Much to the chagrin of X-Men comics fans, the films have been incredibly reliant on two things: Wolverine, and the Professor X/Magneto conflict. Admittedly, both are great jumping off points for the franchise. Wolverine has always been exceptionally badass, and the relationship between the Xavier and Magneto is one that the mainstream can easily relate to (and the parallels to MLK and Malcolm X don’t hurt, either).

However, here we are, several films into this X-Men universe, and for better or worse (mostly better), most of the films have had that aspect at its core. While that’s been all well and good, there are plenty of other great stories in the X-Men history that have yet to realized on the big screen, as a result.

Seventeen years in, it sounds like 20th Century Fox is also ready to move on. Speaking with Vanity Fair, X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner expressed the need for the franchise to move on.

“We cannot, once again, explore the Erik/Charles dynamic,” she said. Of course, this is a prospect that has its pros and cons. As stated above, this has largely been the backbone of the franchise as a whole, and in getting rid of it, you’re suddenly left with a vacuum that needs to be filled. Will they even be able to find a core that’s as strong as the Erik/Charles dynamic? That remains to be seen. Donner went on to say the challenge is “both liberating and makes me nervous—it’s mostly liberating.”

Of course, don’t take this to mean they’re planning on nixing the characters altogether. They will still be in the mix, but when all said and done, there are plenty of other stories to tell. Something like this is likely music to hardcore fans’ ears. Like, for real, how many times do we need to see Xavier get betrayed by Erik? Not only will it prevent the trope from wearing thin, but it will open up the floodgates to other, more unique takes on the characters and property. Similar to how prevalent Wolverine has been overused in the franchise, a lot of comic fans will finally be able to see more obscure plots get pulled into the upcoming films.

We’ll just have to hope that nothing else gets lost along the way. It’s worked well in the past with some films like Deadpool. So long as they stay true to the characters, they should find solid ground to land on.

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SOURCE: Vanity Fair