Can 'X-Men' Save Marvel From the Superhero Movie Apocalypse?

Right out of the gate, you’re probably wondering what the heck Sabrina Carpenter has to do with the X-Men and/or the cratering superhero movie genre. Well, she’s currently a name being kicked around for an all-new version of the mutant team that will debut after the one-two punch of Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Those movies will reportedly wipe the long-standing Fox characters out of existence and kick off a reboot of the MCU.

Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier is reportedly locked in to bring the new X-Men to life, which is a solid choice. Thunderbolts didn’t light the box office on fire, but it was one of the better Marvel movies of late. The X-Men name will always have juice — just look at the numbers for Deadpool & Wolverine — so Marvel seemingly has a pretty good thing going here that already has up-and-coming actors eager to hop aboard.

You’d think watching superhero movies flaming out left and right would put a wet blanket on creatives wanting to test their luck, but even the stars of hit original movies are still willing to throw themself into the Marvel machine. Unlike the Sabrina Carpenter rumors, Obsession star Inde Navarrette is legitimately in play for X-Men.

Via THR:

The Obsession star has enjoyed a meteoric rise in awareness and acclaim since the release of Curry Barker’s horror hit, which has now crossed $400 million globally at the box office.

In a new interview with Nylon, the 25-year-old was asked if she would do a Marvel movie. “I would,” she replied.

Speaking of which, Navarrette has reportedly met with Thunderbolts helmer Jake Schreier, who is directing Marvel’s upcoming X-Men reboot.

Of course, if we bust out Occam’s Razor, the simple explanation is money. We all gotta eat, right? Granted, Marvel has tightened its belt, and unless you’re one of the big name veterans, the days of giant checks are over. But I’m sure the amount they’re paying is nothing to sneeze at.

There’s also the X-Men of it all. Yes, Blade was the spark that kicked off the past 30 years of non-stop comic book movies, but people forget that the first X-Men movie was an absolute game-changer. It paved the way for Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, and Hollywood hasn’t stopped chasing that cash dragon ever since.

But there’s always been something special about the X-Men. There’s something about that team that draws in comic book readers, movie watchers, gamers, you name it. The whole time Joss Whedon made The Avengers movies, he complained that the better characters were over at Fox. Not to mention, there would be no Hugh Jackman without Wolverine. It’s a storied franchise, so it’s not terribly surprising there are actors willing to strap themselves to that rocket even if it has exploded a few times on the launchpad.

But can the X-Men save the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Honestly, maybe! I’m not going to sit here and act like Doomsday and Secret Wars won’t put some butts in seats. There is a solid bet in getting the gang back together and reminding everyone of the glory days. (It’s working on me, and I’m so burnt out on this sh*t it hurts.) Follow those Avengers flicks with a solid X-Men movie, and baby, you got a stew going.

Now, if Doomsday or Secret Wars stumbles, then I don’t even know. Marvel will have to do a lot of marketing to make it clear that X-Men is something all-new and requires absolutely zero knowledge of the mess it just left behind. That’s an uphill battle even with a solid franchise, and one that just replaced its biggest star. The Wolverine recast is a nightmare scenario, so best of luck there.

Swinging it back to Sabrina Carpenter, the rumor is she’s being eyed for Emma Frost. I’m old enough to remember how that worked for January Jones, and uh, it wasn’t pretty. Could a two-foot tall version of the character in better creative hands turn out differently? For her sake, I hope so.