James McAvoy Is Right About Fox's X-Men Reboot Problem

When the X-Men eventually get introduced into the MCU, Marvel Studios need to avoid one major Fox franchise mistake, one which former X-Men star James McAvoy has pointed out. McAvoy debuted as a young Charles Xavier in 2011's X-Men: First Class, providing an origin story for the beloved character who had previously been portrayed by Patrick Stewart. Alongside him, Michael Fassbender portrayed a young Erik Lehnsherr, with First Class detailing the beginnings of the pair's decades-long relationship as friends-turned-enemies. It's still unclear who will be taking on these iconic roles in upcoming Marvel Studios projects, but with mutants starting to get introduced, the X-Men debut is right around the corner.

In a recent interview with GQ, James McAvoy has spoken about the hugely positive experience he had working on Fox's X-Men films, despite many believing that he didn't enjoy his tenure as Professor X. However, he did mention one major criticism of Fox's film series, stating that "after [First Class], we didn't take advantage of the relationship between [Xavier and Michael Fassbender's Magneto]." This was a criticism shared by many, that the complex relationship between these two characters had been central to First Class, but then was completely forgotten about in subsequent films. Marvel Studios need to fix this problem when Professor X and Magneto are introduced into the MCU.

Fox's X-Men Movies Wasted Xavier & Magneto After First Class

X-Men: First Class is widely regarded as one of the strongest films in Fox's X-Men franchise, providing a refreshing origin story for some iconic characters in Marvel's roster, with a story told in a new way for the franchise that felt realistic and grounded. Even so, Fox seemed to slip back into old habits quickly. X-Men: Days of Future Past featured some of these strong dynamics, but subsequent films completely sacrificed character relationships for action and flash. It could be argued that this was the case for many characters, but Professor X and Magneto's relationship provides such a wealth of material that was simply forgotten about in later X-Men projects.

What The MCU Must Learn From Fox's X-Men Mistakes

Marvel's mutant characters work so well simply because they are humans, just more evolved. They experience human emotion and human relationships just like everybody else. Aside from their extraordinary abilities, they are incredibly relatable and approachable for audiences. In the friendship between Professor X and Magneto, it's made clear that their beliefs are simply two sides of the same coin, which provides some of the most interesting conflicts that can be seen in superhero films. Marvel Studios' big bads have often been otherworldly, cosmic beings, so it would be a wonderful change to see the sort of grounded and intelligent battles that mutants could bring to the MCU.

Following Disney's acquisition of Fox, it's only a matter of time until a new team of X-Men makes their way to the MCU, and since James McAvoy has suggested that he isn't likely to return to the role, it makes sense for Marvel Studios to start afresh with a new cast of actors. Whoever fills these iconic roles in the MCU needs to strike the balance between harboring the mutants' abilities, and dealing with intense human emotions. Phase 4 has seen the slow debut of several mutants into the established MCU timeline, and many are speculating that the time to shine for the X-Men could be Phase 7 and onwards.

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