The X-Men movies are a lot like the X-Men comics: dense, exciting, and often confusing. But for a while before the MCU was developed, they came to define exactly what a multi-film superhero franchise could be. The ongoing narrative of persecution and perseverance went backward and forward through time, splitting off into new realities, and occasionally flying off into outer space.
It all becomes a little hard to keep track of, so here’s the entire X-Men timeline, explained.