Could Bryan Singer be finished with the X-Men movie universe? The director was responsible for the first two X-Men cinematic adventures before taking a Superman break, only to return and get the franchise back on track with the genre-bending crossover X-Men: Days of Future Past. In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, Bryan Singer talked about his future in a mutant movie world.
“It’s not something I think about. But I could not roll into another X-Men movie tomorrow. And I hope not to. I hope to take a break.”
So with X-Men: Apocalypse (his fourth film as Director) set to be released this May, it appears Singer is spent. However, he may not be ready to throw in the towel just yet. In fact, Singer even talked about a potential future X-Men film, and the next villain that could go head-to-head with “Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters”.
“I’d love to use Proteus somehow. There’s a lot visually you could do with a character like that.”
Probably not the name you were expecting. Some might have preferred the rumors of Bryan Cranston possibly playing Mr. Sinister. Or maybe get a proper Juggernaut on the big screen (with all due respect to Vinnie Jones). Still, when you get a good look at Proteus, you have to admit that he could be a fun character for a future X-Men movie.
The son of Moira MacTaggert (portrayed by Rose Byrne), Kevin MacTaggert, a.k.a. Proteus is one of the most powerful mutants due to his ability to manipulate and even alter reality. He can also possess a person (or mutant), until he eventually burns out the energy in their body. To top it all off, Proteus has the ability to become a manifestation of pure energy. Now, just think about what that would look like on the big screen!!!
Imagine a character like Proteus in the hands of Bryan Singer. One of the things Singer has done with the X-Men movies is create a visually striking movie (Quicksilver’s running sequence in DOFP comes to mind). Even the forthcoming Apocalypse looks to have mind-melting visual moments. So, by giving Singer a character like Proteus, who can literally become pure energy, you are asking for a character unlike anything we’ve seen from a superhero movie (or at least a better looking character than whatever Nick Nolte turned into at the end of Ang Lee’s Hulk).
Bryan Singer could very well be the Godfather of superhero movies. While he wasn’t the first director in the genre, his X-Men movies jump-started everything. X2: X-Men United is still considered one of the best Superhero movies of all time, and that’s 13 years after its initial release. Hopefully his time working with mutants isn’t finished just yet. And we’re also hoping he can deliver a proper Proteus into the X-Men movie universe in the near future.
