X-Men Soundtrack: Every Composer and Notable Song

The best known songs in the X-Men movies come from Deadpool, Deadpool 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: First Class, Logan and Dark Phoenix, while the other films are remembered mainly for their scores. Four songs were written for a film: "Love Love" by Take That for X-Men: First Class, "Ashes" by Céline Dion and "Welcome to the Party" by Diplo, French Montana, Lil Pump and Zhavia Ward for Deadpool 2, and a campfire song performed by Odessa in Dark Phoenix.

X2 (2003) features "Center of the Sun" by Conjure One alongside John Ottman's score.

X-Men: First Class (2011) is the first film in the saga with a song written for it. "Love Love" by Take That plays over the end credits. During the mutant recruitment sequence, an instrumental version of "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" by Gnarls Barkley gives the montage its bounce.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) pairs two period songs with two of its best known scenes. "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce plays while Quicksilver runs in slow motion through the Pentagon kitchen, rearranging the frozen guards and the objects around them. A Roberta Flack song, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", plays as Wolverine first arrives in 1973.

Deadpool (2016) has the busiest song list in the saga. "Calendar Girl" by Neil Sedaka runs over the montage of Wade Wilson and Vanessa, which moves through the holidays of the year, and "Deadpool Rap" by TeamHeadKick plays during the Finding Francis montage. The film also features "Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton, "Careless Whisper" by George Michael, "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa, "X Gon' Give It to Ya" by DMX, "Mr. Sandman" by The Chordettes, "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles, "G.D.F.R." by Flo Rida, Sage the Gemini and Lookas, "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago and "Mera Joota Hai Japani" by Mukesh.

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) features "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics and "The Four Horsemen" by Metallica.

Logan (2017) closes with "The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash, which plays over the end credits after the final image of the film.

Deadpool 2 (2018) pairs its two new songs with a long run of licensed tracks. These include "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC, "Take on Me (MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice)" by a-ha, "Nobody Speak" by DJ Shadow and Run the Jewels, "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton, "Tomorrow" by Alicia Morton, "We Belong" by Pat Benatar, "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher, "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel, "All Out of Love" by Air Supply and "Bangarang" by Skrillex and Sirah. "Thunderstruck" plays as a pump up track during the X-Force parachute jump, just before the team is unexpectedly killed.

Dark Phoenix (2019) fills its 1975 opening car scene with radio songs. "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" by Glen Campbell is the first song on the radio, and Jean Grey picks "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon in response. "Killer Queen" by Queen and "My Baby Loves Lovin'" by White Plains play as the dial is channel surfed. Early in the film, the mutant Dazzler, played by Halston Sage, sings the Odessa campfire song.

To start with the first film in the saga, see x men 2000. To see where each film sits in the story, try the x men timeline. For the people behind the films, visit x men cast.

Our picks: the best songs in the X-Men films (opinion)

• "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce (Days of Future Past): in my opinion, the gentlest song in the saga makes the Pentagon kitchen set piece the most inventive scene in the series.
• "The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash (Logan): it could be argued that no other credits song suits a film's tone as closely as this one does.
• "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC (Deadpool 2): the loud pump up cue sets up the film's best joke, which is why it works.
• "Calendar Girl" by Neil Sedaka (Deadpool): a cheerful oldie under a montage is a neat contrast with the film's violence.
• "Ashes" by Céline Dion (Deadpool 2): perhaps the boldest song choice in the franchise, and it was written for the film.
• "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" by Gnarls Barkley (First Class): even as an instrumental, it gives the recruitment sequence a playful pulse.
• "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon (Dark Phoenix): a quirky pick for the 1975 car scene that sets a lighter mood before the film turns serious.