X-Men movies ranked
It’s going to be a while until we see any new X-Men movies. Marvel doesn’t have plans to start making any new X-Men movies until 2025, at the earliest. So, we thought it was the perfect time to rank all of the X-Men movies while we wait for any news about the future of the franchise and all these great characters.
While we’ve seen more than a dozen movies set in the X-Men universe, there have been seven, official live-action X-Men movies. Those are the ones we ranked for this ranking, just like we did for the Avengers movies, although many MCU movies feature other Avengers and characters. It’s more fun to rank a few of the movies that include most of or all of the X-Men.
Obviously, the Wolverine movies and Deadpool movies are great movies and exist in this universe, but it’s harder to compare those to the X-Men movies, which are just bigger, have higher stakes, and involve a lot more moving parts than Wolverine or Deadpool.
We shared the list of X-Men movies in order:
- X-Men (2000)
- X2 (2003)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006
- X-Men: First Class (2011)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
- X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
- Dark Phoenix (2019)
Let’s get the list started with the most recent X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix.
7. Dark Phoenix
- Release Year: 2019
- Director: Simon Kinberg
- Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, and Jessica Chastain
Dark Phoenix premiered in theaters on June 7, 2019. While the hype for this film was as high as any recent X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix struggled to make a good lasting impression on anyone who saw the movie. It just wasn’t very good!
Dark Phoenix is one of the best arcs in the X-Men comics. With this cast and the X-Men movies before it, it seems like there was a good chance that Dark Phoenix could be really good, but it never lived up to the hype and suffered the same flaws as many superhero movies before it.
In the film, Jean Grey, a member of the X-Men, obtains immense powers when she is exposed to the Phoenix during a rescue mission in space. As she struggles to control her powers, Jean’s behavior becomes dangerous. The X-Men must decide whether to save her or stop her before she causes irreparable damage to the world.
That premise sounds awesome! We love a good story about someone grappling with an unknown power and those around them trying to figure out if it’s gone too far. Unfortunately, Dark Phoenix just isn’t a good movie, and that’s why it’s in last place on the list of the best X-Men movies we’ve seen so far.
Up next, it’s X-Men: The Last Stand!
6. X-Men: The Last Stand
- Release Year: 2006
- Director: Brett Ratner
- Cast: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones, and Patrick Stewart
X-Men: The Last Stand is the third movie of the X-Men franchise following X-Men in 2000 and X2 in 2003. Both of those movies were outstanding! The Last Stand had everything going for it, but as we talk about so often, it’s just so hard to stick the landing with the third movie of a trilogy. It’s just harder to match that excitement that was created in the first two movies, and I think that’s just what happened with The Last Stand.
In The Last Stand, the X-Men as they face a new threat: a “cure” for mutations that would eliminate their unique abilities. While some mutants see this as a chance to live a “normal” life, others view it as a threat to their identity and freedom. Meanwhile, a powerful mutant known as Phoenix emerges, causing destruction and chaos wherever she goes. The X-Men must unite to stop the threat while also fighting against forces that try to take away their place in the world.
Overall, I did like parts of The Last Stand, but there were just other X-Men movies that were better. It’s a decent end to the trilogy that changed the industry for the better. Next up is X-Men: Apocalypse!
5. X-Men: Apocalypse
- Release Year: 2016
- Director: Bryan Singer
- Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn, and Lucas Till
X-Men: Apocalypse is the third film of the new X-Men prequel series following X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Those two movies are two of the best X-Men movies we’ve seen so far, while Apocalypse, well, just is not. Although the film had an incredible cast, introduced Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse, and performed well at the box office, the film is largely viewed as a flop.
In the film, which is set during the 1980s, the X-Men face their most powerful enemy yet, an ancient mutant named Apocalypse, who seeks to destroy humanity and create a new world order. As the X-Men battle Apocalypse, they also face their own internal struggles, including the return of Jean Grey, who is struggling with her own immense powers.
It’s just so baffling how Apocalypse went so wrong. It’s a big swing, I’ll give you that, but it was just executed poorly. With Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse, there was so much potential. It was clear what his goals were, but it was never fully clear why Apocalypse was doing what he was doing. In the MCU, we learned why Thanos was doing what he was doing, and that’s where I think they missed with Apocalypse and his character development.
4. X-Men
- Release Year: 2000
- Director: Bryan Singer
- Cast: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park, and Anna Paquin
X-Men premiered in theaters in 2000. It’s the first X-Men movie of the franchise, which is now more than a dozen movies in as of 2023. And, there are even more X-Men movies on the way in part because of the success of X-Men two decades ago.
X-Men is easily one of the best and most iconic superhero movies of the last 20 years. It’s not quite as good as some of the MCU movies or the Batman movies, but thinking about what they did to make this movie and to release it in 2000, it’s legendary. As a kid, this was one of the first big superhero movies I saw in theaters, and it was epic. This one gets extra nostalgia points from me!
In the film, Professor X and his team of X-Men try to protect the world from evil and help mutants live peacefully with their human counterparts. When the Brotherhood of Mutants led by Magneto tries to convert other humans to mutants, the X-Men try to stop them.
For many, this was the first introduction into the world of the X-Men. It definitely did not disappoint.
3. X2
- Release Year: 2003
- Director: Bryan Singer
- Cast: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Bruce Davison, and Anna Paquin
X2 is the sequel to X-Men, and it was released in theaters in 2003. We’re coming up on the 20-year anniversary of the X2 premiere on April 24, 2023. For 20 years old, this movie absolutely holds up as one of the best X-Men movies we’ve seen to date. I imagine it will remain that way for some time.
Building on the success of the first X-Men movie, X2 tells the story of the X-Men as they face off against the military scientist, William Stryker, who seeks to eradicate mutants from the world. As Stryker’s forces attack the X-Mansion, the X-Men must team up with their former enemy, Magneto, to stop Stryker’s plan and save mutants.
One of my favorite parts of the first two movies of the X-Men franchise is how the first film puts Professor X and Magneto at odds. Then, in the second movie, they are forced to work together.
X2 grossed more than $400 million in the box office. Honestly, I thought it performed better than that, but it was a different time after all. X2 is so good. You just have to rewatch this movie for the 20th anniversary in April 2023.
2. X-Men: First Class
- Release Year: 2011
- Director: Matthew Vaughn
- Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, and more
X-Men: First Class is the first movie of the X-Men prequel series, and there’s no doubt it’s one of the best X-Men movies we’ve seen so far. While X-Men and X2 told the story the older X-Men and Magneto, First Class takes things back to the beginning and tells the origin story of Professor Xavier, Magneto, and the rest of the mutants involved in these stories.
First Class is set in 1962 during the Cold War. The story follows Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), also known as Professor X, and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), also known as Magneto, as they work together to stop Sebastian Shaw and the Hellfire Club from a mutant revolution.
First Class is a great change from the original trilogy. Exploring the past and what happened at the beginning of all these relationships is the most fun I’ve had watching the X-Men movies. It doesn’t quite have the same nostalgia factor as the original trilogy for me, but it’s much better in terms of production value, story, and overall performance. With that said, it’s much easier to go back to the beginning when the future and characters are already established like it was with X-Men and X2.
Now, for the best X-Men movie so far!
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Release Year: 2014
- Director: Bryan Singer
- Cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Fan Bingbing, Elliot Page, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart
X-Men: Days of Future Past premiered in theaters in 2016. The film is the sequel to the original X-Men trilogy and also First Class, which was released just a few years earlier.
In the movie, which is set in the future where mutants are attacked by Sentinels, the X-Men who survived send Wolverine’s consciousness back in time to the 1970s to stop the event that triggered the creation of the Sentinels. In the past, Wolverine must reunite Professor X and Magneto, who are basically enemies at this point after the events of First Class. Together, they try to stop Mystique from killing the creator of the Sentinels, which led to what happened in the future.
Days of Future Past is the best movie because it combines elements, characters, and storylines across the first four X-Men movies and brings it all together in one movie. On top of all that, the movie works as its own, unique story with so many great performances. There are some huge names in this film, and it was great to see it all come together.
I know I might be alone in claiming Days of Future Past is the best X-Men movie so far. What movie do you think is best? Share your picks in the comments below!