The introduction of the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe makes an X-Men universe brought several iconic storylines to life, among which Days of Future Past stands out as a particularly faithful adaptation.
Both John Byrne's original comic book storyline and Fox's 2014 movie feature a dystopian future in which Sentinels hunt down all mutants, forcing one member of the X-Men (Kitty Pryde in the comics and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in the movie) to send their consciousness to the present in an attempt to change the course of history. In the end, the rise of the Sentinels is averted, and mutants can rest easy knowing that the timeline that contained their extermination has been erased from existence — or so they think. Although the original story focuses solely on the X-Men, it also affects the rest of Marvel characters, as their future is changed due to the X-Men's will to survive.
There are many ways the MCU can introduce the X-Men to the spotlight without retelling the same stories that Fox's X-Men franchise adapted to live-action for nearly twenty years. But even though characters can be changed, origin stories can be updated, and teams can be shaken up, but there's one scenario the X-Men will always have to confront sooner or later. Here's why another Days of Future Past adaptation is inevitable.
Time Travel Already Exists In The MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had become increasingly ambitious with every box office hit throughout the years. It took the MCU over a decade to go from the Avengers' first team-up in Phase 1 to the time-hopping culmination of the entire Infinity Saga in Phase 3's complex concepts like time travel and the multiverse with the confidence that both the fans and the characters themselves will understand what's going on.
The problem is, time travel is already an established element in the MCU before the X-Men have been introduced, which means that it will be too hard for mutants to ignore the possibility of using it to their favor now that it exists. With the Quantum Realm at the ready, Tony Stark’s time travel technology lying around, and Kang the Conqueror possibly traveling freely through the timeline, some of the X-Men will likely find themselves in a time-travel conflict sooner rather than later despite not having gone through everything the Avengers had to experience in order to use time travel as a last resort.
Days of Future Past Is A Natural Progression of The X-Men's Story
The events of Days of Future Past are inherently ingrained into the Logan, mutants seem almost predestined to end up facing extinction — time travel is just the tool to revert it.
The MCU will likely avoid repeating what Fox already did with the X-Men (Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Wolverine being the most notable example). However, there are many elements of X-Men lore Marvel Studios simply can't leave out. Emblematic storylines such as the Dark Phoenix saga, Age of Apocalypse, and of course, Days of Future Past are central to Marvel's main team of mutants. Even if the MCU actively avoids adapting these stories once again, their central plots and themes will eventually come up.
The MCU Must Choose Whether To Remake Days of Future Past Or To Ignore It
The quality of X-Men: Days of Future Past as a standalone event presents another challenge. With no other superpowered beings to worry about, the 2014 movie wasn't afraid to explore a gloomy post-apocalyptic future where the fate of the world depended exclusively on mutants. The X-Men were shown dying tragic deaths before the time-displaced Wolverine, the remaining X-Men, and two different yet similarly X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Certainly, Fox's X-Men: Days of Future Past left the bar quite high.
The X-Men won't focus on time travel as soon as they're introduced in the MCU, but once they're formed as an official team of MCU superheroes, Marvel Studios will need a very strong reason not to tell the same story as Fox's X-Men: Days of Future Past. It's possible that by the time the remake is considered for the franchise's direction, the X-Men movies will be old enough to justify a new take on the same stories. Alternatively, the MCU can draw inspiration from the iconic time-traveling storyline to create something brand new. Yet, there's always the possibility that Jean Grey won't become the Dark Phoenix, Apocalypse won't return to recruit of the X-Men, and the Sentinels won't hunt down mutants in a dystopian future. However, all the necessary elements will be there if the MCU chooses to take another shot at these stories.
