One of the most important films in superhero movies history debuted this day twenty years ago in theaters in the United States! Way back in July 14, 2000 - 20th Century Fox in association with Marvel Entertainment unleashed the very first "X-Men" film - directed by Bryan Singer, written by David Hayter (aka Solid Snake of Metal Gear Solid fame) and featuring an ensemble cast that consisted of well known actors and then-unknown faces who would eventually become world renowned stars in the years to come!
Adapted from the Marvel comic book series of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this version of Marvel's Merry Mutants combined many themes and characters from the decades long history of the team - with characters like Wolverine and Rogue being incorporated into the main story and roster of characters. A then unknown Hugh Jackman was cast as Logan/ Wolverine - a highly desired role that was supposed to go to the likes of Russell Crowe and Dougray Scott, but scheduling conflicts for the latter ed to Jackman being cast and the rest as they say is history - as the actor would portray Wolverine for over ten films in the X-Men Movies franchise and turning him into a bonafide Hollywood star in addition to his accomplishments as a theater actor.
The film also stars Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, James Marsden as Cyclops, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Halle Berry as Storm, and Anna Paquin as Rogue - a powerful cast to behold and during a time when Marvel movies were still limited to this, Blade the year before, and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in 2002. These films would eventually help Marvel recoup from the bankruptcy woes and leasing out their characters to other studios - leading to the eventual formation of "Marvel Studios" and the release of the first "Iron Man" movie in 2008. 20th Century Fox would also continue to see success in their "X-Men Movies" franchise following the first X-Men film, with many sequels, prequels, and spin-offs that would see Hugh Jackman's Wolverine get his own trilogy of solo films and a new generation of actors playing the younger versions of the X-Men in a established new timeline. And of course Ryan Reynolds became Deadpool and had two movies to his name - all of this happening before Fox was bought by Disney and the X-Men films under their watch ended with last year's "Dark Phoenix".
So say what you will, but we owe this film a lot for all the superhero movies we get today. Happy 20 years, X-Men!
