Years before the Avengers assembled on the big screen, the X-Men were fighting supervillains and wearing leather costumes in 20th Century Fox developed movies. Since then, the superhero genre has exploded and every major studio has produced various titles to try and profit off the new trend. Everyone from Black Panther to Wonder Woman has had their own movies now, but there are still a lot more characters ripe with adaptation potential just waiting to be discovered. Everyone's favorite Ragin' Cajun, Gambit, is set to receive his own movie. While it looked like the card-carrying mutant's film may have been taken off of Fox's film schedule for a while, the studio recently revealed a host of new information about Gambit at CineEurope and confirmed that Channing Tatum is still attached to star in the project.
The success of Logan and the two Deadpool films has left Fox hungry to discover new mutants capable of sustaining their own films on the big screen. While the X-Men have a lot of interesting characters who certainly deserve more time to shine in cinema, that doesn't mean everyone deserves their own solo adventure. With Deadpool 2 leaving theaters soon, and no more solo movies on the immediate horizon, Fox needs to plot out how they can expand their franchise beyond the crass-filled, R-Rated action movies and light-hearted team films that have been such a big success for them so far. Come learn about 10 X-Men characters who deserve a movie more than Gambit (and 10 who don't)!
20 DESERVES: JEAN GREY
One of the first members of the X-Men, Jean Grey happens to be one of the most powerful telepaths in the universe. Her raw potential even scares Professor Xavier, who does everything he can to train Jean to control her powers before it's too late. With the added power of the Phoenix Force manipulating her mind, not even all of the X-Men combined could stop her.
An interesting way to do a Jean Grey movie would be to focus on the character after a Phoenix-centric movie that sees her try to repent for her past sins. At her core, Jean is a force for good in the world, but that doesn't mean she isn't capable of lashing out and hurting people close to her.
19 DOESN'T DESERVE: NIGHTCRAWLER
A key member of the X-Men, Kurt Wagner was first brought onto the team in 1975. The son of Mystique and Azrael, an evil figure from biblical times, Kurt was born with the ability to teleport anywhere he can see. He is instrumental on the field whenever the team needs to move civilians away from damage and when he has his trusty swords he is a deadly fighter on the battlefield.
His religious ideals are interesting, but Nightcrawler isn't a strong enough character to support his own movie. He works best as a member of a team, especially when he zips around and sets up enemies to be knocked down by the team's heavy hitters.
18 DESERVES: QUENTIN QUIRE
Literally named Quintavius "Quentin" Quirinius Quire, the character is one of Grant Morrison's most interesting creations in the Marvel Universe. An omega level telepath with an anarchic attitude, Quire is a troubled teen who eventually grows up to be a leader of the X-Men and conscious host of the Phoenix Force.
The character is at his best when constrained in the rigid structures of an Xavier-like school. In the comics he played the rebellious student to Wolverine's uptight principal, but perhaps a solo film could follow him causing havoc in a regular boarding school or making a different mutant head master want to quit their job.
17 DOESN'T DESERVE: COLOSSUS
Piotr "Peter" Nikolaievitch Rasputin is one of the X-Men's heaviest hitters. With a body made entirely out of a steel-like substance, he is resistant to damage and packs a heavy punch. A dedicated member of the X-Men, Colossus is more a team player than a leader and he's never starred in his own long-term comic book series.
Colossus feels right at home in the Deadpool movies. His strict moral code is the perfect contrast with Deadpool's murder-friendly attitude and his fighting prowess is best served in an R-rated environment. Hopefully, the character will have a prominent role in Drew Goddard's X-Force when that movie finally hits theaters.
16 DESERVES: CYCLOPS
A member of the first group of X-Men, Scott Summers is a dedicated team leader. Capable of shooting optic energy blasts from his eyes, Cyclops is a long-range fighter whose power levels know no upper-limit.
Ideally, a Cyclops-centric film would take place after the death or disappearance of Professor Xavier. Scott may have been groomed for leadership on the X-Men since the beginning, but that doesn't mean he feels comfortable standing up as the new symbolic leader of mutantkind. Watching a man cope with increased responsibility and figuring out how to guide his people forward in the face of hatred, makes Scott a more compelling and relatable character in these politically heated times.
15 DOESN'T DESERVE: DAZZLER
Most superheroes are best known for the good they accomplish, but that's not necessarily the case for Alison Blaire. When she's not fighting alongside the X-Men as Dazzler, Allison is a famous musician who has played various types of music over the years. Thanks to her ability to create light and visual energies out of soundwaves, she can distract her enemies on the battlefield and dazzle a crowd at a concert.
Dazzler should definitely appear on the big screen, perhaps with a real-life pop star in the costume, but a solo movie doesn't seem like the right fit for her. The exploration of celebrity could work if it was properly fleshed out in a mini-series, but it might feel crammed and boring in a film.
14 DESERVES: EMMA FROST
Emma Frost has a complicated past. A member of the villainous Hellfire Club, Frost eventually leaves the dark side and joins the X-Men as one of its most powerful telepaths. This powerful mutant, who also has the ability to turn her body into hard diamond to defend herself, just knows that working with bad guys is sometimes the quickest way to accomplish her goals.
Frost's complicated past and shrouded motives make her an interesting character to follow on the bigscreen. Plus, her various abilities allow for whoever is writing and directing her movie to include scenes that show the character using her diamond-hard fists to beat up a bad guy or relying on her mental abilities to incapacitate her foes.
13 DOESN'T DESERVE: BAILEY HOSKINS
Most mutants can use their power whenever they want. Part of what makes Wolverine the best at what he does is the fact that he can reliably use his claws and healing factor to get through a difficult situation. Bailey Hoskins, on the other hand, isn't so lucky. He has the mutant ability to charge up energy in his body and explode like a bomb. The only problem is, if Bailey actually uses his powers he will die.
While it's a funny gimmick, one that could certainly work well as a humorous subplot in a larger X-Men film, Bailey just isn't interesting enough to carry his own film.
12 DESERVES: BEAST
Another original X-Men, Hank McCoy is one of the smartest individuals in the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, even he's not clever enough to reverse the mutant genes inside his body. All of his experimenting results in his body mutating even more, shifting his human form into the blue, furry shape that Beast fans are more familiar with.
While he eventually accepts his mutant abilities and stops trying to cure himself, it could be interesting to follow a man who views his abilities as a curse. No matter how much good he is able to accomplish in the world because of his powers, he still cares about the public's perception, forcing him to pity himself and try desperately to "fix" his body.
11 DOESN'T DESERVE: X-23
No matter how impressive Dafne Keen was in Logan as a young, ferocious X-23, the character doesn't deserve her own movie. Just like Logan himself, the character has a dark past, full of torture and experimentation, and she isn't the most communicative individual. She certainly packs a nasty punch, and it would be a lot of fun to see her kick butt and cut through bad guys on the big screen again, but she is a better fit for a new class of young, X-Men instead of carrying her own franchise.
Unfortunately, any movie starring X-23 would likely be designed to emphasize her connection to Wolverine instead of allowing the character to develop her own history independent of everyone's favorite attitude-filled mutant.
10 DESERVES: KITTY PRYDE
Born Katherine Anne Pryde, Kitty is one of the most dedicated X-Men. Over the years, she has put her life on the line numerous times to defend the world, and on one instance she gets stuck in a giant bullet hurtling through space for years. Capable of turning her body intangible, Kitty is a stealthy mutant whose powers would seem right-at-home in a spy movie.
Kitty is one of the first new members of the X-Men to progress and become a leader within the organization. Focusing on her, a young woman who is ready to take charge, is the perfect counter-point to the extremely masculine Deadpool 2, which went out of its way to fridge the franchise's leading lady in the film's first ten minutes.
9 DOESN'T DESERVE: ANGEL
Another founding member of the X-Men, Warren Worthington has massive, angelic wings. Codenamed Angel, Worthington can fly around and can occasionally shoot hard feathers at his enemies. At various moments, he even becomes an evil figure named Archangel who is more powerful and uses metal wings to get around instead of the light, feathery ones he normally does.
Angel has certainly been the focus of interesting stories, mainly the "The Dark Angel Saga," but that doesn't mean he can sustain his own film. Worthington works better as a member of a team as opposed to a solo hero trying to make the world a better place by himself.
8 DESERVES: STORM
Ororo Munroe is such an iconic member of the X-Men that many believe she was part of the first class, but she was actually introduced in 1975 at the same time as Nightcrawler and Colossus. The daughter of a Kenyan princess and an American photojournalist, Ororo grows up to have control over the climate. Capable of generating bolts of lightning and flying around, Storm is one of the X-Men's strongest fighters and most interesting characters.
In the comic books, Storm even marries King T'Challa, the Black Panther himself. While they can't get married on the big screen because they currently reside in separate cinematic universes (for now), seeing Storm play a monarch and try to protect a state of people could make for a compelling film.
7 DOESN'T DESERVE: PSYLOCKE
A telepath who can construct weapons with her mind, Elisabeth Braddock is one of the toughest members of the X-Men. After Braddock had her mind transferred into the body of a Japanese warrior, she became an expert in hand-to-hand combat. Psylocke is typically a hero but she has been manipulated to fight with the darkside numerous times over her comic book career.
While her abilities could make for a fun John Wick-style movie, the character isn't compelling enough to carry her own movie. Instead, she should be given a more prominent role in the existing X-Men films or star in a short-film that showcases her fighting abilities.
6 DESERVES: ROGUE
While most mutants have tortured lives, Anna Marie's was especially difficult. Burdened with absorption abilities that restrict her from touching or getting close to people, Marie has lived most of her life angry and in isolation. Over the years, this powerful mutant has served on both the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and X-Men as she desperately searches for a group of people to accept and help her.
The character had a pretty substantial role in the original X-Men films, but she has so much cinematic potential it's silly not to give the character her own movie. Capable of mimicking any other people's abilities after touching them, Rogue could fight almost anyone in the Marvel Universe and live to tell the tale.
5 DOESN'T DESERVE: PROFESSOR XAVIER
The founder and usual leader of the X-Men, Charles Xavier is an interesting character. A powerful telepath who has dedicated his life to preserving mutant kind, Xavier is essentially a Civil Rights leader who wants to see his species gain acceptance and approval from the world.
At this point, the character has been featured in so many X-Men movies in a prominent role that seeing him star in his own solo movie would feel underwhelming. Xavier is at his best when he is able to help and console those around him, so isolating him and putting the character in his own movie takes away a fundamental aspect of his personality.
4 DESERVES: ICEMAN
One of the original X-Men, Iceman is one of the team's most versatile members. Capable of creating all sorts of weapons and objects out of ice, Bobby Drake is an omega mutant with vast power. He also happens to be an incredibly joyful, humorous individual who would shine as the lead in his own movie.
A recent change to the character would make any solo movie even more interesting. After all these years, a time-displaced, younger version of Iceman finally came out as a gay individual. Seeing the character deal with potential discrimination for being both a mutant and a member of the LGBTQ+ community could make for a really interesting, emotionally driven story about a hero just trying to do the right thing.
3 DOESN'T DESERVE: CANNONBALL
Introduced in 1982, Samuel Guthrie has served on various X-Men teams and has even been an Avenger over his short history. Capable of generating thermo-chemical energy, Cannonball can propel himself at high speeds through the air and even generate impenetrable blast fields that keep him safe from enemy attacks. His power levels have varied over the years, but he is sometimes capable of absorbing energy from enemy attacks and converting it into a force he can use.
Cannonball is an interesting character, but he doesn't have the flair or personality to support his own movie. Instead, Cannonball should be introduced as a new student at Xavier's school for gifted children and become a member of the X-Men in the core movie universe.
2 DESERVES: MAGNETO
This villain turned hero turned sometimes villain is one of the most complex characters in the Marvel Universe. After living through the holocaust and having his family torn away from him for being a mutant, Max Eisenhardt has become an ideology driven person who is willing to do whatever it takes to protect mutants. The Master of Magnetism is incredibly powerful, but it's his interesting values that make him a compelling figure to watch on-screen.
The character was already rumored to have his own solo movie starring Michael Fassbender, but the project seems to have been shelved for now. Whether it's Fassbender or a new actor bringing this vindictive character to life, Magneto deserves a movie just as powerful and epic as Logan.
1 DOESN'T DESERVE: JUBILEE
The daughter of two wealthy Chinese immigrants, Jubilation Lee was forced to live in the foster-care system after her parents were murdered. Fleeing her orphanage, Jubilee chose to protect herself on the streets and opted to steal food in order to survive. Capable of shooting pyrotechnic blasts and charging objects to the point of explosion, Jubilee is a powerful, resourceful fighter.
Unfortunately, with Wolverine's supposed death in the X-Men cinematic universe, Jubilee doesn't feel like a likely addition to the film franchise. While the character has served alongside various mutants and has an interesting personality, its her close, father-like relationship with Logan that essentially defines her position in the Marvel Universe.