(L to R) Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman in ‘Eddie the Eagle.’
Taron Egerton has done a lot in a relatively short career so far. In the last decade, he’s gotten a big break via Matthew Vaughn’s ‘Kingsman’ spy caper franchise, played a few real people (including Eddie the Eagle and Elton John), been nominated for several awards and lent his voice to a couple of successful animated movies in the ‘Sing’ movies.
One milestone he hasn’t hit for a young rising star is getting the call from Marvel Studios for a meeting about a potential role. Or has he? According to a new interview with the New York Times, he has. And they talked about him potentially playing Wolverine.
“I don’t think it would be wrong to say that,” he tells the paper. “I’d be excited but I’d be apprehensive as well, because Hugh is so associated with the role that I’d wonder if it’d be very difficult for someone else to do it.”
“Hugh”, of course, is Hugh Jackman, the man who played Logan/Wolverine across different X-Men movies for two decades, finishing up – at least, for now – with 2017’s ‘Logan’, which effectively killed off his character. But as we all know, superheroes rarely stay dead and even with Marvel looking to reboot the mutant characters following its purchase of 20th Century Fox, he could still return.
Patrick Stewart, for example, recently played an alternate Professor Charles Xavier in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. So the door is open to Jackman should he wish to don the claws again. He’s said, though, that he’s effectively done playing the character, especially given the tough training regime it requires.
Taron Egerton in Twentieth Century Fox’s ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle.’
Still, if Egerton is looking to get Jackman’s blessing to take over the role, at least he has a relatively direct line to the man, since they worked together on ‘Eddie the Eagle’.
We can certainly see Egerton in the role of the long-lived, fast-healing and metal-clawed mutant, as he’s got the dramatic chops to bring the character to life and can get to the physical place.
As of right now, we have to leave this in the rumor zone, since there have been no announcements (not that we’d expect anything official from Marvel until the company is ready to say something). Still, Taron seems excited even by just the potential idea. “Hopefully if it does come around, they’ll give me a shot,” he says.
Marvel’s future plans, of course, are a mystery beyond the current planned films and shows but given the company’s planned presence at this month’s San Diego Comic-Con, we’re expecting to hear more about the plans for the next phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on screens both big and small. Could we see Egerton bound on stage to a rapturous welcome? You never know.
Meanwhile, he’ll be back on our screens via Apple TV+ limited series ‘Blackbird’, debuting this Friday.
Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe of movies began officially in 2008 with the premiere of ‘Iron Man,’ and the MCU has ruled the box office ever since.
But, before there was a shared Marvel universe, different studios released self-contained films based on the popular Marvel characters.
With ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ currently in theaters, which introduces both the ‘X-Men’s Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and a new version of the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards (John Krasinski), we thought now would be a perfect time to countdown the 10 best pre-MCU movies of all time.
In order to save his dying father, young stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) sells his soul to Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) and sadly parts from the pure-hearted Roxanne Simpson (Eva Mendes), the love of his life. Years later, Johnny’s path crosses again with Roxanne, now a go-getting reporter, and also with Mephistopheles, who offers to release Johnny’s soul if Johnny becomes the fabled, fiery ‘Ghost Rider’.
The Fantastic Four (Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis) return to the big screen as a new and all powerful enemy threatens the Earth. The seemingly unstoppable ‘Silver Surfer’ (voice of Laurence Fishburne), but all is not what it seems and there are old and new enemies that pose a greater threat than the intrepid superheroes realize.
When undercover FBI agent Frank Castle’s wife and son are slaughtered, he becomes ‘the Punisher’ (Thomas Jane), a ruthless vigilante willing to go to any length to avenge his family.
The Daywalker known as “Blade” (Wesley Snipes), a half-vampire, half-mortal man – becomes the protector of humanity against an underground army of vampires.
Two mutants, Rogue (Anna Paquin) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), come to a private academy for their kind whose resident superhero team, the X-Men, must oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers.
After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.
A rare mutation has occurred within the vampire community – The Reaper. A vampire so consumed with an insatiable bloodlust that they prey on vampires as well as humans, transforming victims who are unlucky enough to survive into Reapers themselves. Blade (Wesley Snipes) is asked by the Vampire Nation for his help in preventing a nightmare plague that would wipe out both humans and vampires.
Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his team of genetically gifted superheroes face a rising tide of anti-mutant sentiment led by Col. William Stryker (Brian Cox). Storm (Halle Berry), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) must join their usual nemeses—Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn)—to unhinge Stryker’s scheme to exterminate all mutants.
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock (Alfred Molina). In the meantime, Parker still can’t act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), a girl he’s loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) as well…
Lawrence’s first lead role, shot when she was 17, was this horrific account of writer/director Lori Petty‘s own childhood marked by poverty and sexual abuse. In what will become a familiar character type for Lawrence, she plays a rural teen forced to grow up way too fast and care for her younger siblings. The rookie star is astonishingly natural and self-assured, especially given how dark the material gets.
Your appreciation for this “Titanic”-in-space romance depends on whether you read it as a tragic love story and not a Stockholm Syndrome saga of a woman who falls for the desperate stalker who ruined her life. Lawrence is impeccable, as usual; she has to be in order to sell the movie’s hard-to-swallow premise. She and Chris Pratt are certainly adorable. Still, this extravagant flop is likely to be remembered (if at all) as a footnote in both stars’ careers.
As scaly-skinned shapeshifter Raven Darkhölme, Lawrence has little to do but stand around looking blue — literally. She’s arguably integral to the plot only in the second film (“X-Men: Days of Future Past“). True to her name, Lawrence’s Mystique is still something of a mystery, even after three movies.
Lawrence’s third collaboration with director David O. Russell is the pair’s least successful. It’s a fanciful, tortured account of inventor and home-shopping mogul Mangano’s rags-to-riches rise. It’s all Lawrence’s show, and thank goodness she’s compelling enough to carry this surprisingly heavy (and uneven) film on her shoulders.
At 21, Lawrence should have been way too young to co-star in Russell’s nervous-energy romance opposite a damaged Bradley Cooper. But she’s mature beyond her years, giving as good as she gets. Oh, also, she dances up a storm. It’s a delightful and charming turn, one that renders Cooper’s character helpless to resist. The Academy couldn’t resist, either — they gave her a Best Actress trophy.
In her second movie with Russell and Cooper, Lawrence is a comic force of nature. In a movie overstuffed with colorful characters, she still manages to steal scenes as the overripe, outer-borough, grudge-nursing wife of Christian Bale‘s comb-over con man. Her character is a justifiably angry loose cannon, and whenever she’s on screen, the film threatens to go off the rails. In a good, exciting, unpredictable way.
Lawrence’s breakthrough role in this indie drama saw her playing an Ozark teen whose meth-dealing dad goes missing, leaving her to act the responsible adult. Soon, she’s skinning squirrels and trying to steer clear of both the law and the meth underworld in her struggle to save the family home and put food on the table for her two younger siblings. Like “The Poker House,” this is practically a gothic horror film, and Lawrence carries it off with maturity, charisma, and authenticity.
It’s impossible now to imagine anyone else as the Girl on Fire. The rebellious gladiator of Suzanne Collins’ futuristic novels may be the most complex action heroine in movies — warrior, big sister, survivalist, media icon, revolutionary figurehead, traumatized executioner, and one leg of a teen love triangle.
Displaying all these facets, Lawrence’s Katniss is compelling to watch in triumph but maybe even more compelling in failure. After all, she’s still just a kid being asked to bear impossible burdens, and letting that anguished, fumbling humanity shine through is a Lawrence specially, too.
You can thank the X-Men for all of your favorite comic book movies. Their successful first effort set the tone for everything from the MCU to Christopher Nolan‘s iconic Batman films.
13. ‘Dark Phoenix’ (2019)
The X-Men face their most formidable and powerful foe when one of their own, Jean Grey, starts to spiral out of control. During a rescue mission in outer space, Jean is nearly killed when she’s hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. The X-Men must now band together to save her soul and battle aliens that want to use Grey’s new abilities to rule the galaxy.
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12. ‘The New Mutants’ (2020)
Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.
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11. ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ (2009)
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Thanks to studio-mandated fan-service (too many mutant cameos), Wolverine is relegated to a supporting role in his own movie — which is full of terrible CG and even more terrible narrative choices. The worst of the worst? “Magic” memory-wiping bullets and a face palm-y depiction of Deadpool (pictured), where the Merc with the Mouth has his mouth fused shut. Yep, that happened.
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10. ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ (2006)
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We’d cry too, Logan, if this movie was on our resume. Hell, we still angry cry whenever we think of this epic misfire, that thinks killing a hero, Cyclops, off-screen is a good idea. From “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” to pretty much every other scene is this lackluster sequel, ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ nearly sets a franchise record for packing in so many wrong things into a normal-sized movie.
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9. ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (2016)
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Nevermind that a decade passes between these new prequels and the cast barely ages a day. And ignore all the negative reviews – “X-Men: Apocalypse” is an entertaining disaster epic starring your favorite mutants that achieves some emotionally resonate moments that call back to Bryan Singer’s first film in the series. What doesn’t work is Singer’s seemingly uninspired visual direction and yet another story about proving there’s still good in the really bad Magneto — who ultimately (shocker) turns good just in time (again!) after spending much of the soulless third act floating purposelessly in a swirl of CG. Also, it’s hard not to just feel bad for Oscar Isaac, under gobs of make-up, as the titular villain.
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8. ‘Deadpool 2’ (2018)
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“Deadpool 2” isn’t a bad movie, per se, but it lacks the surprise and spontaneity that made the first movie so much fun. While undoubtedly entertaining, with MORE of everything — more characters (including Zazie Beatz’s charming performance as Domino), more action set pieces (mostly involving Deadpool facing off against time traveling bad-ass Josh Brolin), and much more blood (it really flirts with an NC-17, which makes the PG-13 cut even more baffling) – without much in the way of dividends. And worst of all, the big emotional moment in the first act is undone by the credits.
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7. ‘X-Men’ (2000)
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Despite criticisms that the film plays out like an extended trailer for a bigger (potentially better) movie, Bryan Singer’s initial “X-Men” is a confidently-executed introduction to the mutants — filled with powerful Holocaust imagery and strong thematic ideas wrapped around asking: what would life be like if one were a mutant? Answer: More trips on jets that live under a basketball court and lots of fights atop NYC landmarks.
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6. ‘The Wolverine’ (2013)
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Two thirds of this movie capture the brooding, lone wolf thing that fans love in their Wolverine stories — especially this one, which finally brings the character’s Japan arc to the screen. “The Wolverine’s” last third, however, goes off the rails with a weird showdown between Wolverine and a DNA-sucking Silver Samurai (don’t ask). Hugh Jackman gives his best performance to date as our favorite X-Men, finally given something really meaty to play as Logan struggles with the consequences of outliving all those he will or could ever love. And bonus points for that very inventive mid-point fight atop a bullet train.
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5. ‘Deadpool’ (2016)
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It’s ironic that the one movie set in the X-Men universe that doesn’t (technically) feature Wolverine has proven to be the most successful and beloved of the bunch. “Deadpool” freed moviegoers from the increasingly convoluted continuity of the main films to deliver a gleefully funny, raunchy and self-aware story of an assassin getting in touch with his inner hero.
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4. ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ (2014)
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“X-Men: Days of Future Past” serves as both a sequel (ish) to “X-Men: First Class” and a ret-con of the original X-Men films, as the laws of physics are literally broken via time travel to bridge the two casts. Bryan Singer’s first X-Men film since 2003 is one of his best; an assured, “Terminator”-inspired adventure that boasts the biggest production values the series has ever seen.
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3. ‘X-Men: First Class’ (2011)
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Magneto’s James Bond-inspired Nazi hunt is just one of the many great things about this 1960s-set prequel. It’s basically “Magneto Begins” or maybe “Professor X: Year One,” as we watch the birth of the X-Men — a genesis which finds them struggling to stop World War III by way of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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2. ‘Logan’ (2017)
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With “Logan” director and co-writer James Mangold set out to deliver a definitive and R-rated comic book movie for adults. One that explores the cost of being an aging superhero full of bone-deep regret. The end result is a violent, and at times, tear-jerking affair that makes it hard to let go of Hugh Jackman’s iconic take on the character.
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1. ‘X2: X-Men United’ (2003)
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It’s the “Wrath of Khan” of the X-Men films, as our heroes team up with their enemy to battle an even bigger threat — Col. Stryker, who wants to wipe out mutant-kind. The character-driven storyline and impressive set pieces, including a harrowing dogfight with the X-Jet, make “X2” one of the best comic book films ever.
People need their escapism these days. These are the best sci-fi and fantasy franchises of all time, including a couple that blur the line between the two.
14. Blade Runner
The fact that “Blade Runner” qualifies as a franchise now rather than one really beloved sci-fi movie is a pretty neat development. To date, the franchise only consists of two films, a couple animated shorts and a tenuous connection to the “Alien” movies, but here’s hoping it continues to grow.
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13. Godzilla
The “Godzilla” series is both one of the most influential sci-fi franchises of all time and one of the most prolific. This is a series that spans dozens of sequels and all sorts of random spinoffs, with the tone varying between serious contemplation of nuclear age horror to rampant monster-on-monster zaniness. We wish American studios had better success translating that formula, but you can’t argue with the sheer amount of Godzilla goodness on tap.
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12. The Hunger Games
You can pretty much trace the current YA dystopian fiction craze straight back to the “Hunger Games” series. And it’s little wonder it turned out to be such a trend-setter. These four movies offer a captivating look at a world so deranged the wealthy elite make hungry teenagers fight to death for their amusement. The allegory is pretty obvious in this case.
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11. X-Men
The “X-Men” franchise has seen some pretty extreme highs and lows over the course of almost two decades of existence. Fortunately, those highs are enough to make up for everything else. These aren’t just great superhero movies, but terrific sci-fi parables about outcasts banding together to make the world a better place. Here’s hoping that things will only improve as the franchise makes it way to Marvel Studios.
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10. Alien
1979’s “Alien” and its 1986 sequel both rank among the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. One is a claustrophobic sci-fi horror mash-up, and the other is a delightfully enjoyable action romp. Sadly, none of the sequels, prequels, and spinoffs have quite lived up to that standard, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t always eager to spend more time in this universe.
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9. Harry Potter
It’s rare to find a franchise that stays good for even two or three movies, much less eight. But for the most part, the “Harry Potter” series only got better with time. And now that series has spawned a whole new spinoff franchise in the form of “Fantastic Beasts.” Between the two, you have one of the most consistently entertaining fantasy properties in Hollywood.
The “Mad Max” movies remain the gold standard when it comes to post-apocalyptic action. And thanks to “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the franchise has proven itself to be more relevant and daring than ever in the 21st Century. That belated sequel shows that this series doesn’t need to rest on the shoulders of Mel Gibson, or even the Max Rockatansky character at all.
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7. The Lord of the Rings
For decades, many “Lord of the Rings” fanatics considered this franchise to be impossible to adapt to the big screen. But all it took was a crafty team led by director Peter Jackson to do justice to J.R.R. Tolkien’s sweeping saga of men, elves, orcs and Hobbits. The original trilogy ushered in a whole new weave of fantasy and medieval epics. It’s unfortunate that the “Hobbit” prequels were stretched beyond the breaking point, but we’re still eager to see what other directions Hollywood can take this beloved fantasy series in the years to come.
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6. The Planet of the Apes
From the original series to the new, very photo-real reboot, “Apes” is the allegorical-heavy and emotionally-resonate franchise we need and deserve right now.
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5. Terminator
Much like the “Alien” franchise, the “Terminator” series is marked by two amazing movies followed by sequels and spinoffs of varying degrees of quality. But those first two movies are enough to cement this franchise as one of the greatest sci-fi properties of all time. The conflict between man and machine is still as resonant now as it was at the time, as is the central theme of fate vs. free will. We just hope we can get one more good sequel out of Arnold Schwarzenegger before he retires from the series for good.
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4. Back to the Future
There’s a lot to be said for a franchise that knows when to call it quits. “Back to the Future” never overstayed its welcome. The 1985 original is a delightful fusion of science fiction and comedy. Its two sequels further enrich the whirlwind saga of Marty McFly and Doc Brown. And that’s it. Other than an entertaining animated series and a video game continuation, this franchise has been allowed to rest in peace. No remakes or reboots to dilute the appeal of the originals.
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3. Star Trek
TV may be the medium in which “Star Trek” works best, but there have been some darned good Trek movies over the decades. Between “The Wrath of Khan,” “The Voyage Home,” “First Contact” and the recent reboot series, there’s no shortage of sci-fi goodness to be found with this franchise. Even if these movies are notorious for alternating between good and bad sequels, “Star Trek” will always rank among the greats.
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2. The Marvel Cinematic Universe
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The MCU has truly changed the game when it comes to superhero movies. There had certainly been great superhero movies before the MCU came along, but never before had a studio attempted to craft a shared universe on this scale. Marvel Studios has managed to craft a franchsie where super-soldiers, armored billionaires, gods and aliens bump elbows. Most amazingly of all, almost all of the 20-something MCU movies to date have ranged from really good to downright terrific.
In the end, could there be any other franchise topping this list? “Star Wars” blurs the lines between sci-fi and fantasy, tapping into our most fundamental myths and archetypes to tell the ultimate story of a heroic few overcoming a terrible evil. The original Trilogy shaped countless childhoods and gave us some of the greatest cinematic moments ever. And while the prequels and sequels have their detractors, they also prove that this is a franchise capable of constantly reshaping itself in order to appeal to new generations. This is a saga that apparently has no end, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
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The accomplished actress is only 31, and yet it feels like she’s taken on a lifetime of juicy roles. Pretty much every film she gets screen time in, she makes her indelible and entertaining mark.
While the romantic drama focused on Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones’ characters’ love story, Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal as Yelchin’s one-time girlfriend affirmed her magnetic and unforgettable presence even in the most minor roles.
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2. When she made even the most reluctant superhero movie viewers fans of the new “X-Men” films.
Way to add your signature comic timing, Jen!
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3. When she made the movie as good as the book, for once.
YA novels don’t have the best critical track record when it comes to their film adaptations, but J. Law managed to pour heart and ferocity into badass Katniss on screen.
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4. When she made audiences laugh, cry, and dance like nobody was watching in “Silver Linings Playbook.”
Jennifer’s Oscar-winning performance brought depth and humor to an already complex character.
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5. When she nailed every line in “American Hustle.”
When you’re Jennifer Lawrence, you can make anyone seem sympathetic and utterly compelling, even standing up to an incredible ensemble of esteemed actors.
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6. When she made a somewhat standard biopic into a tour-de-force.
I never knew I cared so much about the Home Shopping Network.
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7. When she totally creeped everyone out in “Mother!”
Sure — the movie was full of WTF moments, but it was hard to keep your eyes of Lawrence through all the chaos.
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8. When she became an acting force to be reckoned with.
If you have not seen Jennifer’s breakout performance in “Winter’s Bone,” what are you even doing here? Get to it!
OK, so “The New Mutants” is likely never seeing the light of day after the flop of X-Men film “Dark Phoenix.”
But does that mean the X-Men franchise is dead now that Disney owns the Fox property?
Hardly. Today, Disney announced that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige is inheriting Fox’s comic book heroes, including the X-Men. So, continue dreamcasting the new Wolverine, people.
However, Disney is axing the majority of the existing Fox film development slate and “refocusing output,” after the studio posted a $170 million operating loss in Disney’s fiscal third quarter.
What else is safe, besides the X-Men?
James Cameron’s sequels to “Avatar” are on track, as well as more “Planet of the Apes” movies.
Disney CEO Bob Iger also said indie label Fox Searchlight will continue to make feature films and and also make movies for Disney+. However, Fox’s film divisions will be producing significantly less movies than before the Disney purchase.
“It will probably take a solid year, maybe two years, before we can have an impact on the films in production. We’re all confident we’re going to turn around the results of Fox live action,” Iger said.
Simon Kinberg’s “Dark Phoenix” marks the culmination of almost 20 years of groundbreaking superhero movies. Despite the series’ ups and downs, Fox’s franchise not only popularized but legitimized modern comic book adaptations on the silver screen thanks to stories that created larger than life adventures while touching upon real-world issues. Of course, they also delivered some of the coolest and most thrilling action sequences of the past two decades. So as the franchise comes to an end (before they eventually phase over to the MCU), Moviefone takes a look back at the best of the best — the brutal fights, chases and showdowns that changed the way we look at superheroes.
Bryan Singer’s original film feels almost primitive at this point, made before the proper technical advancements could bring these sequences to life (fully), but the filmmaker still delivered an incredible final set piece as the X-Men fight to save world leaders atop the Statue of Liberty. It’s a scene that vitally emphasizes their individual strengths and even more importantly, their cooperation and teamwork.
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“X2: X-Men United” (2003) – Nightcrawler White House Assassination Attempt
Singer threw the audience into the action in the second film with this bravura sequence where a mind-controlled Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) teleports his way past White House security to make an attempt on the President’s life. Breathless and beautifully composed.
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“X2: X-Men United” (2003) – Stryker’s Assault on the X-Mansion
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) always seems like he’s about one hangnail away from berserker mode, but in this siege on X-Mansion, we really get to see him cut loose (pun intended) on Colonel Stryker’s (Brian Cox) men as he protects Xavier’s more vulnerable students.
There are some mutants whose powers are so strong it feels like they can do anything, but the movies don’t always reflect their omnipotence. But Brett Ratner beautifully depicts the magnitude of Magneto’s (Ian McKellen) abilities in an attack on Alcatraz that starts when he literally lifts the Golden Gate Bridge as a conveyance for the evil Brotherhood.
Director Gavin Hood’s spin-off is not an especially successful first installment of what became a terrific parallel franchise, but he combines the poignant and powerful in this scene where Agent Zero (Daniel Henney) kills the elderly couple protecting Logan after he escapes from Stryker’s (Danny Huston) lab, and the future Wolverine returns the favor by destroying the soldier’s helicopter.
Matthew Vaughn took a real risk by integrating real-world history into the fictional background for the X-Men, but it paid off in this climactic sequence where the world’s nations launch missiles to end a potentially explosive conflict between warring factions of mutants.
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“The Wolverine” (2013) – Funeral/ Yakuza Train Fight
James Mangold’s follow-up to “X-Men Origins” makes a substantial leap in quality, thanks especially to Mangold’s skill in constructing sequences like the funeral assassination that leads into an incredible showdown between Logan and would-be Yakuza kidnappers atop a Japanese bullet train.
Far be it from me to cheer the deaths of our beloved X-Men, but Singer’s return to the franchise showcases the deadly power of one of the team’s most iconic foes, the Sentinels, as they defeat and literally dismember the team in a distant post-apocalyptic future.
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“X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) – Quicksilver Prison Break
As incredible as the core X-Men are, the introduction of Quicksilver (Evan Peters) gave the franchise an incredible jolt of energy, especially in this show-stopping set piece where he stops a room full of security guards in a matter of seconds, all set to the tune of Jim Croce’s “Time In A Bottle.”
To be fair, the highway chase in “Deadpool” takes up a good 35 minutes or more of screen time in the character’s first outing as a solo, uh, anti-hero. But the opening sequences that unfold in slow motion, making fun of not just superhero theatrics but the very filmmakers responsible for creating such an irreverent adventure, still rank among the best moments ever in a superhero movie.
Singer’s final outing as director marked a depressing nadir for the series, but in trying to duplicate the success of its predecessor, he still created one sequence that, if familiar, was at least entertaining, as Quicksilver springs into action to rescue the X-Men as the mansion explodes.
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“Logan” (2017) – Logan and Laura Escape His Mexican Hideout
Mangold had considerably more success than Singer revisiting the material he made his own in this, widely regarded as the best X-Movie ever made. But in this early sequence, Logan discovers that his young charge has her own powers — plus a nasty temper — as they attempt to escape in a fight that leads into a messy chase, and eventually, evasion by the skin of their teeth.
Deadpool’s irreverence reached its peak in this amazing scene from the sequel where the character’s freshly-assembled team meets its demise almost immediately, but he and the lone survivor, Domino (Zazie Beetz), find themselves in the midst of a battle atop a runaway convoy that also happens to be carrying the Juggernaut.
In the “X-Men” movies, it’s never clear when our heroes’ mutant abilities show themselves. And in the case of our very own Ms. Moviefone Grae Drake, those abilities sprouted while she was interviewing the cast of this weeks’ “Dark Phoenix” — including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy (what is he saying?), Sophie Turner, and Jessica Chastain. Watch the latest mind-bending episode of The Ms. Moviefone Show below and go see “Dark Phoenix” in theaters now!
It’s been ten years since Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine got his first solo movie. Few would argue that “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was a high point for the franchise, but without it we never would have gotten future gems like “Logan.” Celebrate this mutant milestone by learning some fun facts about the making of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and the spinoffs that never were.
1.Liev Schreiber refused to wear a padded muscle suit, instead relying on Jackman’s help to bulk up before filming. Schreiber eventually gained 40 pounds by following Jackman’s exercise regimen and protein-heavy diet.
2. Director Gavin Hood repeatedly clashed with producers and studio executives over the tone and direction of the film, particularly his desire to portray Wolverine as a military veteran with PTSD.
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3.Kodi Smit-McPhee was originally cast as the young James Howlett, but had to drop out due to his commitment to 2009’s “The Road.” Smit-McPhee would instead make his X-Men debut as Nightcrawler in 2015’s “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
4. Though it was deleted from the theatrical version, one of the scenes in the Nigeria sequence features a young Storm working as a child slave laborer.
5. While it draws heavily from Marvel’s X-Men comics, the movie does make some changes to the source material. In the comics, Wolverine isn’t old enough to have fought in the Civil War, and he and Sabretooth aren’t actually brothers.
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6. Brian Cox expressed interest in reprising his role as Col. Stryker. But due to the expense of the de-aging technology used on Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier, it was decided to cast Danny Huston as a young Stryker instead.
7. Kevin Durand’s Blob suit was so bulky and hot that a system of tubes had to be installed in order to pump in ice water and keep Durand cool.
20th Century Fox
8. While Ryan Reynolds plays Deadpool in the first act of the film, he was replaced by stuntman Scott Adkins for most of the the Weapon XI scenes. Reynolds does appear as Weapon XI in a handful of close-up shots.
9. An unfinished work print cut of the film leaked online a month before its release. Fox estimated the file was downloaded 4.5 million times by the time the finished version hit theaters and blamed the leak for the film’s lackluster box office numbers.
10. Originally, Fox intended to launch an entire series of “X-Men Origins” prequel movies. These projects were canceled, and portions of the planned “X-Men Origins: Magneto” were instead used for 2011’s “X-Men: First Class.”
Activision
11. Activision released a video game adaptation that included significant plot elements not in the movie. For example, one section features Wolverine teaming up with Mystique to destroy the Sentinel program.
12. Will.i.am eagerly agreed to play John Wraith because of his love for another mutant teleporter, Nightcrawler. In fact, the video game version implies that Wraith is Nightcrawler’s father, though later movies revealed that the villain Azazel is actually his father.
Warner Bros.
13. Before the release of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” Christopher Reeve held the record for the most times the same actor has played a superhero character. Jackman and Patrick Stewart both tied that record thanks to this film, and eventually went on to reprise their roles as Wolverine and Professor X several more times.
