The X-Men film universe has been more or less a 16-year narrative. Though there are loose connections, the franchise itself is pretty much self-contained that was put together by Bryan Singer. Now, a new rumor has surfaced that the universe, or at least Singer’s vision of it, will come to an end after X-Men: Apocalypse and the upcoming Wolverine 3.

To reiterate, this is nothing more than just a rumor at this time. Here’s the latest word from scooper El Mayimbe, who posted the news to his Instagram:

When you think about it, it does make some sense. X-Men: Days of Future Past reset the film franchise’s timeline. Some of the core cast’s contracts are expiring as well – Jennifer Lawrence has stated that Apocalypse would be her last X-Men film. Also, Hugh Jackman announced that Wolverine – that’s the rumored title for his third solo movie – would be the last time he would play the character.

If we are to believe this rumor, Apocalypse would mark a new beginning of the new franchise, one that is streamlined so that it fits into the narrative and it makes the transition easier for the fans who have stuck with the franchise. There are also rumors that Fox is trying to build their own cinematic universe with the Marvel properties they have by connecting Deadpool and Gambit to the First Class films, and maybe even Fantastic Four.

Again, this is nothing more than just a rumor right now, so take it with a huge grain of salt.

#RUMOR I'm being told that X-MEN: APOCALYPSE & WOLVERINE 3 will mark the end of the Bryan Singer X-MEN universe he started back in 2000. Makes sense since Hugh Jackman also said Wolverine 3 will be his last film playing Logan. The end of an era. #XMEN #APOCALYPSE #Wolverine #bryansinger #HughJackman

A photo posted by Umberto Gonzalez (@umbertogonzalez) on Apr 28, 2015 at 9:01am PDT

[Source: Latino Review]