Kevin Feige has answered a long-standing question about Marvel’s original X-Men movie, sharing the reason why fans did not get to see the characters in their iconic comic-accurate costumes. While the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine movie is about to right a wrong by giving Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine his yellow and blue suit for the first time in a live-action project, it seems that his first appearance in black leather was all down to a popular Keanu Reeves movie released just before X-Men’s debut in 2000.
While speaking at a special event ahead of Deadpool & Wolverine’s premiere, Feige addressed the reason for the redesign of the X-Men’s costumes. According to the Marvel Studios boss, someone at the time decided that the huge reaction to The Matrix in 1999 was enough to warrant trying to emulate the look of that sci-fi blockbuster’s central characters. As per ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis, Feige explained:
“There were studio execs in charge who knew that The Matrix had been a big hit and they wore black leather so, ‘Put them in black leather!'”
Whatever positive reaction Fox executives hoped to see from fans with respect to the new look, it didn’t happen. While the movie was generally well-received, and proved to be a cornerstone of many superhero movies that followed in its wake, the lack of likeness to either the X-Men’s comic book appearances or X-Men: The Animated Series became a huge bone of contention with audiences.
Marvel Studios Openly Mocks the Black Suits of Fox’s X-Men Movies
Deadpool & Wolverine is already righting several wrongs when it comes to Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine. The initial trailer for the movie held back on showing the character’s full appearance in his classic yellow and blue suit, but by then the cat – or wolverine – had been let out of the bag by numerous set leaks. Throughout the rest of the campaign, fans have been given ample opportunity to soak up the sight of Jackman as he should be – albeit without his mask, which he will wear in the movie.
While there will certainly be many jokes made by Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool at the expense of the old Fox movies, Marvel Studio’s animated series, X-Men’97, which acts as a belated follow up to the ‘90s animated show, has already taken aim at the 2000 movie. In one episode, Cable is seen questioning Cyclops over his brightly colored uniform, and receives the curt reply of:
What did you expect? Black Leather?
The put-down is a direct mirror of a conversation between Cyclops and Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men, which itself was a jab at the colorful costumes of the comics. At the time of that movie’s release, the idea of a superhero in neon spandex was seen by studios as a way to generate ridicule and, therefore, was missing from the X-Men’s big screen debut.
Related
X-Men turns 24 today, so what is your favorite memory from the X-Men film franchise?
July 14 marks the 24th anniversary of the release of the first X-Men movie in 2000. The film helped kick off the superhero age audiences are still living in today, and 24 years after its release, the franchise is getting one final farewell tour with the release of Deadpool & Wolverine. The film franchise had some highs and lows, so with that in mind what is your favorite X-Men movie? Which was the first one you saw in theaters, and what do you wish the franchise might have done differently?
Now, times have changed, and fans want to see their favorite heroes appear on screen in exactly the same attire as their comic book counterparts. Following X-Men ’97’s success, along with the recent appearance of Beast in the post-credits scene of The Marvels, it seems that the arrival of the X-Men in the MCU is one that will certainly be drawing on a more expected look for the characters. That will be something that makes many fans very happy.
X-Men
is available to stream on Disney+, while
Deadpool & Wolverine
arrives in cinemas on July 26.