Fox Is Considering a Live-Action X-Men Series
Hey, do you like superheroes? Do you like the X-Men? Do you think TV needs another comic-based series? Then congratulations, because you might be in luck! According to TV Insider, Fox is in talks to produce a live-action X-Men series, one that would bring the characters back to the network for the first time since X-Men: The Animated Series went off the air in 1997. Sources close to the project have told The Hollywood Reporter that the potential show is being developed with Evan Katz and Manny Coto, who also produced 24, and that it's being written by Patrick McKay and JD Payne, the duo behind Star Trek 3.
However, actually putting a live-action X-Men series on the air will be extremely complicated endeavor. Twentieth Century Fox, the TV network's studio counterpart, owns the film rights to the X-Men franchise—which currently includes seven movies and all of Hugh Jackman's abdominal muscles—but Marvel Entertainment still owns the comic rights. That means Marvel will have to sign off on the idea for it to move forward at Fox. Further muddling the matter is Marvel's status as a subsidiary of Disney, which also owns ABC (home of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter). The resulting behind-the-scenes convolution is why you'll never hear the term "mutants" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; since Fox owns the fim rights to the X-Men, Marvel isn't legally allowed to use the word in its movies or TV shows, and that's likely the reason why Marvel has decided to introduce "Inhumans" in their place.
That being said, Fox entertainment co-chairman Gary Newman told TV Insider that the network is in negotiations with Marvel and that he's "cautiously optimistic" about closing a deal. Fox has owned the film rights to the X-Men since 1994, but ever since Marvel joined the Disney family in 2009, it's slowly been reacquiring its own characters, including Daredevil, Punisher, and Ghost Rider. (Elsewhere, Fox also owns the film rights for the Fantastic Four, while Sony retains the film rights to Spider-Man.)
X-Men isn't the only franchise Fox is looking into resurrecting. Earlier this month, Newman and his co-chair Dana Walden told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that the network is hoping to reboot The X-Files and would also like to take another stab at 24, with or without Jack Bauer. But to be honest, a live-action X-Men series seems like a logical next step for Fox, which has been struggling of late. Freshman drama Gotham, a DC Comics property focusing on a pre-Batman-era Jim Gordon, was just renewed for a second season despite the fact that it's not the ratings juggernaut the network hoped it would be, and if handled properly, a potential X-Men series could help to draw in comic fans who were turned off by Gotham's Batman-without-Batman premise.
Would you watch a live-action X-Men series? Follow-up question: Who would you cast if the project moves forward?
