happens to be Cyclops' father. The only drawback with the Starjammers is that they're complete unknowns. The franchise could fix that by drafting an X-Man or two onto the team, like Cyclops (wishing to bond with his real father) or Psylocke (space pirates and ninjas!).