[WARNING: Major SPOILERS for X-Men: Days of Future Past in this Article!]

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X-Men: Days of Future Past is now theaters, bringing with it the promise of a (semi-)rebooted X-Men Movie Universe where the missteps of past films will be course-corrected (or outright wiped away) in favor of providing the franchise with a clean slate on which to build toward a bigger, better, "fewcha" (future).

Of course, throughout the marketing campaign for Days of Future Past, hardcore fans of both the X-Men comic books and/or films have remained wary of the lingering issue of continuity errors. The six films in the preceding X-Men movie saga (X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last StandX-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class and The Wolverine) have nearly choked themselves to death with inconsistencies and contradictions in shared universe storytelling. It was an annoyance in the past, but it is a downright deal-breaking flaw in the era of shared universe franchises.

X-Men Days of Future Past Reviews

As we stated in our official X-Men: Days of Future Past review, the film does a lot of good things for the franchise - but that doesn't mean it is able to completely clean up the messy continuity. Granted, Days of Future Past manages to negate the other X-Men movies (with the exception of First Class) in favor of a much-needed mulligan; but how well it earned that second chance at better continuity is up for debate.

We selected some of the biggest and most glaring continuity issues in Days of Future Past - and some additional ones that meticulous viewers will no doubt notice and likely criticize, even as the franchise tries to leave its ugly blemishes behind.

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Prof X. Lives

Patrick Stewart as Prof. X in 'X-Men Days of Future Past'

One of the biggest continuity issues that has been apparent ever since Days of Future Past was first announced was the return of Patrick Stewart's Professor X. In X-Men: The Last Stand, Professor X was vaporized by Dark Phoenix/Jean Grey - only to achieve resurrection by transferring his consciousness into the body of a comatose patient who was under the care of Moira MacTaggert (as seen in a post-credits scene):

Now, if you read around the Interwebs, you'll hear all kinds of justifications for how Xavier's resurrection could result in what we see in DoFP - and also the post-credits scene of The Wolverine, which serves as a direct lead-in to DoFP. The most popular theory is that when Xavier transferred his consciousness, he did so into the body of a twin brother. This familial relation is never specified in X3, but it isn't impossible (just soap opera-style cheesy). However, even it that WAS a viable explanation, it still wouldn't explain how or why Xavier's twin brother also ended up paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.

At the end of The Wolverine, any direct explanation is left to vague references, as Wolverine asks "How is this possible?" upon seeing Xavier alive, and  Xavier answers, "You're not the only one with gifts," suggesting that some aspect of his powers has allowed him to cheat death. A lot of fans hoped that Days of Future Past would detail exactly how Xavier made it back, but alas, that explanation is nowhere to be found. And since DoFP insists that X3 is official canon, that unanswered question is certainly a big one.

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 Future Wolverine's Adamantium Claws

https://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/X-Men-Days-of-Future-Past-Character-Poster-Wolverine.jpg

Days of Future Past clearly recognizes the events of both X-Men: The Last Stand and The Wolverine, and when last we saw Logan onscreen, his Adamantium claws had been destroyed in a battle with the "Silver Samurai." From early marketing of Days of Future Past, the question of how Future Wolverine got his claws repaired was nagging the minds of fans everywhere. In the actual film, we get zero explanation of how this particular restoration occurs.

Director Bryan Singer promised all would be revealed. The easy answer seemed to be having Ian McKellen's future Magneto be the source of Wolverine's re-attachment to his famed metal; all it would take is a throwaway line of dialogue and the whole thing could be settled.

The most we get from the film is implication: In the 1970s, young Magneto (Michael Fassbender) reveals the imaginative vision for endowing Wolvie with a metallic upgrade, as the pair are on a jet flight to Paris. You could call that an implied explanation, but most fans would, in turn, call B.S.

NEXT PAGE: Future Sentinel Origin & Xavier Meets Wolverine >

Future Sentinel Origin Story

X-Men Days of Future Past Spoilers

X-Men: First Class distinguished itself from the preceding trilogy of films (and a Wolverine Origin movie) by redefining a lot of the core character relationships within the X-Men family. The main alteration was the re-positioning of Mystique as the woman between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr - and subsequently their opposing philosophies on mutantkind's destiny. It was certainly a departure from X-Men comic book lore (though the characters do share a lot of history), but general opinion was that it also created a compelling character drama that provided a strong core to the film. The plot of Days of Future Past also hinges on the Mystique/Charles/Erik triangle - the only problem is: that little love story has no connection to the Original X-Men Trilogy.

At the beginning of DoFP, Prof. X (Patrick Stewart) recounts to future Wolverine how and when the future went so wrong. His story - Mystique's assassination of Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), and her capture resulting in the creation of adaptable Sentinels - is one set within the First Class continuity, which doesn't make sense at all. The original X-Men films indicated a close relationship between Magneto and Mystique, but the Professor X/Raven connection was never telegraphed at all. How Stewart's version of Professor X (who supposedly exists in the Original Trilogy continuity) has memory of First Class continuity is a definite problem.

Bill Duke Bolivar Trask
The OTHER Bolivar Trask

The OTHER Bolivar Trask

The entire Future Sentinel origin story is an issue, since by all indications of Xavier's story it's debatable whether or not Mystique dies while being dissected by Trask industries. Even if she survived, that experience is reflected nowhere in the Original Trilogy, where Bolivar Trask just so happens to also exist. UPDATE: For those who debate whether the X3 version of Trask played by African-American actor Bill Duke  is actually "Bolivar Trask," it has been confirmed by Bryan Singer that are two versions of the character, and that it is a continuity problem (read HERE).

The whole Trask/Mystique encounter is a good premise to drive the action of DoFP, but as a method to unify all of the films, it's got holes.

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Wolverine's Xavier Origin Story

X-Men Days of Future Past Trailer - Wolverine Convincing Xavier

Getting into some smaller nitpicks: An early moment of Days of Future Past involves Wolverine reciting a story to young Charles Xavier about how he [Charles] first discovered his mutant powers (thought he was crazy at age 9, figured out he had telepathy at age 12). However, looking at continuity, that story doesn't quite add up.

In X-Men: First Class, the opening scene depicts Xavier (12) and Mystique (10) meeting for the first time - a meeting in which Xavier demonstrates clear mastery of his telepathic abilities. The ages may sync, however Wolverine's version of the origin story seemed to describe a twelve-year-old Charles Xavier who hadn't gained as much control or confidence as the one shown at the beginning of First Class. A small, petty but noticeable issue when watching the movies back-to-back.

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Xavier's Wolverine Quote

X-Men Days of Future Past Trailer - Drugged Xavier

One of the most amusing moments in Days of Future Past is when an agitated Charles Xavier remembers Wolverine as the man he and Erik tried to recruit during that awesome First Class surprise cameo scene. Charles endeavors to give Logan the same advice that Logan had given to him a decade ago. And yet, the Professor manages to get the message wrong.

In First Class, Wolverine tells Xavier and Erik to "Go f*ck yourself."; in Days of Future Past, Xavier tells Wolverine to "F*ck Off." It's not a big deal, and we know Xavier was in the midst of a drug binge - but still, it's an easy thing to get right.

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Possible Explanation: Alternate Timelines

X-Men Days of Future Past Continuity Errors

In the end, it's clear that - despite the fact that DoFP considers all of the previous X-Men films as part of its canon - the future we witness in the film CANNOT be a direct extension of the Original Trilogy continuity. There are simply too many errors.

One possible explanation for what we DO see may be found in the film itself: Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) at one point describes time as a river: you can throw a stone into it, cause ripples and upset the flow - but eventually, somehow, the river course-corrects itself. Going with that time-travel logic, one could argue that the future we see in DoFP is a variation on the Original Trilogy; major events of the first three films that were directly referenced in DoFP  (like Stryker's appearance in X2 or the Dark Phoenix saga of X3) still happened, only they happened within the First Class continuity line, which would allow for variant outcomes than the exact developments we saw in the Original Trilogy films, while still arriving in the future of DoFP.

Wolverine's metal claws; Professor X's return; the end credits of The Wolverine; a Bolivar Trask who his Peter Dinklage and not Bill Duke; the Sentinel origin story - all of it is free to exist without issue, if one simply rationalizes that Days of Future Past holds First Class as its official continuity, and that the future X-Men are only similar to the ones from the Original Trilogy, not exact representations.

X-Men Movie Retrospective 2000 - 2014

...That's the best we can do to bring some measure of peace to fans still upset by continued X-Men movie continuity issues. Days of Future Past (or its makers) in NO WAY provide an official, irrefutable, explanation - and maybe that's the biggest issue of all. However, if you've read our review or listened to our X-Men episode of the Screen Rant Underground podcast, you know that we liked the film! A lot!

We hope that fans don't get so hung up on the little details and inconsistencies that they don't remember to sit back and just enjoy the movie. At the end of the day, this is all supposed to be fun - and really, by the end of the film, Days of Future Past manages to negate all of these issues in favor of a bigger, better, more cohesive future. Hopefully the term "X-Men Movie Continuity Errors" are on their way to being a thing of the past...

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More: Days of Future Past End Credits Scene Explained

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X-Men: Days of Future Past is now playing in theaters. It is 131 minutes (its goes fast, don’t worry) and is Rated PG- 13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language.

Want to discuss SPOILERS? Head over to our Days of Future Past Spoilers Discussion. Confused about that scene at the end of the film? Read our Post-credit Scene Explained article or listen to our editors discussion on the XM:DoFP episode of the Screen Rant Underground Podcast.

Follow me and talk movies @ppnkof.