After almost 20 years of ‘X-Men’ films ended with a whimper, thanks to the tragically mediocre “Dark Phoenix,” it’s hard to believe that there was almost a time, decades prior that could have ruined the X-Men brand more than the combined efforts of Bryan Singer, Brett Ratner, and Simon Kinberg. But after reading a new report from Polygon, it’s absolutely true that well before the X-characters donned tight black leather costumes in 2000, the Marvel heroes were almost featured in a terrible film that would have likely been that decade’s “Batman & Robin.”
In a new profile, writers Chris Claremont and Gerry Conway, along with producer Michael Hirsh, detail the series of scripts that were dangerously close to production during the ‘80s, which would have seen the ‘X-Men’ franchise (hopefully) kickstart an era of Marvel films.
READ MORE: Tye Sheridan Confirms Aliens In ‘Dark Phoenix’ Were Initially Skrulls Before Reshoots
Inspired by the success of “Superman” and the rise in popularity of the mutants in the comic books, Marvel pressed hard to get their beloved heroes on the big screen. Hiring comic book writers Claremont, and later, Conway, Marvel and Candian animation studio Nelvana (hoping to dip its toes into live-action) thought they cracked the code on how to bring the X-folks to the big screen.
The script went in multiple directions, with each iteration moving further and further away from the comic book lore and the core of what made ‘X-Men’ so special, in the first place. The bulk of the scripts that were produced focused on Kitty Pryde being the POV character that would help introduce the audience to the world of mutants and superheroes. And using her as the star, the villain was typically written as her dad, a US Senator that is possessed by the evil mutant Proteus. Sometimes the script would include Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants. And the cast of characters usually included fan-favorites like Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, and Professor X.
However, there were also bits that prove that Marvel and Nelvana had no idea what a quality superhero film looked like almost 35 years ago. At one point, the script ditched Jean Grey, replacing her with a Japanese New Wave pop star named Yoshi, who would go on to develop a relationship with Cyclops. And yes, Yoshi was your stereotypical Japanese girl, as conceived by middle-aged white men.
There was also a character named Bernie, who is a friend of Kitty’s and became entangled with the X-Men after discovering their existence and following his BFF. According to the report, his main purpose was to be a nuisance and provide a love-interest for Kitty.
To read more about the awfulness, Polygon has you covered. Needless to say, as bad as some of the ‘X-Men’ films of this era have been, they don’t hold a candle to what could have been in the ‘80s. And for that, we should consider ourselves lucky.
