X-Men is a superhero franchise based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The series, which consisted of thirteen feature films and two television shows, lasted between 2000 to 2020. The franchise is set in a world where a certain number of the populace has developed superpowers, known as Homo Superior, or Mutants. A group of Mutants known as the X-Men have dedicated themselves to protecting humanity against those who do harm, despite the fear and prejudice that humans have against them.
The franchise as a whole as accumulated $6.093 billion at the box office, making it one of the most successful film franchises for two decades straight. Following 20th Century Fox's acquisition by The Walt Disney Company in 2019, the franchise was slowed down in an effort to reintegrate it into the pre-existing Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, starting with Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024.
Development[]
Throughout the 70s and 80s, Marvel Comics, in an effort to avoid bankruptcy, sold the rights to their characters to various film studios interested in adapting their properties. X-Men was acquired by Orion Pictures and in 1985, hired comic book writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas to pen a screenplay. The project ultimately fell through when Orion began to face financial difficulties of their own. In 1989 and 1990, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont worked out another deal with Carolco Pictures who were interested in having James Cameron as producer, Gary Goldman as writer, and Kathryn Bigelow as director.[1]
Goldman's draft featured the X-Men, whose lineup consisted of Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Angel, and Professor X, with Magneto (identified as Thomas Prince) and Mastermind as the villains.[2] Bigelow wanted Bob Hoskins as Wolverine and Angela Bassett as Storm. The project ultimately fell through when Stan Lee suggested to Cameron that he do Spider-Man, breaking all talks.[1]
Andrew Kevin Walker famously wrote a comic heavy draft that featured the X-Men, consisting of the original starting members Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel, and a newly recruited Wolverine who face off against the Brotherhood consisting of Magneto, Sabretooth, Toad, Blob, and Juggernaut. The characters of Bolivar Trask and Henry Peter Gyrich were to appear along with the Sentinels. This version was nixed most likely due to the character heavy plot.
Laeta Kalogridis and Michael Chabon both took turns at separate drafts that would have featured the Legacy Virus as a main plot point. However, Chabon's draft notably was character driven to the point that the villains would not have been introduced until a sequel.
During this time, the project transitioned over to 20th Century Fox, eventually leading to what would eventually become the first X-Men movie.
Films[]
| Films | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X-Men | July 14, 2000 | Bryan Singer | David Hayter | Tom DeSanto & Bryan Singer | Lauren Shuler Donner & Ralph Winter |
| X2 | May 2, 2003 | Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris & David Hayter | Zak Penn, David Hayter & Bryan Singer | ||
| X-Men: The Last Stand | May 26, 2006 | Brett Ratner | Simon Kinberg & Zak Penn | Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter & Avi Arad | |
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine | May 1, 2009 | Gavin Hood | David Benioff & Skip Woods | Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter, Hugh Jackman & John Palermo | |
| X-Men: First Class | June 3, 2011 | Matthew Vaughn | Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn | Sheldon Turner & Bryan Singer | Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg & Gregory Goodman |
| The Wolverine | July 26, 2013 | James Mangold | Mark Bomback & Scott Frank | Lauren Shuler Donner & Hutch Parker | |
| X-Men: Days of Future Past | May 23, 2014 | Bryan Singer | Simon Kinberg | Jane Goldman, Simon Kinberg & Matthew Vaughn | Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg & Hutch Parker |
| Deadpool | February 12, 2016 | Tim Miller | Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick | Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg & Ryan Reynolds | |
| X-Men: Apocalypse | May 27, 2016 | Bryan Singer | Simon Kinberg | Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris | Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg & Hutch Parker |
| Logan | March 3, 2017 | James Mangold | Scott Frank, James Mangold & Michael Green | James Mangold | Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg & Hutch Parker |
| Deadpool 2 | May 18, 2018 | David Leitch | Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick & Ryan Reynolds | Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg & Ryan Reynolds | |
| Dark Phoenix | June 7, 2019 | Simon Kinberg | Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, Hutch Parker & Todd Hallowell | ||
| The New Mutants | August 28, 2020 | Josh Boone | Josh Boone & Knate Lee | Simon Kinberg, Karen Rosenfelt & Lauren Shuler Donner | |
Television[]
| Series | Season | Episodes | Start Date | End Date | Network | Showrunner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legion | 1 | 8 | February 8, 2017 | March 29, 2017 | FX | Noah Hawley |
| 2 | 11 | April 3, 2018 | June 12, 2018 | |||
| 3 | 8 | June 24, 2019 | August 12, 2019 | |||
| The Gifted | 1 | 13 | October 2, 2017 | January 15, 2018 | Fox | Matt Nix |
| 2 | 16 | September 25, 2018 | February 26, 2019 |
Cancelled or reworked projects[]
Films[]
- Magneto, or X-Men Origins: Magneto
- X4 and X5
- Untitled Fox-Marvel Crossover film
- X-Force
- Gambit
- The New Mutants sequels
- Alpha Flight
- Exiles
- Laura
- Multiple Man
- Kitty Pryde
- X-Men: Fear the Beast
- Omega Red
Television series[]
- Hellfire
- Deadpool animated series
Marvel Cinematic Universe[]
| Films | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deadpool & Wolverine | July 26, 2024 | Shawn Levy | Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy | Kevin Feige, Lauren Shuler Donner, Ryan Reynolds, and Shawn Levy | |
