X-MenUpdates recently ran through a thread of ideas that Fox shelved, threw away, or stopped mid-production that would have expanded theX-Menuniverse, including a major crossover event that would have rivalled theAvengersfilms in the MCU.
Fox’sX-Menfranchise saw its ups and downs in the mid-period of superhero movies. After the first wave led by the Michael KeatonBatmanmovies and early attempts at pulp heroes (The Shadow,The Phantom, and so on), the second wave was kicked off by the modern success of movies likeBlade, which would ultimately culminate withSam Raimi’sSpider-Mantrilogybefore they’d go dormant again. The 2000 X-Menmovie kicked off a side pocket franchise for Fox that they’d ultimately squander.
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Fox’sX-Men, a franchise that always seemed embarrassed by itself and found a way to turn what was a comic book soap opera into a dour, leather-clad action fest that was sometimes even skimpy on that, was something that left even the stars themselves confused by what was going on.James McAvoy asked why hisX-Menprequel filmswasted his chemistry with Michael Fassbender and kept their characters apart. It’s now come to light that Fox so mishandled what they had that they even canned a potentialDaredevil/Fantastic Four/X-Men/Deadpoolcrossover event that would have covered the same superhero registration ground that Marvel Studios’Captain America: Civil Warwould.
The cancelled ideas by Fox included anX4andX5that were being bandied about as far back as 2009, as well as the previously mentioned crossover event between all the franchises under Fox’s rights agreement. A whole sub-franchise ofThe New Mutantsmovies was planned, with each film taking on a genre of teen horror. Antonio Banderas and Sacha Baron Cohen were set to play Emmanuel de Costa and Warlock, respectively, and a third film would’ve featured Anya Taylor-Joy’s Magik turning into Darkchilde was considered. AGambitmovie featuring Channing Tatum was in the works, and theDeadpoolfranchise would’ve seen anX-Forcespinoff with Ryan Reynolds set to cameo as his character. There wereKitty PrydeandX23movies in development, as well as anX-Men Origins: Magnetomovie that would’ve seen Ian McKellan reprising the role in segments that bookended the film, as well as others.
It’s astonishing to read through and see how many movies Fox could’ve done and how much they could’ve expanded the little pocket of Marvel properties they owned if they’d planned just a little bit better. Instead, they mostly squandered whatever potential they had with rushed movies that wasted their villains or jammed what were supposed to be multiple film arcs into single movies that only ended up costing a lot to make and ruining the goodwill of fans. It’s telling that fan demand has seen Disney not kill off all vestiges, with only Deadpool, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, andHugh Jackman’s Wolverine making MCU crossovers, however slight. If they’d played their cards better, Fox could’ve had anX-Menuniverse that rivalled the MCU.
