With the crushing critical and commercial failure of Dark Phoenix and the acquisition of the studio by Walt Disney, Fox’s X-Men franchise came to a pretty unceremonious end in the summer of 2019. Consisting of 13 movies, the X-Men franchise began as a groundbreaking blockbuster that told Hollywood that superhero movies were financially viable, setting the stage for the MCU’s eventual rise.
By the end, the movies had become almost entirely irrelevant as they got a lot of things wrong and started screwing up the same storylines more than once. A few filmmakers turned down X-Men movies, while some others could tackle the MCU’s reboot.
10 Almost Did: Kathryn Bigelow (Wolverine And The X-Men)
In the late ‘80s, long before Bryan Singer was tapped to direct X-Men for 20th Century Fox, James Cameron began developing a movie called Wolverine and the X-Men that he would produce, Gary Goldman would write, and Kathryn Bigelow would direct.
Bob Hoskins was considered to play Wolverine and Angela Bassett was the top choice to play Storm. However, the movie was scrapped when Cameron became more interested in an R-rated Spider-Man movie (which also never materialized).
9 Should: The Wachowskis
With all their work, but particularly with The Matrix trilogy, the Wachowskis have consistently proven themselves to be two of the most visionary sci-fi directors out there.
The duo has frequently told stories about outsiders like Neo and their struggle to fit in, which is what all the best X-Men stories are ultimately about.
8 Almost Did: Paul W.S. Anderson (X-Men)
Before Bryan Singer was hired to direct X-Men, the studio initially approached Paul W.S. Anderson, but he turned down the job to work on Event Horizon. Tim Burton was offered the job, but he was too busy remaking Planet of the Apes for the same studio.
Trainspotting’s Danny Boyle, Superman: The Movie’s Richard Donner, Die Hard’s John McTiernan, and Batman Forever’s Joel Schumacher were all considered before Singer landed the job.
7 Should: Spike Lee
Most of Spike Lee’s movies are intimate dramas touching solely on human truths, like Do the Right Thing and She’s Gotta Have It, but he’s also a fantastic genre filmmaker, proven by Inside Man, BlacKkKlansman, and Da 5 Bloods.
Lee’s politics are closely aligned with the X-Men stories’ social commentary of calling out systems of oppression. Professor X and Magneto were modeled after Dr. King and Malcolm X, and Lee directed a biopic of Malcolm X.
6 Almost Did: Zack Snyder (X-Men: The Last Stand)
Matthew Vaughn was the first choice to direct X-Men: The Last Stand, but he turned it down because he didn’t like the script. He eventually helmed the subsequent entry, X-Men: First Class.
Before Brett Ratner was chosen to helm The Last Stand, the job was offered to Zack Snyder (who was too busy working on 300 to do it) and Joss Whedon (who turned it down to work on his ultimately unrealized Wonder Woman movie for DC). Snyder was later considered for X-Men Origins: Wolverine before Gavin Hood was chosen.
5 Should: Ava DuVernay
Although the box office failure of A Wrinkle in Time has stilted her big-budget filmmaking career, Ava DuVernay is one of the best social storytellers working in mainstream cinema.
Incidentally, just as Spike Lee made a great movie about Magneto’s inspiration Malcolm X, DuVernay made a great movie about Charles Xavier’s inspiration, Martin Luther King, Jr., with Selma.
4 Almost Did: Darren Aronofsky (The Wolverine)
Darren Aronofsky was initially set to direct The Wolverine, which brought Logan to Japan, but he left the project because the long shoot in Japan would’ve kept him away from his family. The studio had brief discussions with Guillermo del Toro, who named the Japanese saga as his favorite part of Wolverine’s comic book history, but he ultimately didn’t like the script enough to commit a couple of years to it.
Antoine Fuqua, Doug Liman, Justin Lin, Gavin O’Connor, José Padilha, Mark Romanek, and Gary Shore were all considered before James Mangold was hired.
3 Should: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson would be kind of a left-field pick for an X-Men movie. He’s one of the most famous directors working today, but he’s never made a movie adapted from such source material or on a big budget. Still, if he’d be open to doing a superhero movie, Anderson’s quirky, personal style would be perfect for the X-Men.
Marvel’s mutants are social outcasts, like Rushmore’s Max Fischer or Moonrise Kingdom’s Sam and Suzy. Anderson often tells stories about institutions – the Khaki Scouts, the Rushmore Academy, the Society of the Crossed Keys, etc. – so Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters would be right in his wheelhouse.
2 Almost Did: Robert Rodriguez (Deadpool)
Robert Rodriguez was initially approached to direct Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool, but he turned it down so he could shoot Spy Kids: All the Time in the World and Tim Miller landed the job instead. Rodriguez had previously been offered the first X-Men movie, but turned it down to make the first Spy Kids movie.
Before David Leitch was hired to helm the sequel to Deadpool following Miller’s exit, the studio considered Drew Goddard, Magnus Martens, and Rupert Sanders for the job.
1 Should: The Russo Brothers
After helming two Captain America movies and two Avengers movies, the Russo brothers probably want to take a break from directing Marvel movies to work on stories that don’t involve superheroes for a while.
But the way they balanced the Avengers ensemble, made use of various character’s superpowers working in tandem, and kept the focus on driving the narrative forward would be perfect for X-Men stories.
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