10 Crazy X-Men Ideas Fox Had Before Marvel Got The Rights Back
Now the X-Men are coming to the MCU, these are the Fox movies you'll never get to see...
It's taking longer to happen than most comic book fans hoped, but following the Disney/Fox merger, the X-Men are set to make their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It goes without saying that Marvel Studios will reboot the characters, and that closes the door both on the previous versions returning, and the long list of movies 20th Century Fox had in the works before it took place.
With a lack of leadership and a seemingly constant failure to understand the source material, these ideas weren't exactly great, but there were some which had real potential (even if they wouldn't have lived up to what fans are used to seeing in the MCU).
The chances of Marvel Studios running with any of them are slim, though, and some will probably make you glad that the Disney/Fox merger happened. Honestly, there are some downright crazy ideas here, and while some were only ever in the very early stages of development, others very nearly happened before Disney made its acquisition of Fox final.
Now, the X-Men are going to get the big screen treatment they deserve (alongside the Fantastic Four), but it's definitely interesting to think about what might have been in Fox's "X-Men Universe."
10. Gambit
Gambit was first introduced in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine played by relative newcomer Taylor Kitsch. While that movie was a disaster, there were rumblings that the character would get his own spinoff, but there was no mention of that until it was finally revealed during Comic-Con in 2015.
The key difference was that it was now Channing Tatum who X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner was eyeing for the role, and a 2016 release date was set. Multiple delays followed, and Fox went through a number of directors - Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski - who all ended up departing the project over creative differences.
Plot details were never revealed, but several leaks indicated that it would have been an origin story dealing with both the Thieves and Assassins Guilds. Mister Sinister was going to be the villain after first being teased in X-Men: Apocalypse, and while it could have been a fun ride, it probably would have ended up underwhelming fans.
Plus, no one beyond Donner and Tatum ever actually seemed to want a Gambit movie...