It’s funny, looking back over nearly a decade’s worth of posts about possible X-Men/Fantastic Four teamup movies at Fox, just how much talk there was of it for something that never happened. Clearly, a lot of people were convinced that it would, and it would seem they had good reason to think so. When the story re-emerged days ago that Fox was planning a major crossover film with those teams, Deadpool, and Daredevil, it got us all jazzed again to know what might’ve been. Perhaps this is nostalgia for a time when Fox’s X-Men franchise was still riding pretty high, rather than on the brink of extinction.
THR has updated the story a little bit, giving details on what the story hatched by writers Zack Stents and Ashley Miller would’ve been. Turns out, it would’ve followed very closely to Mark Millar’s Civil War storyline, which may explain why he was one of those most certain the film would happen…
In 2010, according to our secret sources, Fox considered building toward a crossover movie that would have pitted the X-Men against the Fantastic Four (think of it as a Civil War for the Fox/Marvel characters). The studio enlisted First Class screenwriters Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz to pen the script, which saw Johnny Storm go nova while trying to apprehend the villain, Molecule Man. Johnny blows a hole in Manhattan and sparks the superhero registration act in response to the carnage.
The heroes are split into opposing sides, and among the key matchups was a Wolverine vs. Mr. Fantastic battle that ended with Reed Richards pinning Wolverine down, extending his hands until they’re one molecule wide, and using them as scissors to cut the mutant’s arms off (!!!). Eventually, the heroes make peace … leading to a post-credits scene that teases what’s next: A Skrull invasion.
Of course, none of this came to be. Paul Greengrass turned down the directing gig, X-Men: First Class was a big enough hit that Fox decided to stay the course. The rest is history, but damn…think what this would’ve done. Chances are Marvel wouldn’t have even attempted a Civil War storyline years later. Fox might, emphasis on “might”, have had a massive score on their hands with this one, and the still-fledging Marvel Studios might’ve copied them rather than vice-versa.
Oh well. For now, Fox’s X-Men franchise comes to a close with this weekend’s Dark Phoenix, which is shaping up to have the lowest box office in their history. Damn.
