Every X-Men Movie, Ranked From ‘Dark Phoenix’ To ‘The Wolverine’

Predating the foundations of the MCU by nearly a decade, the X-Men series continues to stand tall as one of the longest-running superhero franchises in modern history.

Spanning 14 films and two succinct cinematic universes, X-Men is responsible for setting the standard for the contemporary superhero film, proving the genre’s inherent potential as a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster. As proof of the franchise’s clear popularity, the MCU has bent over backwards to include several X-Men tie-ins with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as seen through the returning appearances of characters like Professor X, Deadpool, and Hugh Jackman’s career-defining Wolverine.

With numerous X-Men alumni set to return for Avengers: Doomsday (including Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Ian McKellen, and Rebecca Romijn), we decided to take a look back at every X-Men film released over the years, from Fox’s earliest installments to the series’ momentous entry into the MCU.

14. Dark Phoenix (2019)

A disappointing conclusion to a once promising series, Dark Phoenix spelled out a plodding end to the First Class-era X-Men narrative. Just as Apocalypse before it served as a major step down from the critical heights of Days of Future Past, Dark Phoenix completed X-Men’s rapid descent from a fan-favorite alternative to the MCU to one of the worst superhero franchises of the late 2010s, second only to the DCEU.

13. The New Mutants (2020)

When news of its production was first announced, fans anticipated a riveting new kind of film with 2020’s The New Mutants: an effective blend between a traditional superhero movie and a headier psychological horror film. Unfortunately, the finished product fell far below viewers’ expectations, paving the way to a half-baked spin-off that had most audience members frustrated, confused, and downright heartbroken at its middling quality and underdeveloped characters.

12. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

As the most notable breakout character of X-Men’s original trilogy, it’s not exactly a surprise that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine went on to enjoy his own spin-off trilogy. While it’s obvious that this Wolverine-centric series grew exponentially better over time, fans still had to sit through the underwhelming first act in Jackman’s trilogy with 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Providing a scatter-brained origin story for everyone’s favorite feral anti-hero, X-Men Origins: Wolverine left fans with just as many questions as it did answers, bearing little to any significance on Wolverine’s story in the immediate years ahead.

11. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Apocalypse had a difficult task ahead of itself in measuring up to the achievements of Days of Future Past. Rather than delivering yet another unforgettable addition to the X-Men universe, however, Apocalypse buckled under the weight of its cumbersome narrative. Overstuffed with too many characters and hampered by its bloated story, Apocalypse was doomed to failure practically from its opening moments onward, setting the X-Men series on a downward trajectory it never fully recovered from (as seen from later sequels like Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants).

10. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Like the aforementioned Apocalypse, X-Men: The Last Stand struggled to fill out the shadow left behind its earlier predecessors. Struggling to shine a spotlight on all of its foremost characters, The Last Stand’s storyline proved far too thin to conclude the original X-Men’s overarching narrative. Between the scant attention paid to fan-favorite characters like Cyclops, Mystique, and Rogue and the disappointing presentation of new characters like Juggernaut, Angel, and Phoenix, The Last Stand fumbled every major aspect of its main storyline and seemingly impressive cast list.

9. The Wolverine (2013)

Recovering from the abysmal failures of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine returned some semblance of redemption for Jackman’s lovingly rugged superhero. Transposing the clawed hero from the wilds of Canada to the neon-lit streets of Japan, The Wolverine excelled when it came to embracing its comic book source material, specifically looking to Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s lauded Wolverine series for inspiration. Though its ending leaves something to be desired, the finished film ended up being a far more faithful exploration of Logan’s character, including his repeated attempts to move past the events of The Last Stand.

8. X-Men (2000)

The very first entry in the X-Men franchise, 2000’s X-Men also helped revive the long waning superhero genre for a new generation of viewers. Opting for dramatic realism in lieu of comic book-inspired visuals, X-Men’s grounded tone helped outline superheroes’ clear promise in the contemporary film industry, paving the way for the numerous MCU and DCEU movies that followed. While nowhere near as great as its later installments, it’s impossible to overstate X-Men’s impact on modern pop culture, from its resonating influence on the superhero genre to its nuanced presentation of fan-favorite characters like Wolverine, Professor X, and Ian McKellen’s scene-stealing Magneto.

7. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

With Marvel’s acquisition of Fox in 2019, most fans wondered whether Ryan Reynolds’ foul-mouthed superhero would find a place in the MCU. Thankfully, that long-awaited hope soon came to fruition with 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, a topsy-turvy superhero epic that spanned literal multiverses in its two-hour runtime. Doubling down on the comedic antics that characterized the first two Deadpool films, Deadpool & Wolverine also served up an action-packed debut for its bickering lead characters (along with widely-discussed new heroes like Channing Tatum’s charismatic Gambit).

6. X-Men: First Class (2011)

Accomplishing a feat X-Men Origins: Wolverine could only dream of, X-Men: First Class provided an engrossing origin story for Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr’s famed mutant team. Winding the clocks back to the early 1960s, First Class eloquently portrayed the unique chemistry between Professor X and Magneto’s younger characters, laying the groundwork for their growing rift and inevitable rivalry throughout the initial X-Men films. Breathing renewed life into the X-Men franchise after the failures of The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, First Class perfectly built upon the pre-existing personalities of its most promising franchise characters, including Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, and Nicholas Hoult’s adorably scruffy Beast.

5. Deadpool (2016)

It may have taken years to officially get off the ground, but Ryan Reynolds’ tireless work on a full-scale Deadpool spin-off was well worth the wait. Crafting a hilarious origin story for the infamous Merc with the Mouth, Deadpool came equipped with a far more faithful rendition of the character than 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine (a film that, ironically, Reynolds went out of his way to repeatedly mock throughout Deadpool). Blending taut action with buoyant humor, Reynolds provided an entertaining fresh start for Marvel’s resident bad boy, kickstarting a superhero subseries still going strong to this day.

4. Deadpool 2 (2018)

Deadpool might have introduced viewers to a more comic-accurate depiction of its lead character, but Deadpool 2 delivered a far more audacious outing for Ryan Reynolds’ titular superhero. Working with a larger budget and more recognizable cast of characters, Deadpool 2 took the superhero world by storm with its irreverent humor, sharp writing, and stylistically bold action. Whether focusing on Deadpool or Josh Brolin’s ornery Cable, Deadpool 2 served up the ultimate buddy adventure film – one every bit as memorable as the various DCEU or MCU films released around the same time.

3. Logan (2017)

While Hugh Jackman eventually chose to return to the role, there was something masterfully definitive about his portrayal of Wolverine in 2017’s Logan. Focusing less on the superhero heroics of its lead characters and more on their long-term legacy, Logan looked to Wolverine’s more troubled alter ego in lieu of the leather-clad X-Men adventurer audiences grew to love throughout the initial X-Men movies. Dark, gritty, and wonderfully grounded in its dystopian vision of the future, Logan outfitted the X-Men franchise with a blessedly original entry here, allowing it to stand in sharp contrast to the action-packed narratives of practically every other X-Men film.

2. X2 (2003)

X-Men may have shown audiences the inherent possibilities that lay in a comic book-inspired superhero film, but X2 delivered a crowd-pleasing action epic the likes of which viewers had never seen before. Pushing the boundaries for the superhero narrative forward, X2 found new and exciting ways to build upon the most fascinating aspects of the original. From further highlighting Wolverine’s past to showcasing the threat posed by government-backed anti-mutant extremists, X2 continues to hold up as one of the most rousing entries in the superhero genre, cementing X-Men’s place in the center of pop culture for the remainder of the decade.

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Perfectly bridging the gap between the original X-Men films and the prequel events of First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past featured one of the most exciting explorations of the superhero genre audiences have seen to date. Hopping back and forth between a war-torn future and an uncertain past, Days of Future Past allowed various strands of the X-Men universe to come together into one supremely entertaining piece. With ample focus spent on a young Magneto and Professor X’s relationship amidst the turbulent 1970s, Days of Future Past thoughtfully analyzed the central questions at the heart of the X-Men series: can humanity and mutantkind co-exist; is one species a threat to the other; and is there any possibility of choosing love, harmony, and peace over fear, war, and (ultimately) mutually assured destruction.