Matthew Vaughn details his defunct plans for an X-Men: First Class trilogy

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Ranking your favorite films within a franchise as large as Marvel's X-Men can be a nasty business, but if I were to make a list of my most beloved mutant-centric cinematic experiences, Matthew Vaughn's X-MEN: FIRST CLASS would be at the top of the heap. Some would consider this bold choice to be quite blasphemous, thankfully we live in a world where we can have a difference of opinion and yet the world still turns.

With Simon Kinberg's DARK PHOENIX set to fly in theaters next week, what better time is there to have a chat with X-MEN: FIRST CLASS director Matthew Vaughn, with regard to his scrapped plans for an X-Men trilogy? Recently while chatting with the Kingsman creative about the upcoming release of director Dexter Fletcher's ROCKETMAN (of which Vaughn is a producer), the bespectacled filmmaker told Max Evry of ComingSoon.net about his X-Men trilogy that never was.

During their talk, Vaughn spoke about how he would have tried to launch a young Wolverine film with Tom Hardy as the Canadian, beer-swilling badass, as well as the notion that his version of DAYS OF FUTURE PAST would have been much different than that of Bryan Singer's take.

"That’s one of the reasons I didn’t continue, because they didn’t listen to me," said Vaughn. "My plan was “First Class,” then second film was new young Wolverine in the 70’s to continue those characters, my version of the X-Men. So you’d really get to know all of them, and my finale was gonna be “Days of Future Past.” That was gonna be my number three where you bring them all… because what’s bigger than bringing in McKellen and Michael and Stewart and James and bringing them all together? When I finished the “Days of Future Past” script with it ready to go I looked at it and said, “I really think it would be fun to cast Tom Hardy or someone as the young Wolverine and then bring it all together at the end.” Fox read “Days of Future Past” and went “Oh, this is too good! We’re doing it now!” And I said, “Well what do you do next? Trust me you’ve got nowhere to go.” Then they did “Apocalypse” and it’s like… If you flip that ’round even it would have been better. Hollywood doesn’t understand pacing. Their executives are driving 100 miles-per-hour looking in the rear-view mirror and not understanding why they crash."

My oh my, these are some strong words coming out of Camp Vaughn. With that said, I must admit that I agree with him about Hollywood's inability to pace their films. I don't mean every time, of course. After all, when you look at what Disney/Marvel have been doing for the past 11 years, that's proof positive that a sprawling, cohesive universe is indeed possible. Unfortunately, we'll never see Vaughn's ideas come to pass, unless the House of Mouse secures him for future X-Men projects down the line.

Meanwhile, here's the official synopsis for DARK PHOENIX:

"In DARK PHOENIX, the X-MEN face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jeanâ??s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy."

When the last X-Men film of Fox's generation comes to theaters next week, the film will star Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, with Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Alexandra Shipp, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Evan Jonigkeit all being along for what's sure to be a wild ride. Make certain to buckle up and hold onto your butts.