WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN: THE "X-MEN" SERIES

In honor of the new movie.

X-MEN (2000)

>In 1989, Carolco Pictures approached Kathryn Bigelow to direct the movie, with James Cameron as executive producer, a script by Andrew Kevin Walker and Bob Hoskin in advanced talks to play Wolverine, but the project was scrapped when Carolco went bankrupt, and the rights were eventually acquired by 20th Century Fox in 1992.

>Walker's script was scrapped, and 28 drafts were submitted by multiple writers between 1992 and 1996, among them Joss Whedon and Michael Chabon. The final script was written by Ed Solomon based on a story by Bryan Singer and producer Tom DeSanto, with uncredited revisions by Christopher McQuarrie and David Hayter.

>Richard Donner was Fox's original choice to direct the movie, but he declined. Robert Rodriguez and Tim Burton were also approached, and Brett Ratner, John McTiernan, Irvin Kershner, Stephen Hopkins, Danny Boyle and Joel Schumacher were also considered before Bryan Singer was hired.

>Early drafts included Beast as a member of the X-Men and Pyro and Blob as members of the Brotherhood of Mutants, in addition to the Danger Room, but all of these elements had to be scrapped due to budget conflicts.

>In early drafts, Cyclops' and Storm's backstories are revealed: Cyclops' mutation manifested during his high school prom, when he destroyed the bathroom with his optic blasts, while Storm's manifested when she was surrounded and pelted with rocks by other children in her village in Kenya, accidentally summoning a blizzard that nearly swept the villagers.

>In early drafts, Magneto was indeed after Wolverine, as Adamantium was needed to power the machine that turned humans into mutants. Singer later decided to have Magneto be targeting Rogue instead.

>Russell Crowe was Singer's first choice to play Wolverine, but declined due to salary issues. The studio's top choices were Keannu Reeves and Gary Sinise. Edward Norton, Kiefer Sutherland, Aaron Eckhart and Viggo Mortensen were also considered before Dougray Scott was cast. However, he was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with last-minute additional photography for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II and was replaced by Hugh Jackman at Crowe's behest. Jackman was cast three weeks into filming.

>Thomas Jane was Singer's first choice to play Cyclops, but declined. Edward Burns and D.B. Sweeney auditioned for the role before James Caviezel was cast, but he also had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with FREQUENCY and was replaced by James Marsden.

>Maria Bello, Peta Wilson and Lucy Lawless auditoned for the role of Jean Grey before Famke Janssen was cast.

>Angela Bassett and Jada Pinkett-Smith were approached to play Storm before Halle Berry was cast.

>Natalie Portman, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci were approached to play Rogue, but declined. Rachael Leigh Cook and Katherine Isabelle auditioned for the role before Anna Paquin was cast.

>Terence Stamp and Christopher Lee were considered for the role of Magneto before Ian McKellen was cast.

>Jeri Ryan auditioned for the role of Mystique before Rebecca Romjin was cast.

>Triple H auditioned for the role of Sabretooth before Tyler Mane was cast.

>At one point, the studio considered giving the X-Men their classic colorful uniforms from the comics, but Singer and studio both believed that black leather uniforms would be easier to producer, and more realistic and aesthetically pleasing.

>Production was fraught with issues including script rewrites, unexpected delays and budget issues. Fox notoriously postponed the movie from Christmas 1999 to July 2000 and the rescheduled shooting caused several actors and crew members to drop out due to conflicts with other commitments.

>Fox was skeptical of the movie's potential and enforced several last-minute cuts to shorten the running time, almost completely deleting a subplot about Storm.

>Fox didn't account for the possibility of sequels, but Singer believed something should be set up to explore in potential future installments and instructed Famke Janssen to react to being exposed to Magneto's machine. Singer pinpoints that moment as the awakening of the Phoenix.

these are always good threads

X2: X-MEN UNITED (2003)

>David Hayter and Zak Penn wrote two different scripts, both centered on the Legacy Virus, which were later combined and revised by Singer, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Singer decided to not use the Legacy Virus in favor of an adaptation of "God Loves, Man Kills".

>In early drafts, William Stryker had several brainwashed mutant enforcers, including Sabretooth, Toad and Archangel, who would have Adamantium wings. Sabretooth and Archangel were removed due to budget issues, but Toad remained part of the script during multiple rewrites. Ray Park was even approached to reprise the role, and plans had already been made for a fight between him and Nightcrawler before the character was scrapped as well.

>In early drafts, Stryker's enforcer is Anne Reynolds, a human loyal to his cause. When the other enforcers were removed, she was made into Lady Deathstrike to inject more action in the third act of the movie.

>In early drafts, Wolverine would have a training session in the Danger Room. The sets were already being built and it was even included in the first teaser trailer before it was cut due to budget issues.

>In early drafts, Stryker would have a Sentinel at his disposal to target the X-Men at Alkali Lake, but the idea was scrapped both due to budget issues and because producer Tom Rothman thought giant robots were "stupid".

>In early drafts, Stryker's attack on the X-Mansion was longer and would've feature several students fighting back, including Colossus helping Wolverine throughout the fight, but this was scrapped due to budger issues.

>In early drafts, Kitty Pryde would escape the X-Mansion alongside Wolverine, Rogue, Iceman and Pyro, but was deleted for feeling superfluous to the narrative.

>In early drafts, Dark Cerebro would cause mutants across the globe to lose control of their powers, but this was cut due to budget issues. The scene included cameo appearances by Beast, becoming blue and furry as his colleagues watched in horror; and Gambit, who accidentally caused a deck of cards to explode at a bar in New Orleans. Steve Bacic would've played McCoy, and stuntman James Bamford had been lined up to play Gambit before the idea was scrapped.

>In early drafts, Wolverine's claws are revealed to be artifically implanted onto him by Weapon X, but this was changed at Marvel's behest, to not conflict with the comics, where Wolverine has bone claws.

>Anthony Hopkins was approached to play William Stryker before Brian Cox was cast.

>Steve Buscemi was Singer's original choice to play Nightcrawler, but declined. Neil Patrick Harris and Etham Embry also auditioned for the role before Alan Cumming was cast.

>Following her Oscar win, Halle Berry demanded a larger role, and the script was revised to make her the pilot of the X-Jet and later further revised to include a romantic subplot with Nightcrawler.

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (2006)

>Singer, Dougherty and Harris drafted a script in which Jean returns at the Phoenix and attempts to end conflicts between humans and mutants in her own terms, with the X-Men trying to protect her, the Brotherhood of Mutants attempting to control her, and the United States government hellbent on destroying her.

>Singer's draft featured Emma Frost as Xavier's old flame who can control people's emotions and is recruited by Magneto to brainwash Jean; Gambit as a young thief who joins the Brotherhood, but later defects to the X-Men due to his attraction to Rogue; the Juggernaut as Magneto's new enforcer; and Bolivar Trask as the anti-mutant U.S. Secretary of Defense, in addition to larger roles for Kitty Pryde and Colossus.

>Singer planned to cast Channing Tatum as Gambit and Sigourney Weaver as Emma Frost, but plans were scrapped when he left to direct SUPERMAN RETURNS for Warner Bros Pictures and Fox decided to move on without him.

>Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn wrote a new draft based on Singer's ideas and added the mutant cure storyline to the narrative to give Magneto a stronger motivation to declare war on Humanity. Rothman was notoriously against the more outlandish aspects of the mythos and demanded that the cure receive major focus rather the the Phoenix, which was also made into Jean's malevolent split personality at his behest.

>Fox rushed the movie into production, leading to scheduling conflicts with several actors including James Marsden, Rebecca Romjin and Anna Paquin, which caused their characters to receive minor roles. Cyclops was nearly killed off-screen in-between movies due to Marsden's commitments with SUPERMAN RETURNS.

>Kinberng and Penn rewrote their script multiple times in accordance to Fox's demands, budget adjustments and scheduling demands, leading to a scattershot story.

>In early drafts, Wolverine and Storm developed a romantic relationship, but this was cut as it underscored Wolverine's relationship with Jean. At one point, a love triangle between Wolverine, Storm and Beast was discussed, as well as making Colossus gay and harboring feelings for Wolverine and a triangle between Rogue, Iceman and Kitty.

>In early drafts, Cyclops would return during the final battle.

>In early drafts, Mystique would still be in league with Magneto, providing his location to the military to lead them into a trap, and would be by his side after he lost his powers.

>In early drafts, Rogue would seemingly defect to the Brotherhood in order to secretly spy on them for the X-Men.

>In early drafts, Beast, Iceman and Kitty Pryde would infiltrate Worthington Labs to investigate the cure, and Iceman and Kitty would later rescue Warren Worthington Sr. from Magneto's enforcers during a high-speed car chase.

>In early drafts, Angel would join the battle against the Brotherhood after rescuing his father, but get taken down when Magneto slashes one of his wings with a piece of shrapnel.

>In early drafts, Gambit would be one of Magneto's recruits, but later defect during the final battle while the X-Men and the Brotherhood are fighting.

>Early drafts featured several scrapped fights including Colossus VS. Juggernaut, Rogue VS. Juggernaut, Wolverine VS. Multiple Man, Storm VS. Phoenix, among others.

>In early drafts, the Sentinels would've been sent to stop Magneto during the battle at Alcatraz Island, but the idea was scrapped for budget issues.

>In early drafts, Alcatraz Island would be a maximum-security mutant prison which Magneto attacks halfway through the movie in order to recruit his army. The final battle would take place outside the White House in Washington, D.C., during which Iceman would freeze the Potomac River.

>In early drafts, Jean would destroy the entire city of San Francisco before Wolverine manages to kill her.

>Matthew Vaughn was set to direct the movie and cast Kelsey Grammer and Vinnie Jones as Beast and Juggernaut, but dropped out due to the troubled production. Joss Whedon and Alex Proyas were briefly considered before Brett Ratner was hired to replace him.

>Alan Cumming was approached to return as Nightcrawler, but declined as he was unwilling to undergo the laborous make-up process for such a minor role. He was then removed from the script, which Fox justified by claiming the audience would have trouble following three different blue characters.

>Maggie Grace was originally cast by Vaughn to play Kitty Pryde before Ratner replaced her with Ellen Page. Summer Glau and Eliza Dushku also auditioned for the role.

>Mike Vogel was approached by Vaughn to play Angel before Ratner replaced him with Ben Foster. Nick Stahl also auditoned for the role.

>Several alternative endings were shot, including Beast staying the the Xavier Institute to become a teacher and Storm welcoming human students into the school; and Wolverine leaving the X-Men to mourn Jean's death, returning to the bar where he met Rogue in X-MEN for one last drink.

>The movie's troubled production, coupled with Fox's belief that the superhero movie genre wouldn't last much longer, led to them regarding X-MEN: THE LAST STAND as the last movie in the main X-MEN film series, and investing in their spin-off series, X-MEN ORIGINS.

>>In early drafts, Wolverine and Storm developed a romantic relationship, but this was cut as it underscored Wolverine's relationship with Jean. At one point, a love triangle between Wolverine, Storm and Beast was discussed, as well as making Colossus gay and harboring feelings for Wolverine and a triangle between Rogue, Iceman and Kitty.
holy shit kek