Interview with legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont

Bam Smack Pow speaks with legendary comic book writer Chris Claremont about his life, working with Marvel Comics and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe featuring the X-Men.

While promoting his new documentary, Chris Claremont’s X-Men (directed by Patrick Meaney), Bam Smack Pow had the pleasure of speaking with legendary comic book writer Chris Claremont. The documentary shines a light on Chris Claremont’s extensive history with Marvel Comics and how the X-Men became a pop culture phenomenon.

In this interview, Claremont and I discuss his fascinating life, Marvel Comics’ bankruptcy and his involvement with the X-Men films. Also, we discuss the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now that Marvel Studios has reacquired the X-Men and the Fantastic Four and whether or not Claremont believes they should reboot the beloved characters.

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Bam Smack Pow: One of the coolest things that I noticed after watching the movie was when you talked about how you were a kid, you moved around a lot and then you were an outsider. Then, you have the X-Men, who are mutants and are also outsiders from the government and society. How did that correlate? When you were writing the comic, did your past experiences reflect on the comic book storylines?

Chris Claremont: I think that’s the truth with any writer and their material. The past is always interwoven with the work that they are doing, the characters they are creating and the situation they are presenting. In my case, I was really in a community where I felt like I was a fish out of water and I didn’t really belong and I wasn’t comfortable. That’s something I’ve lived with for my entire life. It’s what every writer does when they’re building their craft.

BSP: When Marvel started becoming more of a corporation in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s, the way that the company worked changed because they were much larger. If it stayed the way it was before and you were given more creative freedom as a writer, how do you think the X-Men comics that you wrote would have evolved differently?

CC: I have no idea, I can’t change that aspect of history. There’s no point. If history had been different and Frank Miller and I had come up with the money we needed to pay off Marvel’s debt back in the ‘80’s and if Jim Shooter would’ve stayed in control, then I don’t know. It’s okay. It didn’t. Don’t worry about it and move on. We should view the world as we see it, not as we wish it to be and in the process to create stories, characters, and potential that will allow the ability to create a world keeping in what we might prefer. Not to be hung up on something that we can’t control, that’s just bullsh*t.

BSP: That’s a very positive way of looking at it and that’s a great answer, actually. Looking back at your career, the stuff that actually happened, what would you say were the moments you were the proudest of?

CC: The moment my wife said ‘yes’ when I asked her to marry me. The day my kids were born. Those are the moments I look back on, and not writing the X-Men. As much as I love it, those are the most important to me. That’s a different catalog of achievement.

BSP: The next thing that I wanted to get into was the recent purchase of the X-Men movies and how their rights were reverted back to Disney and how they will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

CC: I wouldn’t even say it was the recent purchase of the X-Men rights by Disney. It was the re-acquisition by Marvel of rights that they sold in a period of corporate collapse to Fox for the cheapest deal possible. Marvel was taken advantage of to a ridiculous extent by Fox and has regretted it ever since, but at the time it seemed like the best deal on the table.

BSP: Yeah, because they were practically going bankrupt.

CC: Exactly. If you look at what’s happening now, Disney is reacquiring these lost assets, which will allow Marvel exploit the living daylight out of the X-Men as they do with the Avengers, Spider-Man and everything else. But the fact that it’s now being exploited by Marvel and Disney means that the creators involved, whether it’s John Byrne or myself, get a piece of the action!

Credit: XLrator Media

BSP: And do you have a piece of the action?

CC: Of the characters I created? Damn right! But not as long as they were controlled in film by Fox because Marvel refused to do any merchandising and publicized 20th Century Fox at the extent of Marvel Studios. I hope, as a huge member of the team, that the situation will be recognized steadily. So, no, no, no, I’m sorry, but I have strong opinions on this.

I wouldn’t exactly be objected if Hugh Jackman showed up in Avengers: Infinity War just for the heck of it. I think it would be cool.

BSP: So you’re excited to see all of these characters crossover?

CC: I’m excited to see all of these characters back where they belong.

BSP: Going off of that, I know that you like to see these stories move forward. So I’m assuming that you don’t want to see a reboot, but you want to see the characters that have already been established rather than a reboot. With the current X-Men movie slate with actors such Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and all of those actors, would you rather see these actors continue to play the X-Men characters or would you want to see new actors fill the roles?

CC: Well, you have to understand that comic book characters have one significant advantage over film characters: they don’t get old. Hugh Jackman has been playing Logan for the better part of 20 years. He was in his 30’s when he started and he’s now 50ish [age 49]. That’s a hell of a long time. Patrick Stewart, well he was just Patrick Stewart when he began and now he’s Sir Patrick. Everything evolves. When somebody turns to me and asks ‘What do you think of when you think James Bond’, my answer is Sean Connery. Now, you have Daniel Craig playing the character. Think about it, they’ve been doing these films for over 50 years with different actors.

The same goes for the Marvel movies. I’m sure one of the consequences of Infinity War is maybe it’s time that some of the original actors from the Avengers move on. One reason is that their salaries must be breathtaking at this point, so you cut it. Look how many actors have played Doctor Who over the last 60 years! I would not rush a new actor in to play Wolverine simply because I would like to give him a rest for a couple of years and see if somebody else steps forward to take his place in the affections of the audience.

Every different actor brings a different potential to the role. I’m sure things will change dramatically with the next iteration of films. The wonderful thing about the X-Men canon, as opposed to the Marvel canon, is that there are so many A-list characters who are waiting to be presented, such as Gambit, Rogue, and Kitty. If they started working on a new script with her [Kitty Pride] character, would it be Ellen Paige playing the character? I don’t know. Maybe they find someone completely different. That’s what’s fun, but I think what matters to me is that the films come to life, the creators behind them generate brilliant stories and obviously actors capable of bringing the characters to life and making the readers want to come back and see what happens next.

In 1968, if you said ‘Dude, you know that Star Trek will still be a hot property in 50 years with major motion pictures coming out with every chance they get,’ he would’ve thought you were an idiot. But that’s the way it is – it’s happening!

Chris Claremont’s X-Men is now available on VOD.

Chris Claremont is arguably one of the most underrated figures in pop culture history. In 1975, he was given the opportunity to write the X-Men comics, a relatively unknown property. By the end of his 17-year run in 1991, the X-Men had become one of the most popular franchises in comic book history.

Claremont wrote some of the most well-known and rivetting X-Men storylines, including “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past.” He didn’t create the X-Men, but he certainly created the foundation. He did create many characters, however, such as Rogue, Mystique, Pheonix, Jubilee, the New Mutants, and Gambit. He is even responsible for developing the character of Wolverine and making him one of the best comic book characters of all-time.

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