10 Ways The X-Men Films Nearly Turned Out Very Differently
2. The Story Was Meant To Focus Entirely On Magneto - X-Men: First Class
X-Men Origins: Wolverine was supposed to be the first of a slew of standalone spin-offs. If it was successful, it would have been followed up by X-Men Origins: Magneto. Screenwriter, Sheldon Turner, stated that the story had more in common with the Oscar-winning WWII drama, The Pianist, rather than a conventional superhero movie.
The film would begin with Erik Lehnsherr imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp before before being freed by a liberation squad led by Charles Xavier. The pair would be separated but would meet years later and become friends. As it became clear their ideologies clashed, the two became bitter enemies. The X-Men wouldn't have appeared at all to ensure Magneto's relationship with Xavier and his inner conflict took centre-stage.
Because X-Men Origins: Wolverine epically sucked, the spin-offs were scrapped (which was a shame since Gambit was next in line to get his own standalone story). Instead of abandoning Turner's script entirely, Fox created a X-Men prequel series and repurpose elements of the abandoned Magneto film into it. Ironically, if X-Men Origins: Wolverine wasn't terrible, the prequels may have never existed.