X-Men: The Last Stand - Development

Development

Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men films, left the project in July 2004 in favor of developing Superman Returns. He was joined by X2 screenwriters Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty, as well as John Ottman, composer and editor of the film. Though Singer, Harris and Dougherty did not produce a completed script, Singer revealed that at the time of his departure they had partially written a story treatment focusing on Jean Grey's resurrection, which would also introduce the villainness Emma Frost, a role intended for Sigourney Weaver, Gambit, a role intended for Keanu Reeves, and The Hellfire Club. Frost was an empath manipulating Jean's emotions in the treatment, and like the finished film Magneto desires to control her. Overwhelmed by her powers, Jean kills herself, but Jean's spirit survives and becomes a god-like creature, which Dougherty compared to the star child in A Space Odyssey.

New contracts for returning cast members were made, as the actors and actresses had signed for only two films. Hugh Jackman's contract included the approval of director, initially offering the position to Darren Aronofsky, with whom he had just finished filming on The Fountain. Joss Whedon, whose comic book "Gifted" having been integrated in the script's plot, turned down the offer because he was working on a Wonder Woman film. Rob Bowman and Alex Proyas were also rumored, though Proyas personally turned it down, citing feuds with Fox president Thomas Rothman on I, Robot. Zack Snyder was also approached, but he was already committed to 300. In February 2005, with still no director hired, Fox announced a May 5, 2006 release date, with filming to start in July 2005. They later pushed the release date three weeks for Memorial Day weekend, and signed Matthew Vaughn to direct in March 2005. Vaughn cast Kelsey Grammer as The Beast, Dania Ramirez as Callisto, and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, but family issues led him to withdraw before filming began. Vaughn was also cautious of Fox wanting to rush production. "I didn't have the time to make the movie that I wanted to make. I had a vision for how it should be," Vaughn reflected in a 2007 interview, "and I wanted to make sure I was making a film as good as X-Men 2, and I knew there was no way it could be."

Brett Ratner, who was previously considered as the director for X-Men in 1996, replaced Vaughn during pre-production. On June 13, 2005, a review of an incomplete early draft of the screenplay posted by Drew McWeeny from Ain't It Cool News sparked controversy from fans, due to certain main characters' storylines; however, that was the very first of over two dozen drafts of the script. Most notably the Golden Gate Bridge sequence was originally in the middle of the film, but Ratner decided it would create a more dramatic climax if moved to the end, which was originally to take place in Washington, D.C. Mutants were initially held on Alcatraz as prisoners, but Ratner changed the bridge escape in the middle to highlight The Dark Phoenix rising scene in the climax. He also expanded Halle Berry's role as Storm. The actress stated during interviews for X2 that she would not return unless the character had a significant presence comparable to the comic book version. Maggie Grace was considered for Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat before Ratner cast Ellen Page. He was impressed with her performance in Hard Candy and did not require an audition.