Development Marvel Comics writers and chief editors
Gerry Conway and
Roy Thomas wrote an
X-Men screenplay in 1984 when
Orion Pictures held an option on the film rights, but development stalled when Orion began facing financial troubles. Throughout 1989 and 1990,
Stan Lee and
Chris Claremont were in discussions with
Carolco Pictures for an X-Men film adaptation, Carolco went bankrupt, and the film rights reverted to Marvel. Meanwhile,
Avi Arad produced the
animated X-Men television series for
Fox Kids.
20th Century Fox was impressed by the success of the series, and producer
Lauren Shuler Donner purchased the film rights for X-Men in 1994, hiring
Andrew Kevin Walker to write the script. Walker's draft depicted
Professor Xavier recruiting
Wolverine into the X-Men, which consisted of
Cyclops,
Jean Grey,
Iceman,
Beast, and
Warren Worthington III. The
Brotherhood of Mutants, which consisted of
Magneto,
Sabretooth,
Toad,
Juggernaut and the
Blob, try to conquer New York City, while
Henry Peter Gyrich and
Bolivar Trask attack the X-Men with
Sentinels. The script focused on a rivalry between Wolverine and Cyclops, as well as Cyclops's self-doubt as a field leader. Part of the backstory invented for Magneto made him the cause of the
Chernobyl disaster. The script also featured the X-Copter and the
Danger Room. Walker turned in his second draft in June 1994.
Laeta Kalogridis was brought in for a rewrite in 1995. One early version of her script had the idea of Magneto turning Manhattan into a "mutant homeland", while another hinged on a romance between Wolverine and
Storm. Seeking a director, Fox considered
Brett Ratner, who would later direct
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). The studio offered the position to
Robert Rodriguez, but he turned it down. After the commercial success of
Mortal Kombat (1995) in the United States,
Paul W. S. Anderson was offered the position, but he too declined. Following the release of
The Usual Suspects (1995),
Bryan Singer was looking to make a science-fiction film, and Fox offered him
Alien Resurrection (1997), but producer
Tom DeSanto felt Singer would be more appropriate for
X-Men. Singer was hesitant to direct a comic book film, but changed his mind after DeSanto presented the themes of prejudice in the comic, which resonated with Singer. Fox announced a Christmas 1998 release date.
John Logan and
James Schamus provided script revisions, with Schamus focused solely on fleshing out the characters. In late 1997, the budget was projected at $60million. Late that year, Singer and DeSanto sent a treatment to Fox, which they believed was "perfect" because it took seriously the themes and the comparisons between Xavier and Magneto to
Martin Luther King Jr. and
Malcolm X, respectively. Fox, which had set the budget at $75million, rejected the treatment, estimating it would cost $5million more. Beast, Nightcrawler,
Pyro, and the
Danger Room had to be deleted before the studio would
greenlight X-Men. Fox head
Bill Mechanic argued that the cuts would enhance the story, McQuarrie was initially slated to work on the script for only three weeks, but had not delivered his draft by October. Whedon's draft featured the Danger Room and concluded with Jean Grey dressed as the
Phoenix. According to
Entertainment Weekly, this screenplay was rejected because of its "quick-witted pop culture-referencing tone", and the finished film contained only two dialogue exchanges that Whedon had contributed. Actor and producer
David Hayter, who was working as Singer's assistant, was brought in for rewrites due to his extensive knowledge of the original comics. Hayter received solo screenplay credit from the
Writers Guild of America, while Singer and DeSanto were given story credit. Hayter claims that 55 percent of his script ended up in the finished film, while other insiders claim that the majority of what is onscreen was written by McQuarrie and Solomon, with only small contributions from Hayter.
Casting Glenn Danzig was invited by Fox to audition for the role of Wolverine in 1995, but he declined due to scheduling conflicts with his band.
Russell Crowe was Singer's first choice to play Wolverine, but he turned down the role, Jackman was an unknown actor at the time, while several more established actors offered their services for the role. Singer met with
Viggo Mortensen, but Mortensen was apprehensive about signing on for multiple films.
Vincent D'Onofrio, like Crowe and Mortensen, also turned it down.
Dougray Scott was cast as Wolverine in a multi-film deal but was forced to back out due to scheduling conflicts with
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) in early October 1999 and injuries he sustained in a motorbike accident. Jackman was then cast three weeks into filming, based on a successful audition.
Patrick Stewart was first approached by Singer to play Xavier on the set of
Conspiracy Theory (1997), which was directed by
X-Men executive producer
Richard Donner.
Michael Jackson actively campaigned for the role of Xavier but was never seriously considered by the studio. James Marsden was cast as Cyclops, and felt that Singer's concept of the character was "like a
Boy Scout, very noble". After
Rachael Leigh Cook turned down the role of Rogue,
Anna Paquin dropped out of the starring role in
Tart (2001) to play the character.
Janet Jackson was offered the role of Storm, but she turned it down due to schedule conflicts. The role of Jean Grey was offered to
Charlize Theron, but she declined.
Ian McKellen, who had appeared in Singer's previous film
Apt Pupil along with
Bruce Davison, responded well to the gay allegory of the film, "the allegory of the mutants as outsiders, disenfranchised and alone and coming to all of that at puberty when their difference manifests", Singer explained. "Ian is an activist and he really responded to the potential of that allegory." Filming took place in
Toronto and in
Hamilton, Ontario. Locations included
Central Commerce Collegiate secondary school, the
Distillery District, and the
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. During production, Singer would allegedly arrive late and experience mood swings and "explosive" tantrums. At the time, Singer claimed to be taking medication for back pain. Cast and crew members found Singer's drug use too "problematic".
Kevin Feige, the film's associate producer, was flown on-set to ensure that Singer was kept in line. Singer was also
accused of giving small roles to younger actors and minors in exchange for sex. A source for
Pyro actor Alex Burton says Burton was told the role was created for him by Singer and
Marc Collins-Rector. Burton was also flown from Los Angeles to Toronto for filming, an unusual occurrence for an actor with a minor role. Several sources close to
The Hollywood Reporter claimed that story meetings were "unprofessional, even by eccentric auteur standards", with Singer allegedly bringing "young guys", who were not involved with the project, to the meetings. Filming wrapped on March 3, 2000.
Post-production was hectic, with Shuler Donner saying that "we had to lock picture and score and edit, sometimes at the same time".
Design and visual effects The filmmakers decided not to replicate the X-Men costumes as seen in the comic book. Stan Lee and
Chris Claremont supported this decision. Claremont joked, "Brightly-colored spandex skin-tight costumes in a comic look great because they're pictures. You put them on real people and it's like [disturbing]." To acknowledge the fan complaints, Singer added
Cyclops' line "What would you prefer, yellow spandex?"—when Wolverine complains about wearing their uniforms—during filming. Singer noted that durable black leather made more sense for the X-Men to wear as protective clothing, The black leather outfits were inspired by
The Matrix (1999), as studio executives felt it would help for the film's success.
Oakley, Inc. provided the red-lensed glasses worn by Cyclops, a customized version of the company's own X-Metal Juliet. Wolverine's claws required no cast of Hugh Jackman's hands, and were built so he could easily put them on and take them off for safety reasons. Production had insisted that they be attached at all times under a full prosthetic sleeve, but designer Gordon Smith refused to do it. Production also insisted on real metal blades, which Smith also refused to do, making injection-moulded plaster blades instead. Hundreds of pairs were built for Jackman and his stunt doubles.
Rebecca Romijn wore 110 individual silicone prosthetics on her body to portray Mystique; only the edges were glued, the rest were self-sticking. The prosthetics were built flat and wrapped around her body. They were internally colored with food coloring and needed additional makeup or paint. The original agreed-to and tested design was to color her skin with
cosmetic-grade food coloring as well, but at the last minute, Bryan Singer insisted on painting her skin to look opaque, as in the comic book, which added six hours to the time needed to apply Romijn's makeup, making the ordeal very difficult for her. There were also no facilities provided to exhaust paint fumes during one of Canada's colder winters. Romijn reflected, "I had almost no contact with the rest of the cast; it was like I was making a different movie from everyone else. It was hell."
Visual effects supervisor Mike Fink admitted to have been dissatisfied with his work on
X-Men in 2003, despite nearly being nominated for an
Academy Award. Digital Domain's technical director Sean C. Cunningham and lead
compositor Claas Henke
morphed Bruce Davison into a liquid figure for Kelly's mutation scene. Cunningham said, "There were many digital layers: water without refraction, water with murkiness, skin with and without highlights, skin with goo in it. When rendered together, it took 39 hours per frame." They considered showing Kelly's internal organs during the transformation, "but that seemed too gruesome", according to Cunningham. ==Music==