10 X-Men Properties We Might See Next on the Small Screen 

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and the buzz surrounding Fox’s upcoming TV series – which is rumored to be called

– we can’t help but wonder if Fox will be looking to the small screen to develop a few more of Marvel’s money-making properties. With

helping to usher in a new era of X-projects that are largely unconnected to the core franchises that we’ve seen so far with both the X-Men and the Wolverine trilogies, Fox is now able – or at least willing – to explore characters and stories in a way we hadn’t seen before

focuses the character of David Haller, who as the son of Prof. Charles Xavier has countless ties to the X-Men, though the series only uses those connections to further develop their own part of that world without out being held down by continuity. It’s a similar angle that the team behind

took, although they chose to exploit the connections and continuity for laughs rather than seriously develop their world. Now as

prepares for a second season, we felt it was time to look at a few other X-properties that Fox has under their belt that would be right at home on the small screen.

While the original comic series was fairly short-lived, the idea behind it was aimed straight for the TV audience. Set up like a police procedural,

followed X-Man Lucas Bishop in his new duties as a member of the FBI, tasked with working alongside the NYPD to police a section of Manhattan known as Mutant Town, or District X, where a high population of mutants resides. The series would have a very interesting lead with Bishop (previously seen in

played by Omar Sy), an exiled mutant from the future whose mission in the past was completed, which left him looking for a new reason to live in the present. Partnered with human detective Ismael Ortega, the two investigated a number of non-X-Men related cases before the series was canceled, but the premise lends itself to TV very well despite the series short run.

Originally a codename for Wolverine, the Weapon X moniker was also held by the former Department K in Canada, whose fellow Department H served as the headquarters for Alpha Flight, Canada’s premiere superhero team (stop laughing in the back, Kronner [

-BK]). For a period of time, Weapon X operated independently as a secret organization using various captive mutants as operatives, including former Weapons Wolverine and Sabretooth, as well as characters like Ajax/Francis from

) and even Madison Jeffries, who would eventually join the X-Club (more on them later). We’ve seen how successful projects based on villains can be –

from DC Films made a ton of money despite failing critically – so allowing the darker side of Weapon X to help develop some b-level mutants might make a great setting for a TV series.

Hopping across the pond, another possible series should focus on Excalibur, who are often regarded as the British X-Men. Excalibur  – created by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis – follows longtime members of the X-Men Nightcrawler, Shadowcat (with Lockheed), and Phoenix (Rachel Summers) as they move to Great Britain and join up with Brian Braddock AKA Captain Britain and his lover Meggan to form a new team, thinking the X-Men are dead. Excalibur has many adventures over the years, mixing the cross-dimensional travel that comes with Captain Britain with the unique storytelling of Claremont, who authored the X-Men’s rise to popularity following

. The team would definitely offer a new direction for live-action, and might even work in partnership with the BBC to bring us a truly unique tale of mutants that could only be told with Excalibur.

Alison Blaire was a successful pop star whose mutant ability to turn sound into light made her a one-woman show that debuted in her own series in the ‘80s. While originally her powers seemed a bit gimmicky, over the years the character has evolved with the times and participated in a number of X-events, but it may be her connection with a very particular character that could land her on the small screen. Dazzler eventually meets and falls in love with Longshot, an interdimensional mutant with good luck powers who hails from the Mojoverse, a universe dependent on entertainment. In an almost satirical look at modern TV corporations and practices, Dazzler could deliver a new (musical) hero that ties into the X-universe without relying on it too much, especially when paired with Longshot and their adventures leading the Mojoverse rebellion together, or even Dazzler’s time leading a reality-hopping team of alternate X-Men.

I like to envision this next possible series as

, with a healthy dose of mutant magic to tie it all together. The X-Club served as the X-Men’s resident scientists while the team lived on their Utopia island base. Bankrolled by Warren Worthington III AKA Angel along with Betsy Braddock AKA Psylocke, the actual team consisted of Dr. Henry McCoy AKA Beast, James Bradley AKA Dr. Nemesis (former superhero-turned-Nazi-turned-Nazi-hunter-turned-Mad-Scientist), Madison Jeffries AKA Alpha Flight’s Box, Dr. Kavita Rao (creator of the mutant cure), and Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi (Robotics Expert). The club worked together to tackle depowered mutants, plagues, time travel, and alternate realities. Watching smart people bicker over smart things set in the mutant-populated X-timeline would make for some entertaining television.

Karima Shapander was an ordinary girl, falling in love with an ordinary boy named Neal Shaara (who would eventually become the 2

Thunderbird), until his latent mutant powers kicked in during a Sentinel attack, which then activated Karima’s own sleeper status as a Prime Sentinel, a unique hybrid of human and Sentinel technology created by Bastion during Operation: Zero Tolerance. The sleeper Sentinel managed to fight off her programming long enough to save Neal but was deactivated. Shortly after being found on the mutant island of Genosha by Charles Xavier and Magneto, Karima was reprogrammed and became the Omega Sentinel, tasked to help the X-Men instead of hunting them. Karima’s story seems perfect for television, as she can operate in the world of the X-Men without actually joining the team or dealing with active members the studio might not want to tackle. Even without her mutant hunting status offering a number of interesting story points, her new mechanical hybrid body also goes against her own religious beliefs, offering up an interesting challenge for the main character to deal with as she becomes accustomed to her new body.

Chances are good that if you’ve read any of my previous X-Men related articles, you’re already well aware of my love for a certain group of swashbuckling space pirates, the Starjammers. Led by Corsair AKA Major Christopher Summers (recognize the last name?), the Starjammers could offer a unique blend of X-Men-related stories with the entertaining sci-fi aspect that could appeal to many

fans. We’ve seen a number of TV series set aboard a spaceship, from

, but none with the unique personalities and mythology that exist within the Starjammer’s realm of influence. There have even been a number of X-Men who have served on the Starjammer (which is also the name of their ship) and would offer some interesting story potentials for the series, far removed from the happenings of Fox’s X-Men franchises.

A fan-favorite series created by Judd Winick and Mike McKone, the series followed a team of time-displaced X-Men who had each fallen out of place in their respective realities. The hodgepodge of a team eventually becomes a tight-knit family, as they travel across various realities to fix fractures in the space/time continuum in order to restore their place in their home realities. The series sounds a bit like DC’s current

thrown in for good measure. While a number of Marvel characters made their way through the Exiles team, it was mostly ripped from the pages of the X-Men, giving Fox a ton of possibilities to work with. The most popular lineup included Blink (fresh from her breakout appearance in the “Age of Apocalypse” but well before her role in

), with alternate reality, heroically successful versions of b-list X-characters like Mimic and Morph, along with Nocturne (child of alternate Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch), and a number of great characters moving through the open roster slots as members died or were returned to their home realities. Jamie Chung has recently been cast as Blink for 

, but if they’re thinking spin-offs, they could do worse than the Exiles.

One of the more unique and intriguing characters to get involved with the X-Men over the last few years, Charlie-Cluster 7 AKA Fantomex is another success/victim of the Weapon Plus program, which experimented on mutants like Wolverine, who was known as Weapon X. Fantomex (who was previously known as Weapon XIII) isn’t actually a mutant, but his advancements include multiple brains, nano-active blood, and his E.V.A., which is his trusty external nervous system that works alongside Fantomex in a symbiotic relationship, often forming a vehicle for Fantomex to travel around in. His fake British spy personality and gray moral compass offer up a damaged hero for fans to get behind. He’s one of those love-to-hate types that seem so popular, which we’ve seen done perfectly with FX’s

. While the inclusion of E.V.A. might seem like a stretch to some, just look towards

Number 1 with a bullet has to be Peter David’s third volume of

, which focused on Jamie Madrox AKA the Multiple Man running an investigation firm known as X-Factor Investigations, which generally focused on mutant related problems. The office was staffed with a number of popular mutants from various teams that came before, like the government-sanctioned team of X-Factor, the New Mutants, and X-Force. Madrox’s X-Factor tackled a number of interesting issues while digging into the true nature of some of these characters, making them the best they’ve ever been (looking at you, Strong Guy). Any fans of Rob Thomas shows like

can see how this show could excel in that demographic, giving Fox and Marvel a winning series to bring to television next.

Any additional TV series would further strengthen Fox’s hold on Marvel’s X-Men characters, and if these new projects are taken half as seriously as FX did with

, then we would be lucky to see any of these X-properties on the small screen. Which of these series would you be most excited to see on TV? Let us know in the comments section below and join the discussion on the GEEK FB page!

10 X-Men Properties We Might See Next on the Small Screen

What\'s next for Fox\'s X-Universe on the small screen?

By Scoot Allan | 04/28/2017 11:00 AM PT | Updated 04/28/2017 06:58 PM PT

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