X-Men premiered twenty years ago. Even though comic-book/superhero movies are the norm now, X-Men helped bring that genre to the forefront. And it did so without using Batman or Superman. Simply put, would we even have an MCU, a Spider-Universe, or even a DCEU without X-Men? Say what you will about it, whether or not it’s stood up to the test of time or even if it’s comic-book accurate, you still have to give it credit. Let’s just forget that it was directed by Bryan Singer.
What Did X-Men Mean to The Actors?
Observer has put out a whole, long piece breaking down all of the troubles the movie had. The challenges it had faced. And testimonials from those who partook the monumental film. Famke Janssen, who played Jean Grey, recalled:
“Nobody had made those movies before, certainly not on the level that we were doing it. The comic book adaptation hadn’t been done in this kind of grittier fashion.”
Famke also added, in respect to doing the X-Men film as opposed to a James Bond film. Famke had been in GoldenEye:
“The Bond franchise is a very well-oiled machine. They’ve been making those movies for a long time. The producers have done those movies in their particular manner for such a long time that they know exactly what they want and how to organize and do it. We were all starting something entirely new with X-Men.”
She added:
“It was a very interesting experience because even though we were making a very big film, at the time it didn’t feel like we were. It did on certain days when we were filming these massive, massive sets and the amount of time that went into it. But the script development and how many changes were still occurring during filming and how we were sometimes flying by the seat of our pants, it just felt different.”
Creating a New World
One of the Eps, Lauren Shuler Donner also recalls bringing the movie to life, despite not having been overly familiar with these characters:
“I was aware of it, but I hadn’t read it growing up. So I read some of the Marvel character biographies and the first one I read was Logan’s. I was immediately hooked on the character. I felt empathetic towards him because of his trauma—having his body tampered with and his unrequited love for Jean Grey. His constant healing and not wanting to live that long. I was hooked right then and there.”
The finale screenplay credit belongs to David Hayter – who spoke about how the story was brought to him and how it all began:
“I knew the comic books very well, and Bryan came to rely on me to advise him on how to keep it true to the comics. Eventually, I suggested a scene to him and he said, ‘Yeah, just go write that for me.’ And that’s when I started doing rewrites.”
Who Wanted to Be In the Film
As for crafting the cast, EP Ralph Winters recalls those who wanted to step foot into this unknown movie realm:
“I have lots of warm memories of people that came in wanting to be in the movie. Michael Jackson was a big comic fan and wanted to play Charles Xavier. Shaquille O’Neal showed up at the offices and wanted to play Forge, who wasn’t in the movie.”
Alongside Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Sir Patrick Stewart’s Professor X is most likely one of the most iconic superhero casting of all time. Surprisingly, though, Hayter reveals that they didn’t originally think he’d want to take the role:
“Patrick Stewart didn’t want to [play Charles Xavier]. It took a long time to convince him. Terence Stamp told me, ‘You know why Patrick doesn’t want to do it? Because of the chair. He doesn’t want to be stuck in the chair. But I don’t mind. In fact, I also look excellent bald.’ Everyday I was surprised by the faces coming in. Like, I’d find Mariah Carey sitting in my office wanting to go talk to Bryan about being Storm or something. So that’s always shocking.”
According to Observer, Charlize Theron had passed on the role of Jean Grey. Which, is interesting that she now cites that she’d love to play Wonder Woman, but that instead was offered the role of Wonder Woman’s mother. What would the X-Men universe have looked like if Charlize hadn’t passed up on this part?
The Perfect Villain
Winter went into describing another iconic character in both the comic-book and live-action sense: Magneto.
“It’s always important to make a villain that you understand,” Donner said. “A villain that you understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. Of course, you understand Magneto’s hatred for human beings, because his family was tortured by them. I give credit to Fox, because they let us shoot it and let us start the movie that way. That goes back to Bill Mechanic.”
Kevin Feige’s Say in X-Men
Even though this film was long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Kevin Feige’s reign over the successful MCU, Feige was still in the Marvel world. And he was still dedicated to ensuring that the story remained faithful to the comic books:
“The studio wanted the widest possible audience, the biggest bang for their buck, as they deserve and require,” Winter said. “There was pushback to being faithful to the comic. Kevin Feige [Donner’s production assistant on the film] was right there in the midst of all of that. He didn’t have as big of a voice back then, but he was careful and faithful about the characters and reminding us, ‘Hey, you can do that, but here’s where the character came from. Here’s where their powers started. So keep that in mind as you go do that.’”
The Film’s Legacy
Finally, Winter comments on the core message that still lasts to this day:
“I don’t know if it ages as well as it could. But I think the thematic—Is there a place for me? Will I be discarded?—make the movie relevant whether you’re 14 years old or 84 years old. I think that discussion is still going on today. How do we find a place?”
For the full article, check out Observer. How do you feel that the X-Men film has held up?
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