X-Men to Unleash Days of Future Past Prequel After a 10-Year Wait
Marvel has just announced a new Days of Future Past hardcover edition, which is set to include a rare prequel to the story, written by the X-Menfranchise’s legendary Chris Claremont, who helmed the original 1981 time-travel storyline, which remains one of the most highly regarded in X-franchise history to this day.
Just announced by Marvel Comics, X-Men by Chris Claremont: Prelude To A Future Past #1, collects the original Days of Future past story arc, written by Claremont, with art by John Byrne, along with Claremont’s 2020 prequel comic, which features art by Salvador Larroca.
According to Marvel, the extra-sized issue “will also include bonus materials celebrating Chris Claremont's fifty-plus years in comics,” making it a must have for all fans of the franchise who want to celebrate X-Men’s history of dystopian futures, which all started with Days of Future Past.
Chris Claremont's Rare "Days Of Future Past" Prequel Gets A Reprint Alongside The Original Story
X-Men by Chris Claremont: Prelude To A Future Past #1; Available July 2, 2025 From Marvel Comics
Days of Future Past continues to be one of the standard-bearers for X-Men stories, even nearly forty-five years after it was first published in 1981. Though the original arc comprised just two issues of Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men, it was ambitious in scope, and startling in the dark potential fate it depicted for the franchise's heroes. Originally depicting a bleak possible future for the Marvel Universe, the world of Future Past has since been retconned as one timeline in the infinitely sprawling Marvel Multiverse, and it remains a source of fascination for X-readers to this day.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past - 10 Biggest Differences Between The Comic & Movie
The comic and movie versions of Days of Future Past have similarities, but for the most part, are very different stories with different outcomes.
The news that Chris Claremont's prequel to his story is being reprinted is notable, because as Marvel cited, this "prelude" comic was previously "only available in the Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont, a limited edition prestige hardcover." Diehard fans who purchased this previous collection have had access to this additional Days of Future Past material by Claremont, but now it will be widely accessible for the first time, which will generate a lot of buzz among the X-Men fandom, immediately vaulting this to the top of the "most anticipated releases list."
"Days Of Future Past" Changed X-Men History Forever, And Kicked Off Marvel's Obsession With Dark Futures
Uncanny X-Men #141-142; Written By Chris Claremont; Art By John Byrne; Released In 1981
Days of Future past has been influential on X-Men comics, and Marvel in general, in a number of ways over the last four-plus decades. Notably, it is, if not the first, a prominent early example of the publisher's go-to move of exploring dark alternate futures for its heroes, a tradition that continues to this day, and has likewise become a staple of DC Comics and superhero stories at large. Days of Future Past pulled no punches with its bleak "final" battle for the X-Men, and in the process it set a template many unforgettable X-stories would follow in the future.
X-Men by Chris Claremont: Prelude To A Future Past #1 will be available July 2, 2025 from Marvel Comics.
Source: Marvel Comics announcement
