While we know the X-Men franchise will continue past this year’s X-Men: Apocalypse, the only films currently on the schedule are standalone movies and spinoffs. There’s nothing currently planned with the proper X-Men title. While we’re not expecting to see much in the short term, it doesn’t mean that nobody is considering the possibilities of future titles. Apocalypse director Bryan Singer has an idea for a villain he thinks would be great on screen, the reality-warping Proteus.
Bryan Singer is on the verge of releasing his fourth directorial effort in the X-Men universe, so he’s in a position to know more, and to think more, about the world than anybody else. Over the course of the two trilogies, they have used many of the classic villains that most passive fans of the comic franchise are familiar with, so who should they use next? Singer tells Empire (via Heroic Hollywood) who he would love to see. You can tell he’s really thinking about it like a filmmaker.
I’d love to use Proteus somehow. There’s a lot visually you could do with a character like that.
It’s no wonder that somebody like Bryan Singer would be interested in a character like Proteus. As a mutant who is able to literally alter reality, including the capacity to modify the laws of physics, the character certainly has the potential to make for some interesting visuals as part of a new movie. Visual set pieces, like those involving the X-Men version of Quicksilver, have been a key part of the last couple X-Men films, so we can imagine that Singer could be playing around with similar ideas for Proteus.
In the comics, Proteus is Kevin MacTaggart, the son of Moira MacTaggart, the character played by Rose Byrne in X-Men: Apocalypse. Proteus’s ability to manipulate reality makes him one of the most dangerous mutants ever created in the comics. He also had the ability to possess other people, though their bodies were rarely able to support his power. While Proteus is powerful, he’s never really been one of the big name bad guys for the X-Men in the comics, which would make him an interesting choice for the films. Because ultimately, you can only fight Magneto so many times, right?
While Bryan Singer may have an idea for a villain, at this point an idea is all it is. Singer is currently planning to go to work on a new film based on Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, so it’s unlikely that he’ll be helming the next chapter of the series. Who would you like to see the X-Men face off against in their next movie? Is Proteus a good choice?
