lrb reminded me about how yesterday Jim and I were talking about how it should happen if Marvel is going to reboot the X-Men (again, which we know they likely are)
My pitch was: open shot on an idyllic house, in a lovely little neighborhood. There's a dusting of snow on the ground. Inside, we get some details. Picture frames on the fireplace mantel, a nice wool coat and a cropped green jacket on hooks by the door, books on the coffee table, etc.
We pan up to see Scott Summers in the kitchen, out of uniform, looking relaxed, making coffee. He hears a noise from upstairs and pulls down a second mug. A woman with red hair enters the kitchen. Naturally, this is Jean Grey. Scott kisses her in greeting, it's sickeningly sweet, warm lighting, the picture of domestic bliss. He pulls away and hands her the coffee, asking how she slept. She says she's had some strange dreams lately, but nothing that waking up to him can't fix. She asks about his headaches, if his eyes are bothering him, real cute stuff.
Her watch beeps, and she sighs. No rest for the wicked.
Jean says her goodbyes and ducks out of the house, getting into a painfully ordinary looking car. Scott makes a phone call, and is joined almost immediately by Kurt Wagner. He peers out the window, watching the car drive away, and turns back to Scott, looking uncomfortable.
"This isn't fair to her," he says. Scott doesn't answer, and Kurt teleports them back to the X-Mansion. We get a shot of the mutants. Scott pulls himself together, heading to a classroom to set up.
Shot change to that car, driving past various bits of scenery as the introductory credits start to roll in. Past forests, through towns, past a remote-looking lake, before eventually pulling into a parking lot, Jean getting out of the car, and pulling a bag out of the backseat. She gets a chorus of "hellos" and "welcome back"s as she makes her way through a hallway, waves to some folks through glass doors. Then she rounds a corner into a room filled with chairs, a few tables, and monitors. She looks out of a window and smiles.
A few other people come into the room. A man slumps into one of the chairs, looking exhausted.
"Yes ma'am, all loaded up and waiting for your final walk-around."
"Good. As much as I loved my honeymoon, I've been itching to fly the whole time."
And we get to see the woman, not Jean Grey after all, settle behind the controls of an airplane. She radios ATC, and gets a "Good to hear your voice again, Maddie!" in response.
Enter title card, something something plot.
Anyway, tl;dr I trust no one to actually do Madelyne Pryor the justice she deserves, but I would kill for a good Goblin Queen movie. Give me a film where we watch this woman get to go ape-shit and root for her the whole way. And the best part? No one rehashes Dark Phoenix because it's already happened, thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
