Many may argue that James McAvoy definitely made a questionable choice by starring in Wim Wenders Submergence, a movie that literally had zero domestic earnings. But perhaps his most notable movie, and definitely not for good reasons, is undoubtedly the horrendous seventh installment in the X-Men movie franchise- X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
The Simon Kinberg-directed superhero movie was considered a monumental box-office bomb, earning only $252.4 million against a budget of $200 million(not to mention the $130+ million lost in marketing and distribution). Many argue that McAvoy’s start in a movie franchise like X-Men was great in the beginning but later became stagnant in quality, however, the actor feels like it’s been one of the better parts of his acting career.
James McAvoy Dismisses Claims Of Hatred For Time Spent Working On X-Men Movies
The start of the last decade, back when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was just picking up its pace, saw Marvel spend big bucks on one of its biggest franchises at the time- The X-Men franchise. They effectively hired Atonement star James McAvoy to play Professor X in the fifth installment of the X-Men series- X-Men: First Class.
First Class was a success, earning about $350+ million at the box office(seventh highest grossing in the franchise) with approval ratings from critics skyrocketing through the roof. But what was to be a great start in the franchise culminated in a sad and embarrassing show with Dark Phoenix.
Fans of James McAvoy may argue that the actor had simply wasted his time working on the X-Men franchise if it was to become a cash-grab job, with some even saying that he didn’t enjoy his time as one of the franchise’s leading faces either.
Related: Twelve Minutes Review – The Countdown Is On (PS5)
But as his most recent interview with GQ tells us, the 43-year-old actor has no reservations or regrets about the time spent working on one of Marvel’s most notable franchises. He said-
“It was one of the most positive experiences I’ve had with a studio. I don’t really [see them as just] money gigs. Days of Future Past I think is one of the better films that I’ve been involved in.”
To be fair, the first two X-Men movies he starred in, that is First Class and Days of Future Past, are some of the best superhero movies in existence.
James McAvoy Has One Regret From His Time Working On The X-Men Movies
Perhaps one of the most interesting story arcs in the X-Men franchise is the relationship between the two old big-shot mutants- Professor X and James McAvoy.
Their relationship was thoroughly explored in X-Men: First Class, conveniently setting up the follow-up movie, Days of Future Past, with the opportunity to explore that relationship further. However, it didn’t do that, and Professor X actor James McAvoy regrets that they never acknowledged the missed opportunity.
During the same interview with GQ, McAvoy criticizes himself and the crew of Days Of Future Past for not building up on that relationship-
“My biggest criticism of what we did throughout the four movies was that after the first movie, we didn’t take advantage of the relationship between [Xavier and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto], which really formed the backbone of the first film. So it was like, why did we just eject that massive weapon?”
It could’ve made a world of difference had they capitalized on that, but Days of Future Past is a great movie nonetheless!
Source: Twitter
