Earlier this month,
X-Men: First Class screenwriter Zack Stentz revealed that, at the beginning of the decade, 20th Century Fox almost greenlit a massive crossover movie that would've seen the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Deadpool all share the screen under the direction of
Bourne filmmaker Paul Greengrass. However, for reasons unknown, Fox opted to give their X-Men franchise a soft reboot once
First Class was a success, and the rest is history.
Stentz decided not to divulge any plot details, but
The Hollywood Reporter has now managed to unearth the never-before-told story, and not only does it sound incredibly ambitious, it could have ultimately gone down as one of the best superhero movies ever made in a pre-
Avengers world.
According to their sources, Fox had plans to build toward a massive crossover film that would have seen the X-Men square off against the Fantastic Four, essentially
in their own
Civil War.
First Class writers Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz were enlisted to pen the script, which would've apparently seen Johnny Storm go nova while trying to apprehend the villain Molecule Man. This would result in him accidentally blowing a hole in Manhattan and in response to the carnage, the government is forced to introduce the superhero registration act.
The heroes from both teams would be split on opposing sides, and one of the key fights was set to feature Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) taking on Mr. Fantastic, a battle that would end with Reed Richards pinning Wolverine down, extending his hands until they're one molecule wide, and then, using them as scissors to cut Logan's arms off.
After a series of equally intense events, the heroes eventually make peace with one another, and the post-credits scene would've set up the next film with the tease of a Super Skrull invasion.
Bourne director Paul Greengrass had been in talks to direct, but due to another commitment, the two sides were never able to come to a formal agreement. Then, following the success of Matthew Vaughn's
X-Men: First Class, the studio put the über-ambitious crossover project on the backburner and decided to stay on their current trajectory, moving forward with
X-Men: Days of Future Past instead.
While there was a completed script for this project, Fox was also considering other pitches and had tapped comic book writer Warren Ellis to write a very different X-Men vs. Fantastic Four movie.