Long before X-Men films and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine became popular among movie lovers, James Cameron had plans to make an X-Men film. The Avatar director’s ex-wife and Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow was set to direct the film. The reported lineup for the film was also pretty awesome, including Bob Hoskins as Wolverine and Angela Bassett as Storm. However, one Marvel character ruined these plans and the film never got past the planning stage.
Bryan Singer’s X-Men films re-ignited audience interest in superhero films, particularly the Marvel films. If the film produced by James Cameron happened way back in the ’90s, it would’ve turned around the fate of Marvel Studios.
James Cameron Planned To Produce An X-Men Film Directed By Kathryn Bigelow
Before James Cameron made his epic film, Titanic, he was in talks with Marvel to produce an X-Men film. One comic book writer was a big fan of the dream team that intended to create the first live-action X-Men film. Chris Claremont wrote some of the major X-Men storylines for Marvel, including The Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. Claremont was also part of the discussions for this live-action film.
In a 2012 interview with The Wrap, Claremont opened up about Cameron’s unmade X-Men film. He shared that Cameron along with stars Bob Hoskins and Angela Bassett was “fanboy heaven”. The X-Men writer had seen Hoskins perform in Tom Selleck’s Lassiter and believed him to be perfect for Wolverine. Bassett, on the other hand, was a fan favorite to play Storm, with fans even wanting her to replace Halle Berry after the first X-Men film. Claremont shared with The Wrap (via Screen Rant):
“Just think about this for a minute: James Cameron’s X-Men. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. That’s what we were playing.”
Fans of Hugh Jackman will find it difficult to imagine Bob Hoskins in the lead role, but James Cameron believed in the actor which spoke volumes about his capabilities. Interestingly, Jackman was a last-minute pick by Bryan Singer, replacing Dougray Scott in the role, which almost suggests that the Australian actor was always destined for the role.
Claremont also detailed how the X-Men movie plan quickly evaporated when Stan Lee mentioned Spider-Man to Cameron. He revealed that as Stan Lee and Cameron kept on talking about Spider-Man, both he and the team at Cameron’s production house Lightstorm knew that the X-Men deal was off the table. Nevertheless, Kathryn Bigelow wrote a screen treatment for X-Men.
What Happened To Kathryn Bigelow’s X-Men Treatment?
Chris Claremont revealed to The Wrap that Kathryn Bigelow’s treatment for X-Men got lost in the studios’ fight for Spider-Man. Marvel was going through a financial crisis at the time and sold off the rights to several characters to multiple studios. Several studios that held the rights for the character at one time wanted to make a Spider-Man film. Claremont shared that it was a nightmare, adding that Bigelow’s treatment reached nowhere amidst this mess. He shared with The Wrap:
“Kathryn goes off and writes a screen treatment for X-Men that was eaten alive by all the idiots who have a piece of Spider-Man because Marvel during its evolution has sold off the rights time and time and time again. To Carolco. To Universal. To this, to that. To Fox. It was just a nightmare.”
While James Cameron’s Spider-Man never made it to screen, some of his ideas were incorporated into Sam Raimi’s films. Cameron lost a chance to make a great superhero film with X-Men as well as Spider-Man. Bryan Singer’s X-Men films are now available for streaming on Disney+.
