Fox’s viral marketing sites for X-Men: Days of Future Past were pretty cool, blending real-world history with the world of the X-Men. Now with the DVD and Blu-ray release on the horizon, they’ve decided to add two new sites: M-Underground and the Tandem Initiative.
The Tandem Initiative is some kind of scientific research center or think tank, collecting information about the “genetically gifted.” Its site shows photos of mutants displaying their superhuman abilities, and invites people to sign up and share their own mutant power selfies.
So, in the real world it’s a marketing tool to get people to reblog more X-Men photos, but in the X-Men universe it may be something a little more sinister. After all, why does the Tandem Initiative want to collect so many photos of genetically gifted people? The hacktivists over at M-Underground have some suggestions. Thanks to this stolen video, M-Underground are accusing Tandem of “trying to frame mutants for all of the world’s problems.”
The M-Underground site also includes clips from a speech Ted Kennedy was meant to give at the 1978 Democratic National Convention, admitting that he himself is a mutant. Is this linked with some event in X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016? Or did Fox just have a bunch of money left over in their viral marketing budget? Either way, the two sites do fit in with the overarching theme of the X-Men franchise: mutant activism vs. anti-mutant bigotry.
Weirdly, these website tie-ins for next month’s DVD/Blu-ray release are somewhat at odds with what the filmmakers are advertising elsewhere. While promoting the new DVDs, producer Simon Kinberg seemed a lot more interested in talking about the extended cut that comes out in 2015. That version will include a 10-minute Rogue subplot that was cut from the theatrical release, and will probably be a lot more appealing to fans of the earlier X-Men movies.
Photo via Tandem Initiative