X2: X-Men United by Bryan Singer almost got drastically simplified, according to the film’s editor and composer. A disaster narrowly averted.
While X2: X-Men United and its estimated budget of between $110 million and $125 million might read as modest next to many 2010s- and 2020s-era blockbusters, the risk-taking was nonetheless substantial for 20th Century Fox at the time. By comparison, the previous installment cost about $75 million. In an industry as expensive as this, it’s not uncommon to pull every lever possible to curb risk.
The more a film costs, the more it is formatted, inspected, measured, to ensure that the colossal investment doesn’t end in a total write-off. Today, cinema fans are well aware of test screenings, now commonplace in Hollywood. But the X2 situation is a bit different. It appears the film benefited, before release, from the input of a particularly attentive observer with unusually sharp instincts… a ten-year-old girl.
STRYKER IN THE HEART
It was John Ottman, the composer and editor of X2: X-Men United, who recently shared the anecdote on the Half the Picture podcast. While the second installment in the mutant saga led by Wolverine had already been shot and edited, a screening was organized for “friends and family.” A way for the powers-that-be and the financiers to verify that everything was in place before release.
“Tom Rothman stood up and said: ‘Guys, this is great, but nobody is going to understand it. It’s just too complex.’ Because there’s this alternate reality with Cerebro, this little girl who, really, is an illusion, etc. And he said: ‘We need to simplify.’”
At that moment, everyone held their breath. Tom Rothman did indeed wield the power to order a drastic reshaping of the film. To the point of potentially warping it beyond recognition? Fortunately, a small miracle occurred:
“His ten-year-old daughter was there with him, and he looked at her… I’ve forgotten her name. He said: ‘Sandra,’ or something like that, ‘Do you know what happens in this movie?’ ‘Oh yes, Dad!’ And she stood up and gave a full rundown of everything that happens in the film, the different realities, etc. In that moment, we all let out a sigh of relief. We were holding our breath, and she had saved the film. His daughter saved the film. Because of her narration, we didn’t touch it.”
A decision of major importance. Not because the franchise or the very existence of superheroes on cinema screens could have been altered (that, perhaps, could have happened), but because we might not have ended up with Geoffrey’s analysis video on the subject (scroll back to the top now). Rest assured, the world would not have recovered. We’ll see the X-Men in the next Marvel crossover, Avengers: Doomsday, on December 16, 2026 in theaters.
