PROBLEMS WITH THE X-MEN MOVIE TIMELINE



Viewed from a distance, the X-Men films' continuity just about works; but the devil, as they say, is in the details. X-Men: First Class is intended to be part of both timelines, and yet it contradicts the original X-Men trilogy in several details, including the origin of Cerebro, Xavier's historic relationship with Mystique, and his early experience of Magneto's psychic-blocking helmet. X-Men: Days of Future Past's future sections sit uncomfortably with X-Men: The Last Stand and The Wolverine, most notably with Xavier's being back in what appears to be his original body and Wolverine regaining his Adamantium claws.

Meanwhile, some of the timeline changes make absolutely no sense at all. The Cyclops of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was clearly born before the timeline changed, and yet the character in the rewritten timeline is a completely different age. Angel's age is likewise inexplicable; two different versions appear in 1983's X-Men: Apocalypse and 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. In truth, the explanation is a simple one from an out-of-universe perspective; Fox used the reboot to start again, and haven't been particularly interested in maintaining any sense of continuity between the original X-Men trilogy and the relaunch.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) release date: Jun 07, 2019