X-Men is a 2000 American superhero film based on the superhero team from Marvel Comics created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by David Hayter and a story by Singer and Tom DeSanto, it features an ensemble cast consisting of Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park, and Anna Paquin. The film depicts a world where an unknown proportion of people are mutants, possessing superhuman powers that make them distrusted by normal humans. It focuses on the mutants Wolverine and Rogue as they are brought into a conflict between two groups with radically different approaches to bringing about the acceptance of mutant-kind: Charles Xavier's X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants led by Magneto.
Development of X-Men began as far back as 1984 with Orion Pictures, with James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow in discussions at one point. 20th Century Fox bought the film rights in 1994, and various scripts and film treatments were commissioned from Andrew Kevin Walker, John Logan, Joss Whedon, and Michael Chabon. Singer signed to direct in 1996, with further rewrites by Ed Solomon, Singer, Tom DeSanto, Christopher McQuarrie, and Hayter. X-Men marked the American debut of Jackman, a last-second choice for Wolverine, cast three weeks into filming. Filming took place from September 22, 1999, to March 3, 2000, primarily in Toronto.
X-Men premiered at Ellis Island on July 12, 2000, and was released in the United States on July 14. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $296.3million worldwide, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2000. Its success led to a two-decade long series of films, with the first sequel, X2, released on May 2, 2003. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in 2019 –in which Marvel regained the film rights– several actors have reprised their roles in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, including Stewart in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and Stewart, McKellen, Marsden, and Romijn in Avengers: Doomsday (2026). An untitled X-Men film in the MCU is in development, scheduled for release in 2028.
Plot In 1944 Nazi-occupied Poland, 14-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is separated from his parents upon entering the Auschwitz concentration camp. While attempting to reach them, he causes a set of metal gates to bend toward him because of his mutant ability to generate magnetic fields. Still, he is knocked unconscious by guards.
In the 2000s, United States Senator Robert Kelly attempts to pass a "Mutant Registration Act" in Congress, which would force mutants to reveal their identities and abilities. The telepathic mutant Charles Xavier is concerned about how Lehnsherr, who now goes by the name "Magneto", will respond to the Registration Act.
In Meridian, Mississippi, 17-year-old Marie accidentally puts her boyfriend into a coma after kissing him, because of her mutant ability to absorb the life force and powers of others. Adopting the name "Rogue", she flees to Alberta, where she meets Logan, also known as "Wolverine", a mutant with superhuman healing abilities and metal claws that protrude from between his knuckles. Sabretooth, a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, ambushes and attacks them on the road, but two members of Xavier's X-Men, Cyclops and Storm, save them. Logan and Rogue are brought to Xavier's school for mutants in New York state. Believing that Magneto is interested in capturing Logan, Xavier asks him to stay while he investigates the matter. Meanwhile, Rogue enrolls in the school and develops a crush on the cryokinetic mutant Bobby Drake.
Brotherhood members Toad and Mystique abduct Senator Kelly, bringing him to their island hideout. Magneto uses Kelly as a test subject for a machine powered by his magnetic abilities that generates a field of radiation, which induces mutations in normal humans. Taking advantage of his newfound mutation, Kelly later escapes. Rogue visits Logan during the night while he is having a nightmare. Startled, he accidentally stabs her, but she manages to absorb his healing ability and recover. Mystique, disguised as Drake, later convinces Rogue that Xavier is angry with her and that she must leave the school. Xavier uses his mutant-locating machine Cerebro to find Rogue at a train station, and the X-Men go to retrieve her. Meanwhile, Mystique enters Cerebro and sabotages it.
Having left ahead of Storm and Cyclops, Logan finds Rogue on a train and convinces her to return. Before they can go, Magneto arrives, incapacitates Logan, and subdues Rogue, revealing that he wanted her rather than Logan. Although Xavier attempts to stop Magneto by mentally controlling Sabretooth, he is forced to release his hold when Magneto threatens the police who have converged on the station. The Brotherhood escapes with Rogue.
Kelly arrives at the school, and Xavier reads his mind to learn about Magneto's machine. Realizing the strain of powering it nearly killed Magneto, the X-Men deduce that he intends to transfer his powers to Rogue and use her to power it at the cost of her life. Kelly's body, rejecting his mutation, dissolves into liquid. Xavier attempts to locate Rogue using Cerebro, but Mystique's sabotage incapacitates him and he falls into a coma.
Fellow telepath and telekinetic mutant Jean Grey uses Cerebro, learning that the Brotherhood plans to place their machine on Liberty Island and use it to mutate the world leaders meeting at a summit on nearby Ellis Island. The X-Men scale the Statue of Liberty, battling and overpowering the Brotherhood while Magneto transfers his powers to Rogue and activates the machine. As Logan confronts and distracts Magneto, Cyclops subdues him, allowing Logan to destroy the machine. Logan transfers his powers to Rogue, rejuvenating her while putting himself into a coma.
After Xavier and Logan recover from their comas, the X-Men learn that Mystique escaped and is impersonating Kelly. Xavier leads Logan to his past at an abandoned military installation in Canada before visiting Magneto, now imprisoned in a polycarbonate complex. Magneto warns him that he intends to escape one day and continue the fight; Xavier replies that he will always be there to stop him.
Cast
Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: A mutant with an adamantium-encased skeleton who cannot remember his past. His powers include animal-like senses, accelerated healing, and claws extending from his knuckles. Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier: The founder of the X-Men who hopes for peaceful coexistence between mutants and normal humans. His powers include telepathy, which is amplified by the Cerebro supercomputer. Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto: A former friend of Xavier who believes that mutants and normal humans can never co-exist. His powers include the ability to generate magnetic fields. Brett Morris plays a young Magneto. Anna Paquin as Marie D'Ancanto / Rogue: A mutant teenage girl who can absorb memories, life force and the powers of other mutants. Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm: A teacher at Xavier's school who can manipulate the weather and create lightning storms. Famke Janssen as Jean Grey: A doctor whose powers include telekinesis and telepathy. James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops: A teacher at Xavier's school who can produce a beam of energy from his eyes. Bruce Davison as Senator Robert Kelly: An anti-mutant politician. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Mystique: A shapeshifting mutant of the Brotherhood. Ray Park as Toad: A Brotherhood mutant with toad-like powers. Tyler Mane as Sabretooth: A Brotherhood mutant with animal-like senses, fangs, claws and healing abilities. Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake / Iceman: A mutant who can generate ice.
Sumela Kay appears as Kitty Pryde, Katrina Florece plays Jubilee, Donald MacKinnon portrays Piotr Rasputin / Colossus, and Alexander Burton appears as John Allerdyce / Pyro. Shawn Roberts portrays David, Rogue's first boyfriend. Cameo appearances include X-Men co-creator Stan Lee as a hot dog vendor; screenwriter David Hayter and executive producer Tom DeSanto as police officers; and George Buza, the voice of Beast in X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997), as a truck driver.
Production
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, with James Cameron as producer and Kathryn Bigelow directing.
A story treatment was written by Bigelow, with Bob Hoskins being considered for Wolverine and Angela Bassett as Storm. The deal fell apart when Stan Lee sparked Cameron's interest in a Spider-Man film, Carolco went bankrupt, and the film rights reverted to Marvel. In December 1992, Marvel discussed selling X-Men to Columbia Pictures, but the sale did not occur. 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. Michael Chabon had pitched a six-page treatment to Fox in 1996, which focused heavily on character development between Wolverine and Jubilee. Under Chabon's plan, the villains would not have been introduced until the second film.
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, because he was not a comic book fan, but changed his mind after DeSanto presented the themes of prejudice in the comic, which resonated with Singer.
In August 1996, Ed Solomon began work on the script. By December, Singer was in the director's position, while Solomon completed a rewrite that month. 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. In 1998, Chris Claremont returned to Marvel and, seeing how Fox was still struggling with the script, sent them a memo explaining the core concepts of the X-Men and what differentiated them from other superheroes.