X-Men is credited with kicking off the superhero movie craze in 2000. It's a fair argument too, as Bryan Singer's fairly grounded take on the property (which was essential after the childish and campy direction the Batman films had taken) opened the door to studios embracing the likes of Spider-Man and ultimately Iron Man. Things could have been very different though as 20th Century Fox initially considered the likes Robert Rodriguez, Tim Burton, Richard Donner, Brett Ratner, John McTiernan, Danny Boyle, Irvin Kershner, and perhaps most distressingly, Joel Schumacher for the job before choosing Singer to direct.
