10 Cancelled X-Men Movies We Almost Got
3. X-Men Origins: Magneto
This one really could’ve been something great.
Following the conclusion of the first X-Men trilogy, the franchise pushed ahead with the idea of origin stories. Wolverine got his, while Sheldon Turner was offered his pick of the rest, and chose Magneto.
Sir Ian McKellen was on board with the idea, and would bookend the movie, though the majority would be told via flashback. Sheldon Turner pitched the movie as ‘The Pianist meets X-Men’, and David S. Goyer was on board to direct it.
The movie would take place from 1939 to 1955, following Magneto’s life in Auschwitz, then his evolution into villainy as he tracked down the former Nazis and took revenge, before gathering followers for a mutant uprising.
Unfortunately, the Writer’s Guild of America’s strike coupled with the lukewarm reaction to X-Men Origins: Wolverine saw Fox’s anticipation for the film cool. McKellen too backed away, citing his age as a barrier to what the script would ask of him.
The whole thing wasn’t in vain though, as Turner went on to write X-Men: First Class, incorporating different bits of Magneto’s origin into that script instead. Considering that was one of the last good X-Men movies, it’s all’s well that ends well.