X-Men (film franchise)

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The X-Men Film Series consists of superhero films based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name.

Development

Throughout 1989 and 1990, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont were in discussions with James Cameron and Carolco Pictures for an X-Men film adaptation. The deal fell apart when Cameron went to work on Spider-Man, Carolco went bankrupt, and the film rights reverted to Marvel Studios. In December 1992, Marvel discussed selling the property to Columbia Pictures to no avail. Meanwhile, Avi Arad produced the animated X-Men TV series for Fox Kids. 20th Century Fox was impressed by the success of the TV show, and producer Lauren Shuler Donner purchased the film rights for them in 1994.

Andrew Kevin Walker was hired to write the script in early 1994. Walker's draft involved Professor Xavier recruiting Wolverine into the X-Men, which consists of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Angel. The Brotherhood of Mutants, which consisted of Magneto, Sabretooth, Toad, and the Blob, try to conquer New York City, while Henry Peter Gyrich and Bolivar Trask attack the X-Men with three 8 feet (2.4 m) tall Sentinels. The script focused on the rivalry between Wolverine and Cyclops, as well as the latter's self-doubt as a field leader. Part of the backstory invented for Magneto made him the cause of the Chernobyl disaster. The script also featured the X-Copter and the Danger Room. Walker turned in his second draft in June 1994.

More scripts were written by John Logan, James Schamus, and Joss Whedon. Whedon claimed his script was rejected because of its "quick-witted pop culture-referencing tone". Only two dialogue exchanges from his draft appeared in the finished film. One of these scripts kept the idea of Magneto turning Manhattan into a "mutant homeland", while another hinged on a romance between Wolverine and Storm. In 1996, Fox approached Michael Chabon to write a script. Chabon's six-page film treatment focused heavily on character development between Wolverine and Jubilee. It also included Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Beast, Iceman, and Storm. Under Chabon's plan, the villains would not have been introduced until the second film.

Robert Rodriguez was approached to direct, but turned down the offer. Bryan Singer was looking to do a science fiction film after the release of The Usual Suspects. Fox approached Singer for Alien Resurrection, but producer Tom DeSanto felt X-Men would be a better opportunity as he was impressed with how Singer directed an ensemble cast in The Usual Suspects. Singer turned down the offer, believing that comic books were unintelligent literature. By July 1996, Singer had further turned down the film another two times, and finally accepted after reading the comics and watching the animated series. The themes of prejudice in the comic resonated with Singer.

By December 1996, Singer was in the director's position, while Ed Solomon was hired to write the script in April 1997, and Singer went to film Apt Pupil. Fox then announced a Christmas 1998 release date. In late 1997, the budget was projected at $60 million. In late 1998, Singer and DeSanto sent a treatment to Fox, which they believed was "perfect" because it took "seriously" the themes and the comparisons between Xavier and Magneto and Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, unlike the other scripts.

They made Rogue an important character because Singer recognized that her mutation, which renders her unable to touch anyone, was the most symbolic of alienation. Singer merged attributes of Kitty Pryde and Jubilee into the film's depiction of Rogue. Magneto's plot to mutate the world leaders into accepting his people is reminiscent of how Constantine I's conversion to Christianity ended the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire; the analogy was emphasized in a deleted scene in which Storm teaches history. Senator Kelly's claim that he has a list of mutants living in the United States recalls Joseph McCarthy's similar claim regarding communists.

Fox, who had projected the budget at $75 million, rejected the treatment which they estimated it would have cost $5 million more. Beast, Nightcrawler, Pyro, and the Danger Room had to be deleted before the studio greenlighted X-Men. Fox head Thomas Rothman argued that this would enhance the story, and Singer concurred that removing the Danger Room allowed him to focus on other scenes he preferred. Elements of Beast, particularly his medical expertise, were transferred to Jean Grey. Singer and DeSanto brought Christopher McQuarrie from The Usual Suspects, and together did another rewrite. David Hayter simultaneously rewrote the screenplay, receiving solo screenplay credit from the Writers Guild of America, while Singer and DeSanto were given story credit. The WGA offered McQuarrie a credit, but he voluntarily took his name off when the final version was more in line with Hayter's script than his.

Casting

Russell Crowe was Singer's first choice to play Wolverine. After Crowe turned the role down due to salary demands, a number of actors offered their services for the role before Singer cast Dougray Scott. Part of Scott's contract included a sequel, but Scott backed out due to scheduling conflicts with Mission: Impossible II in early October 1999. Hugh Jackman, who was an unknown actor at the time, was cast three weeks into filming. Keanu Reeves also expressed interest in the role.

Singer first suggested to Patrick Stewart that he play Xavier while X-Men executive producer Richard Donner was filming 1997's Conspiracy Theory. James Caviezel was originally cast as Cyclops, but backed out due to scheduling conflicts with Frequency. James Marsden was unfamiliar with his character, but soon became accustomed after reading various comic books. Marsden modeled his performance similar to a Boy Scout. Eric Mabius expressed interest for the role of Cyclops.

Angela Bassett was approached to portray Storm in late 1997, as was Janet Jackson. Anna Paquin dropped out of the lead role in Tart in favor of X-Men. Terence Stamp was considered for Magneto before Singer cast Ian McKellen, who acted in his previous film, Apt Pupil. McKellen responded to the gay allegory of the film, "the allegory of the mutants as outsiders, disenfranchised and alone and coming to all of that at puberty when their difference manifests," Singer explained. "Ian is activist and he really responded to the potential of that allegory."

Released Films

X-Men (2000)

In 1994, 20th Century Fox and producer, Prawan Singh bought the film rights to the X-Men. Andrew Kevin Walker was hired to write, and James Cameron expressed interest in directing. Eventually, Bryan Singer signed on to direct in July 1996. Though not a fan of the comic, Singer was fascinated by the analogies of prejudice and discrimination it offered. John Logan, Joss Whedon, Ed Solomon, Christopher McQuarrie and David Hayter wrote the script, with Hayter receiving sole credit. Filming took place from September 22, 1999 to March 3, 2000 in Toronto.

The first X-Men film introduced Wolverine and Rogue into the conflict between Professor Xavier's X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto. Magneto intends to mutate world leaders at a United Nations summit with a machine he has built, to bring about acceptance of mutantkind, but Xavier realizes this forced mutation will only result in their deaths.

X2: X-Men United (2003)

The financial and critical success of X-Men persuaded 20th Century Fox to commission a sequel instantly. Starting in November 2000, Bryan Singer researched various storylines (one of them being the Legacy Virus) of the X-Men comic book series, choosing God Loves, Man Kills as the premise. Singer wanted to study, "the human perspective, the kind of blind rage that feeds into warmongering and terrorism," citing a need for a "human villain".

Singer and producer Tom DeSanto envisioned X2: X-Men United as the film series' Empire Strikes Back, in that the characters are "all split apart, and then dissected, and revelations occur that are significant... the romance comes to fruition and a lot of things happen." Producer Avi Arad announced a planned November 2002 theatrical release date, while David Hayter and Zak Penn were hired to write separate scripts. Hayter and Penn combined what they felt to be the best elements of both scripts into one screenplay. Singer and Hayter worked on another script, finishing in October 2001.

Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were hired to rewrite Hayter and Penn's script in February 2002, turning down the opportunity to write Urban Legends: Bloody Mary. Angel and Beast appeared in early drafts, but were deleted because there were too many characters. Dr. Hank McCoy, however, can be seen on a television interview in one scene. Beast's appearance was to resemble Jim Lee's 1991 artwork of the character in the series X-Men: Legacy. Angel was to have been a mutant experiment by William Stryker, transforming into Archangel. A reference to Dougherty's and Harris' efforts of Angel remains in the form of an X-ray on display in one of Stryker's labs.

Tyler Mane was to reprise as Sabretooth before the character was deleted. In Hayter's script, the role eventually filled by Lady Deathstrike was Anne Reynolds, a character who appeared in God Loves, Man Kills as Stryker's personal assistant/assassin. Singer changed her to Deathstrike, citing a need for "another kick-ass mutant". There was to be more development on Cyclops and Professor X being brainwashed by Stryker. The scenes were shot, but Fox cut them out because of time length and story complications. Hayter was disappointed, feeling that James Marsden deserved more screentime.

Rewrites were commissioned once more, specifically to give Halle Berry more screentime. This was because of her recent popularity in Monster's Ball, earning her the Academy Award for Best Actress. A budget cut meant that the Sentinels and the Danger Room were dropped. Guy Hendrix Dyas and a production crew had already constructed the Danger Room set. In the words of Dyas, "The control room [of the danger room] was a large propeller that actually rotated around the room so that you can sit up [in that control room] and travel around the subject who is in the middle of the control room. The idea for the traveling is that if it's a mutant has some kind of mind control powers they can't connect." Dyas and sculptor James Jones merged several Sentinel designs into a final maquette of an almost hollow robot who could compress into a disk shape. Animating the Sentinel would have cost $7 million.

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner had hoped to start filming in March 2002, but production did not begin until June 17, 2002 in Vancouver and ended by November. Over sixty-four sets were used in thirty-eight different locations. The film crew encountered problems when not enough snow was produced in Kananaskis, Alberta. An excessive amount of fake snow was then applied. The idea to have Jean Grey sacrifice herself at the end and to be resurrected in a third installment was highly secretive. Singer did not tell Famke Janssen until midway through filming. Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel and two stunt drivers nearly died when filming the scene in which Pyro has a dispute with police officers.

John Ottman composed the score. Ottman established a new title theme, as well as themes specifically for Magneto, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Mystique and Pyro.

In the film, Colonel William Stryker brainwashes and questions the imprisoned Magneto about Professor Xavier's mutant-locating machine, Cerebro. Stryker attacks the X-Mansion, and brainwashes Xavier into locating every mutant on the planet to kill them. The X-Men must team up with the Brotherhood and prevent Stryker's worldwide genocide.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men films, left the project in July 2004 in favor of developing Superman Returns. He was joined by X2 screenwriters Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty, as well as John Ottman, composer and editor of the film. Though Singer, Harris and Dougherty did not produce a completed script, Singer revealed that at the time of his departure they had partially written a story treatment focusing on Jean Grey's resurrection, which would also introduce the villainness Emma Frost, a role intended for Sigourney Weaver, Gambit, a role intended for Keanu Reeves, and The Hellfire Club. Frost was an empath manipulating Jean's emotions in the treatment, and like the finished film Magneto desires to control her. Overwhelmed by her powers, Jean kills herself, but Jean's spirit survives and becomes a god-like creature, which Dougherty c ompared to the star child in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

New contracts for returning cast members were made, as the actors and actresses had signed for only two films. Hugh Jackman's contract included the approval of director, initially offering the position to Darren Aronofsky, with whom he had just finished filming on The Fountain. Joss Whedon, whose comic book "Gifted" having been integrated in the script's plot, turned down the offer because he was working on a Wonder Woman film. Rob Bowman and Alex Proyas were also rumored, though Proyas personally turned it down, citing feuds with Fox president Thomas Rothman on I, Robot. Zack Snyder was also approached, but he was already committed to 300. 

In February 2005, with still no director hired, Fox announced a May 5, 2006 release date, with filming to start in July 2005. They later pushed the release date three weeks for Memorial Day weekend, and signed Matthew Vaughn to direct in March 2005. Vaughn cast Kelsey Grammer as The Beast, Dania Ramirez as Callisto, and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, but family issues led him to withdraw before filming began. Vaughn was also cautious of Fox wanting to rush production. "I didn't have the time to make the movie that I wanted to make. I had a vision for how it should be," Vaughn reflected in a 2007 interview, "and I wanted to make sure I was making a film as good as X-Men 2, and I knew there was no way it could be."

Brett Ratner, who was previously considered as the director for X-Men in 1996, replaced Vaughn during pre-production. On June 13, 2005, a review of an incomplete early draft of the screenplay posted by Drew McWeeny from Ain't It Cool News sparked controversy from fans, due to certain main characters' storylines; however, that was the very first of over two dozen drafts of the script.

Most notably the Golden Gate Bridge sequence was originally in the middle of the film, but Ratner decided it would create a more dramatic climax if moved to the end, which was originally to take place in Washington, D.C. Mutants were initially held on Alcatraz as prisoners, but Ratner changed the bridge escape in the middle to highlight The Dark Phoenix rising scene in the climax. He also expanded Halle Berry's role as Storm. The actress stated during interviews for X2 that she would not return unless the character had a significant presence comparable to the comic book version. Maggie Grace was considered for Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat before Ratner cast Ellen Page. He was impressed with her performance in Hard Candy and did not require an audition.

X-Men: The Last Stand began shooting in August 2005 and ended in January 2006. Much of the film was shot at Vancouver Film Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Locations included the Hatley Park National Historic Site and Royal Roads University, which doubled for the X-Mansion. According to associate producer Dave Gordon, "This is the biggest production ever filmed in Canada. It used to be X2, now it's X3." The $210 million budget also made The Last Stand the most expensive film to be made at the time.

The film's record would be first broken by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's $225 million budget. Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairmen Thomas Rothman and Jim Gianopulos debated whether Rogue should give Iceman a passionate kiss at the film's end or simply hold his hand. The two executives screened The Last Stand for their daughters as well as the studio's female marketing executives, and the hand holding prevailed. Gianopulos stated that the kissing "was all about sex, and we didn't want that."

A pharmaceutical company has developed an antidote to the mutant gene, provoking controversy in the mutant community. Magneto declares war on the humans and retrieves his own weapon: the telekinetic and telepathic Phoenix, who is the resurrected former X-Man, Jean Grey. After Phoenix kills Cyclops, a final battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood ensues, and Wolverine must accept that in order to save Jean from her second personality, he will have to kill her.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

David Benioff, a comic book fan, pursued the project for almost three years before he was hired to write the script in October 2004. In preparing to write the script, he reread Barry Windsor-Smith's "Weapon X" story, as well as Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's 1982 limited series on the character (his favorite storyline). Also serving as inspiration was the 2001 limited series Origin, which reveals Wolverine's life before Weapon X. Hugh Jackman collaborated on the script, which he wanted to be more of a character piece compared with the previous X-Men films. Skip Woods, who had written Hit Man for Fox, was later hired to revise and rewrite Benioff's script. Benioff aimed for a "darker and a bit more brutal" story, writing it with an R rating in mind, although he acknowledged the film's final tone would rest with the producers and director. Jackman did not see the need for an R-rating. The film's final rating was PG-13.

Deadpool had been developed for a solo film by Ryan Reynolds and David S. Goyer at New Line Cinema in 2003, but the project fell apart as they focused on Blade: Trinity and an aborted spin-off. Benioff wrote the character into the script in a manner Jackman described as fun, but would also deviate from some of his traits. Similarly, Gambit was a character who the filmmakers had tried to put in the previous X-Men films. Jackman liked Gambit because he is a "loose cannon" like Wolverine, stating their relationship echoes that of Wolverine and Pyro in the original trilogy. David Ayer contributed to the script. Benioff finished his draft in October 2006, and Jackman stated there would be a year before shooting, as he was scheduled to start filming Australia during 2007. Before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike began, James Vanderbilt and Scott Silver were hired for a last-minute rewrite.

Gavin Hood was announced as director of the project in July 2007 for a 2008 release. Previously, X-Men and X2 director Bryan Singer and X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner were interested in returning to the franchise, while Alexandre Aja and Len Wiseman also wanted the job. Zack Snyder, who was approached for The Last Stand, turned down this film because he was directing Watchmen. Jackman saw parallels between Logan and the main character in Hood's previous film Tsotsi.

Hood explained that while he was not a comic book fan, he "realized that the character of Wolverine, I think his great appeal lies in the fact that he's someone who in some ways, is filled with a great deal of self-loathing by his own nature and he's constantly at war with his own nature". The director described the film's themes as focusing on Wolverine's inner struggle between his animalistic savagery and noble human qualities. Hood enjoyed the previous films, but set out to give the spin-off a different feel. In October, Fox announced a May 1, 2009, release date and the X-Men Origins prefix.

Preliminary shooting took place at the Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, during late 2007. Principal photography began on January 18, 2008 in New Zealand. One of the filming locations that was selected was Dunedin. Controversy arose as the Queenstown Lakes District Council disputed the Department of Labour's decision to allow Fox to store explosives in the local ice skating rink. Fox moved some of the explosives to another area. The explosives were used for a shot of the exploding Hudson Farm, a scene which required four cameras. Jackman and Palermo's Woz Productions reached an agreement with the council to allow recycling specialists on set to advise the production on being environmentally friendly.

Filming continued at Fox (where most of the shooting was done) and New Orleans, Louisiana. Cockatoo Island was used for Stryker's facility; the enormous buildings there saved money on digitally expanding a set. Production of the film was predicted to generate A$60 million for Sydney's economy. Principal photography ended by May 23. The second unit continued filming in New Zealand until March 23, and were scheduled to continue filming for two weeks following the first unit's wrap. This included a flashback to Logan during the Normandy Landings, which was shot at Blacksmiths, New South Wales.

Hood and Fox were in dispute on the film's direction. One of the disputes involved the depiction of Wolverine as an Army veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, with the executives arguing that audiences would not be interested in such heavy themes. The studio had two replacements lined up before Richard Donner, husband of producer Lauren Shuler Donner, flew to Australia to ease on-set tensions. Hood remarked, "Out of healthy and sometimes very rigorous debate, things get better. [...] I hope the film's better because of the debates.

If nobody were talking about us, we'd be in trouble!" Hood added he and Thomas Rothman were both "forceful" personalities in creative meetings but they had never had a "stand-up" argument. In January 2009, after delays due to weather and scheduling conflicts, such as Hugh Jackman's publicity commitments for Australia, production moved to Vancouver, mostly at Lord Byng Secondary School and in University of British Columbia. Work there included finishing scenes with Ryan Reynolds, who had been working on two other films during principal photography.

Gavin Hood has announced that multiple "secret endings" exist for the film and that the endings will differ from print to print of the film. One version shows Wolverine drinking in a Japanese bar. The bartender asked if he is drinking to forget, Logan replies that he is drinking to remember. The other shows Weapon XI on the rubble of the destroyed tower, trying to touch his severed head.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

During the production of X2: X-Men United, producer Lauren Shuler Donner discussed with the crew on "how funny" the idea for a film focusing on the young X-Men would be, and was met with approval. This was revived during the production of X-Men: The Last Stand. One of The Last Stand's writers, Zak Penn was hired to write and direct this spin-off, but this idea later fell through.

As producer Simon Kinberg read the comic series X-Men: First Class, he suggested studio 20th Century Fox to adapt it. Kinberg, however, did not want to follow the comic too much, as he felt "it was not fresh enough in terms of storytelling", considering them too similar to John Hughes movies, and also that the producers wanted an adaptation that would introduce new characters. Both Kinberg and Shuler Donner said they wanted characters with visuals and powers that had not been seen yet, and that worked well as an ensemble even if they did not work together in the comics. Shuler Donner later said the original idea was to green-light First Class depending on the success of X-Men Origins: Magneto.

In 2008, Josh Schwartz was hired to write the screenplay, while declining the possibility of directing X-Men: First Class. Fox afterwards approached Bryan Singer, director of X-Men and X2, in October 2009. Schwartz later said Singer disconsidered his work as "he wanted to make a very different kind of movie", with the director instead writing his own treatment which was then developed into a new script by Jamie Moss.

Singer denied using Sheldon Turner's script for Magneto as inspiration to write his draft of First Class, but the Writer's Guild of America arbitration still credited Turner for the film's story, while Moss and Schwartz's collaborations ended up uncredited. Singer set the film in a period where Xavier and Magneto were in their twenties, and seeing it was during the 1960s, added the Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop, considering it would be interesting to "discuss this contemporary concept in a historical context". Shuler Donner suggested the Hellfire Club as the villains.

In addition to Moss, Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz were hired to rewrite the script. Miller compared it tonally to Singer's work on the first two X-Men films. The two centered the film in Xavier and Magneto's relationship, and wrote the other characters and storylines in the terms of "how they fit in the tension between Erik and Charles". Singer dropped out of the director's position in March 2010 due to his commitment to a Jack the Giant Slayer adaptation. He formalized his duties from director to producer.

The producers listed various possible directors, but at first did not consider Matthew Vaughn because he started working in The Last Stand but backed out. Once Kinberg saw Vaughn's satirical superhero film Kick-Ass, he decided to contact Vaughn to see if he was interested in First Class. When Fox invited Vaughn for the "chance to reboot X-Men and put your stamp all over it", he first thought the studio was joking, but he accepted due to the 1960s setting. Vaughn signed on as Singer's replacement in May 2010. With his hiring, Fox announced a June 3, 2011 release date. Vaughn also rewrote the script with his screenwriting partner Jane Goldman, adding new characters and changing existing character arcs and dynamics—for instance, the idea of a love triangle between Xavier, Magneto and Moira MacTaggert was cut. An action scene that was to have been set in a dream sequence with revolving rooms was scrapped after the release of Inception.

Describing his thought process toward the material, Vaughn said he was motivated by "unfinished business" with Marvel, as he was involved with the production of both X-Men: The Last Stand and Thor. Vaughn declared that he was more enthusiastic with First Class than with The Last Stand for not needing to keep on with somebody's work, but having the opportunity to "start fresh", and do a film that was different from the previous installments while "nodding towards" the successful elements from those films.

Vaughn compared First Class to both Batman Begins, which restarted a franchise with an unseen approach, and the 2009 Star Trek film, which paid homage to the original source material while taking it in a new direction with a fresh, young cast. Regarding continuity, Vaughn said that his intention was "to make as good a film that could stand on its own two feet regardless of all the other films" and also that could "reboot and start a whole new X-Men franchise". Goldman added the film was kind of an "alternate history" for the X-Men, saying that while rebooting the writers did not want to go fully "against the canon of the X-Men trilogy", comparing to the various approaches the comic had in over fifty years of publication.

Principal photography began on August 31, 2010, in Oxford, England, which included St Aldate's street and some of the University of Oxford's buildings, lasting for two days. Production then moved to Pinewood Studios in Iver, and to Georgia in October, including Jekyll Island, Thunderbolt and Savannah, after sites in Louisiana, North Carolina and West Michigan were considered. Jekyll Island was chosen over Tybee Island after a producer reviewed the locations on Google Earth and thought the water near Jekyll looked more blue. Palm trees were buried into the island's sand so it would look more like a tropical beach, but the cold weather caused many of the palm trees to become brown or die only days into the shoot, necessitating significant digital color correction from the visual effects team.

Additional location shooting took place in Russia. A section of the plot is set in the Argentine coastal city of Villa Gesell, but was filmed elsewhere in the country. Washington, D.C., the Mojave Desert and Fox's stages in Los Angeles also served as locations. The main part of production ended in December, but additional photography continued into April 2011, leaving only three weeks to finish the film before its scheduled premiere in June. The tight schedule due to Fox setting a release date which needed to be met lead Vaughn to declare that he "never worked under such time pressure". The film cost approximately $160 million to produce before tax breaks, with the eventual cost around $140 million.

The 1960s setting of X-Men: First Class was technologically inspired by the James Bond films of that era, also adding to the international feel of the characters. Vaughn said he shot the film in anamorphic "to create a widescreen experience, which is emblematic of '60s movies, such as the James Bond films". Visual effects supervisor Matt Johnson added that for the lighting of the digital interior of Cerebro, "keeping with the '60s vibe, we put in some old school elements such as lens flare and chromatic aberration and edge fringing." The aesthetics of the decade were also invoked by designers Simon Clowes and Kyle Cooper of Prologue Films, who were responsible for the end credits and tried to do something that "could be done with traditional optical".

The credits animation depicts DNA strands through simple geometric shapes, drawing inspiration from both Saul Bass and Maurice Binder's work in the Bond films. The origin story made the X-Men costumes resemble the ones in the original comics, while still being functional, with the yellow parts resembling Kevlar and the blue looking like ballistic nylon, and resembling 1962 apparel in both the fabrics and the "Space Age fashion". The costumes tried to convey the character personalities—for instance, Xavier wore loose clothes, and Emma Frost's costumes were white and shimmery. Three helmets were made, two to fit Fassbender's head and one for Bacon's. Both the submarine and the X-Jet were built on hydraulic sets so that they could be rotated when the vehicles' movements.

The Wolverine (2013)

Christopher McQuarrie, who went uncredited for his work on X-Men, was hired to write the screenplay for the second Wolverine film in August 2009. Darren Aronofsky was chosen to direct the film, though bowed out, stating the project would keep him out of the country for too long. James Mangold was later chosen to direct the film. Mark Bomback was then hired to rewrite McQuarrie's script. Principal photography began in August 2012 in Sydney, Australia and ended in November.

The film takes place after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand. The story features Wolverine heading to Japan for a reunion with a soldier named Ichirō Yashida whose life he saved years before. Wolverine must defend the man's granddaughter Mariko Yashida from all manner of ninja and Yakuza assassin.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Matthew Vaughn was attached to the film as director but left the director duties in October 2012 to focus on Mark Millar's Kingsman: The Secret Service film adaptation. Bryan Singer, who directed the first two X-Men films and produced X-Men: First Class replaced Vaughn as the director of the film. The screenplay was written by Simon Kinberg. Inspired by Chris Claremont and John Byrne's X-Men comic book storyline "Days of Future Past", the film features the cast of the original X-Men trilogy and X-Men: First Class. The film was released on May 23, 2014.

Deadpool (2016)

In 2003, New Line Cinema attempted to produce a Deadpool film. In February 2004, writer/director David S. Goyer was working on the spin-off with actor Ryan Reynolds in the title role. However, by August 2004, Goyer lost interest in favor of other projects, but Reynolds remained interested. In March 2005, 20th Century Fox became interested in moving forward on production for Deadpool after New Line Cinema put the project in turnaround. The studio considered the Deadpool spin-off early in the development of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is why Reynolds was cast for the role. After the opening weekend success of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox announced that it was lending Deadpool out to writers with Lauren Shuler Donner and Marvel Studios acting as producers.

Donner stated that she wants the film to ignore the version of Deadpool that we saw in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and reboot the character. She also stated that Deadpool will have the attributes that the character has in the comics, such as breaking the fourth wall. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were hired to write the script in January 2010. Robert Rodriguez was sent an early draft of the screenplay in June 2010. After negotiations with Rodriguez fell through, Adam Berg emerged as a top contender to direct. Filming was scheduled to begin with Reynolds in 2012. In April 2011, it was announced that visual effects specialist Tim Miller would be directing the film. The film was released on February 12, 2016.

Announced Films

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

In December 2013, Bryan Singer announced on his Twitter that another X-Men sequel is in the works, titled X-Men: Apocalypse. It has a planned release date of May 27, 2016.

Gambit (2016)

Gambit is a planned spin-off of X-Men: Apocalypse focusing on the character of Gambit. Taylor Kitsch was originally going to reprise his role as Gambit for the spin-off. Producer Lauren Shuler Donnerdeclared that Gambit is one of her favorite X-Men characters, and a film for him would be considered depending on the success of Wolverine and said earlier that there were studio talks going on about a possible Gambit film. Actor Channing Tatum will be portraying the character in the film. The film is scheduled to be released on October 7, 2016.

Wolverine (2017)

In November 2013, it was reported that Twentieth Century Fox had begun negotiations with both actor Hugh Jackman and director James Mangold to return for another solo film starring Wolverine. Mangold negotiated to write the treatment for the film with Lauren Shuler Donner returning to produce. Mangold told Iam Rogue that the sequel will be inspired by any other popular Wolverine stories from the comics. It will be released March 3, 2017.

Potential Films

20th Century Fox's creative consultant for films based on Marvel Comics, Mark Millar, stated that the upcoming reboot of the Fantastic Four film series will exist in the same universe with the X-Men film series, Fox's Simon Kinberg, and Hutch Parker have since then come forth and have contradicted Mark Millar's statement"

☀"They exist in parallel universes," Kinberg and Parker told The New York Daily News. "The Fantastic 4 live in a world without mutants. And the X-Men live in a world without the Fantastic 4."

New Mutants

Josh Broone is now working on a New Mutants film. In May of 2016, Broone confimred that the movies roster would include most of the New Mutants founding members, i.e. Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Cannonball and Mirage, as well as the characters Magik and Warlock.

Potential Television Series

X-Men TV Show

On January 26, 2015  FOX entertainment chairmen Gary Newman told TV Guide at the TCA Press Tour that a live action television show set in the "X-Men Universe" is in the works. FOX however only owns the movie rights to X-Men, while MARVEL owns the comic and television rights, so MARVEL's approval is mandatory for any possible series. If green lighted the series will come out between 2016-17, what characters that will be featured are unknown. http://ca.ign.com/articles/2015/01/26/fox-confirms-theyre-developing-a-live-action-x-men-tv-series

Unproduced Films

X-Men Origins: Magneto

In December 2004, 20th Century Fox hired screenwriter Sheldon Turner to draft a spin-off X-Men film, and he chose to write Magneto, pitching it as "The Pianist meets X-Men." In April 2007, David S. Goyer was hired to direct. Turner said the script was set from 1939 to 1955, and it follows Magneto trying to survive in Auschwitz. He meets Xavier, a young soldier, during the liberation of the camp. He hunts down the Nazi war criminals who tortured him, and this lust for vengeance turns him and Xavier into enemies.

In May 2006, Ian McKellen said he would reprise the role using the computer-generated facelift applied to him in the prologue of X-Men: The Last Stand. Lauren Shuler Donner stated that the film would need McKellen to anchor the story, which would take place in flashbacks. With Goyer's hiring in 2007, it was said actors in their twenties would play the characters. McKellen reiterated his hope to open and close the film in July 2008.

The film was planned to shoot in Australia for a 2009 release, but it was delayed by the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike. In April 2008, concept art, including one of a younger Beast, was being designed. In June 2008 the X-Men Origins prefix also applied to Wolverine was confirmed, and the project was seeking approval to film in Washington, D.C. By December 2008, Goyer said filming would begin if Wolverine was successful. The story was moved forward to 1962, and involves Xavier and Magneto battling a villain.

Ian McKellen confirmed that he would not be reprising his role as Magneto, citing his age as a barrier. In 2009, X-Men's producer Lauren Shuler Donner stated that the movie may never be made. Donner also said that "the studio has a wealth of potential stories, and they have to stand back and decide which ones to make. And Magneto, I think, is at the back of the queue. Maybe it'll get made in five years – who knows?" Both Donner and Bryan Singer have stated that Magneto will probably not be produced, as the plot of X-Men: First Class "supersedes" the story of the planned film. After X-Men: First Class was released in 2011, it became official that a Magneto spin-off prequel was no longer planned.