Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was 20th Century Fox’s X-Men series of films, and while the latter continued to tread water up until very recently, the franchise’s own faults compared to the now-gargantuan MCU had long foreshadowed its extinction. After all, who would want to follow a franchise whose last entry was The New Mutants?
Another major complaint that the X-Men franchise had drawn was the glaring inconsistencies in its timelines. Those being the one preceding X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the one following it. But what seems like a misstep for many could very well be a delectable continuity focal point for those eagle-eyed enough to spot it.
One such viewer took their findings to r/FanTheories, divulging the one line from 2017’s Logan that solves all the continuity problems in one fell slash.
In short, Logan happens upon Laura’s X-Men comic book when they take refuge in a hotel. He angrily spews his distaste for the comic book, raging about how it romanticizes the true plight of the mutants.
The user goes on to suggest that some of the films in the X-Men series, namely X-Men, The Wolverine, and Logan, take place in the “real world” that Logan inhabits, whilst the likes of X-Men: First Class, Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix are cinematic adaptations of the comic book stories that Laura reads.
They continue to further explain how films like Deadpool and X-Men Origins all tie into it, and it comes out the other side as one of the more fascinating fan theories to ever surround a superhero franchise. Not only does it make all the sense in the world, but if true, it’s a deft handling of a meta-narrative that we only see done right once in a blue moon. But with another fan theory suggesting that the MCU’s Deadpool 3 will see the Merc With the Mouth destroy the Fox universe by way of an incursion, it’s probably best to enjoy this one while we can.