10 Infuriating Movie Endings That Pissed Fans Off

While the original run of X-Men films may feel awkward and a little lacking in definition when compared to the slew of finely-tuned superhero flicks we have today, they still set the bar for the genre and arguably ignited the fuse that set the current trend ablaze. But this spark was almost snuffed as Bryan Singer stepped away from the series (to direct the equally poor Superman Returns), allowing what is unarguably one of the most disappointing Marvel movies ever to hit screens.

The Last Stand plummets in its third act, taking Jean Grey with it in a premature end to what fans hoped would be the beginning of the Dark Phoenix saga. If this fact, combined with the poor quality of the film overall, didn't frustrate audiences enough, the one-two punch of the potential return of Magneto's powers and a resurrected Professor X did.

These were tantalising cliffhangers that arrived on the dying breath of the series, and fans knew it. Though director Brett Ratner likely thought the title would be a brilliant fan baiter that would leave audiences desperate for more, this seemed to have tempted fate a little too much and really was to be the last stand for this strand of the X-Men, with Days of Future Past sealing off the timeline for good in 2014.

What makes this even more infuriating is the reappearance of Professor X (and a re-energised Magneto) at the end of 2013's The Wolverine, which both glossed over the dramatic elements of The Last Stand's ending and also promised yet another film that fans would never get to see ("dark forces", "a weapon that could bring about the end of our kind", etc).

Granted, the original timeline segments of Days of Future Past may serve as a continuation to this plot thread, but there is never any direct link drawn between the two, and it once again felt like audiences had missed out on something big.