Michael Jackson, Viggo Mortensen, Shaq and Other Stars in Talks for X-MEN (2000)
In an interview with THR, screenwriter David Hayter (
X-Men, X2, Watchmen) talked about Hugh Jackman's unlikely casting (which involved Tom Cruise and a secret mission to Australia), his lost pitch for 2006's
X-Men: The Last Stand, and all those stars (Michael Jackson! Shaq!) who wanted to join the X-Men universe.
"I was writing it for the comic book characters. I was brought on as they were casting, so I was lucky enough to be there for some of the people who came in like
Terence Stamp for Xavier and
Janet Jackson and
Mariah Carey for Storm.
Michael Jackson came in because he wanted to play Professor X. It was amazing. Shaq came in.
Viggo Mortensen came in. I really liked Viggo for Wolverine, but it didn't come together for whatever reason.
Angela Bassett was our first choice for Storm, but her agents wanted more money than we had at the time. Same with
Rachael Leigh Cook for Rogue."
"[
Shaq's] got the big M scar over his face [Bishop, later played by Omar Sy in 2014's
Days of Future Past]. Because I didn't know the character, it didn't end up in the script. But I did walk past an office one day and there he was and much larger than life.
Glenn Danzig came in for Wolverine, because he's a Wolverine fanatic. And because I was answering phones right at the front, people would come right through where my office was."
Hugh Jackman Replaces Dougray Scott as Wolverine After M:I2 Motorcycle Accident
[Then-Fox executive] Tom Rothman really wanted Dougray Scott to play Wolverine and he was shooting
Mission: Impossible 2 and Tom Cruise kept calling Byran and saying, "We just need him a little while longer, a little while longer." We were starting to shoot and Wolverine was the lead and we didn't have him. Bryan suspected something was hinky, and so he sent the costume designer down to Australia, ostensibly to get wardrobe shots, but really it was to find out what was going on. What we found out was Dougray had been in a motorcycle accident filming the climax of
MI2. He was pretty messed up. It was a real shame he couldn't do it. And Hugh had been somebody who had been in the mix earlier and it was [executive producer] Lauren Shuler Donner who said, "Why don't we bring him?"
Mel Gibson Was Originally Eyed to Play Wolverine
"[Wolverine] is the fulcrum of X-Men. The earlier X-Men group was a brilliant creation of Stan Lee's, but when Len Wein created Wolverine and they brought him into the X-Men, it was the perfect fulcrum between Professor X's philosophy and Magneto's philosophy. The fact that the wasn't bound by either gave him such a wild, attractive freedom that it was obvious that was the character that the series needed to revolve around. It was originally supposed to be Mel Gibson. Back when I got hired all of our concept art was Mel Gibson."
David Hayter's Dark Phoenix Pitch for X-MEN: THE LAST STAND
"The image that I wanted for X-Men 3 trailer was essentially, you see Xavier and Logan facing off against Jean and her eyes are on fire and she's become the Dark Phoenix and they are talking about the war between humans and mutants and she says something along the lines of, "Don't worry, I'll put an end to it." And then we cut to this statue of Iwo Jima in Washington, as the sun is coming up, but it's still twilight and purple, and you see a flare of orange and it melts away. She fires through, on fire and blasts right through it. You see the Capitol Building and she flies up to the White House and lands into the middle of the street. We cut opposite and we see the entire army arrayed against her. She's like "Come on!" and we cut to black."
"I went up to set on X-Men 3. I met [director] Brett Ratner there. They said, 'This is David Hayter," and he was like, "Oh my God, we need you on this!" I was like, "I bet!" It was the day with the big sentinel head and Hugh in the training room."
'X-Men' Screenwriter on Michael Jackson Lobbying for Prof. X and Hugh Jackman Casting Drama
