X-Men: Hugh Jackman was told to expect the 2000 movie to flop
Before 2000’s X-Men movie, Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman was told the movie would fail.
From 2000-2017, the X-Men franchise provided one of the most successful cinematic universe runs of any comic book world. It began well before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing the beloved Wolverine character to life. This was via Australian actor Hugh Jackman, who used this as his breakout role, after starring in just two movies and working television in the 1990’s.
However, the early days of the X-Men era represented the infancy of the superhero movie era we’re in now. These didn’t step into the forefront of theaters, unlike the Dark Knight, Captain America, Iron Man and the soon-to-be Avengers: Infinity War, which culminates the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s past 10 years.
Well, if not for 2000’s X-Men, would the superhero movie universe be as successful? In an interview with Variety (h/t ScreenRant), Jackman revealed that someone told him the original X-Men film wouldn’t fair well.
"“I remember finishing the first movie, and a mate of mine who was in Hollywood, he goes, ‘Dude, I’ve heard not very good things about the movie. You really should book something else before it comes out.’ So, there was about a 4-month gap, he goes, ‘Just make sure you got something else, because when it comes out you’re back down at the bottom of the pile again, you know?’ Happily, he was wrong, but no one really knew, there was no comic book genre. Comic book movies were really not around at the time.”"
While this original 20th Century Fox film didn’t have the effects of the modern-day hero flick, it opened the world to Wolverine, Cyclops, Professor Xavier, Magneto and other comic book characters and became a box office success. It barely missed $300 million, working on a $75 million budget. A series of films followed, along with potentially the best superhero movie of 2017, Logan, to close Jackman’s historic run as Wolverine.
X-Men movies continue to hit theaters, too, with New Mutants in April and Dark Phoenix next fall. The latter follows the younger versions of the original characters, as part of a series that’s spanned through the 2010’s.
Next: 50 greatest super heroes in comic book history
17 years later, it’s safe to call the X-Men universe a success. Sure, there were flops in between, but the original film brought it to prominence. Following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s movie assets, could that mean a rebooted version of these beloved characters that gives us a new Wolverine?