Created by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee, the team of super-mutants first appeared in the comic book ‘The X-Men #1’ in September 1963.
In the years following their comic book debut, the X-Men (and related characters) have appeared in television shows (animated and live-action), books, video games, and movies.
The first movie in the franchise was X-Men in 2000. Several sequels followed, as well as the Deadpool movies and The New Mutants, which are part of the X-Universe. A third Deadpool movie will be arriving in 2024 but at the time of writing, there is no news relating to a new X-Men movie. When it does arrive, the movie will be a reboot of the franchise and part of the MCU.
Below, we list all of the X-Men movies (and spin-offs) that have been given a release so far. Which of these movies is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.
X-Men
US Release Date: July 14, 2000
Worldwide Box Office: $296.3 million
Director: Bryan Singer
Metascore: 64
Main Cast:
Patrick Stewart (Xavier), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), James Marsden (Cyclops), Halle Berry (Storm), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Ray Park (Toad), Tylor Mane (Sabretooth)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
In a world where mutants (evolved super-powered humans) exist and are discriminated against, two groups form for an inevitable clash: the supremacist Brotherhood, and the pacifist X-Men.
Xtra Fact:
Wolverine’s line – “What do they call you, Wheels?” – was ad-libbed by Hugh Jackman.
X2: X-Men United
US Release Date: May 2, 2003
Worldwide Box Office: $407.7 million
Director: Bryan Singer
Metascore: 68
Main Cast:
Patrick Stewart (Xavier), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), James Marsden (Cyclops), Halle Berry (Storm), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
When anti-mutant Colonel William Stryker kidnaps Professor X and attacks his school, the X-Men must ally with their archenemy Magneto to stop him.
Xtra Fact:
When Rogue falls out of the jet, it is Anna Paquin performing the stunt and not a stunt double.
X-Men: The Last Stand
US Release Date: May 26, 2006
Worldwide Box Office: $460.4 million
Director: Brett Ratner
Metascore: 58
Main Cast:
Patrick Stewart (Xavier), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), James Marsden (Cyclops), Halle Berry (Storm), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Elliot Page (Kitty Pryde), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Aaron Stanford (Pyro), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman), Vinnie Jones (Juggernaut), Ben Foster (Angel), Kelsey Grammar (Beast)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
The human government develops a cure for mutations, and Jean Gray becomes a darker uncontrollable persona called the Phoenix who allies with Magneto, causing escalation into an all-out battle for the X-Men.
Xtra Fact:
Despite the low ratings, this was the most successful movie at the box office at the time of its release.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
US Release Date: May 1, 2009
Worldwide Box Office: $373.1 million
Director: Gavin Hood
Metascore: 40
Main Cast:
Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth), Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Danny Huston (Stryker), Taylor Kitcsch (Gambit), Kevin Durand (The Blob)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
The early years of James Logan, featuring his rivalry with his brother Victor Creed, his service in the special forces team Weapon X, and his experimentation into the metal-lined mutant Wolverine.
Xtra Fact:
Hugh Jackman underwent a high-intensity weight training regimen to improve his physique for this movie.
X-Men: First Class
US Release Date: June 3, 2011
Worldwide Box Office: $353.6 million
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Metascore: 65
Main Cast:
James McAvoy (Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Raven), Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw), Jason Flemyng (Azazel), Zoë Kravitz (Angel), January Jones (Emma Frost), Nicolas Hoult (Beast), Caleb Landry Jones (Banshee)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
In the 1960s, superpowered humans Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr work together to find others like them, but Erik’s vengeful pursuit of an ambitious mutant who ruined his life causes a schism to divide them.
Xtra Fact:
Bryan Singer, who directed the first two movies in the franchise, was approached to direct the film. He was unable to due to his commitment to Jack the Giant Slayer.
The Wolverine
US Release Date: July 26, 2013
Worldwide Box Office: $414.8 million
Director: James Mangold
Metascore: 61
Main Cast:
Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Will Yun Lee (Harada), Tao Okamoto (Mariko), Rila Fukushima (Yukio), Hiroyuki Sanada (Shingen), Svetlana Khodchenkova (Viper), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Wolverine comes to Japan to meet an old friend whose life he saved years ago, and gets embroiled in a conspiracy involving yakuza and mutants.
Xtra Fact:
Hugh Jackman is a self-confessed fan of the comic book saga that this movie is based on.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past
US Release Date: May 23, 2014
Worldwide Box Office: $746 million
Director: Bryan Singer
Metascore: 75
Main Cast:
Patrick Stewart (Xavier), James McAvoy (Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Jennifer Lawrence (Raven), Halle Berry (Storm), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Elliot Page (Kitty Pryde), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman), Peter Dinklage (Trask), Evan Peters (Quicksilver)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
Xtra Fact:
This was the first X-Men movie to be nominated for an Oscar (Best Visual Effects)
Deadpool
US Release Date: February 12, 2016
Worldwide Box Office: $782.6 million
Director: Tim Miller
Metascore: 65
Main Cast:
Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), T.J. Miller (Weasel), Ed Skrein (Ajax), Karan Soni (Dopinder), Michael Benyaer (Warlord), Stefan Kapicic (Colossus)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
A wisecracking mercenary gets experimented on and becomes immortal yet hideously scarred, and sets out to track down the man who ruined his looks.
Xtra Fact:
The first person to ever see the movie, according to Ryan Reynolds, was 13-year-old Connor McGrath, a terminally ill fan, who was given a private screening by the Deadpool actor.
X-Men: Apocalypse
US Release Date: May 27, 2016
Worldwide Box Office: $543.9 million
Director: Bryan Singer
Metascore: 52
Main Cast:
James McAvoy (Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Raven), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Oscar Isaac (En Sabah Nur), Rose Byrne (Moira), Evan Peters (Quicksilver), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler), Lucas Till (Havok), Ben Hardy (Angel), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Lana Condor (Jubilee), Olivia Munn (Psylocke)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
In the 1980s the X-Men must defeat an ancient all-powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur, who intends to thrive through bringing destruction to the world.
Xtra Fact:
Tom Hardy and Idris Elba were both considered for the role of Apocalypse, but Oscar Isaac won the role.
Logan
US Release Date: March 3, 2017
Worldwide Box Office: $619.2 million
Director: James Mangold
Metascore: 77
Main Cast:
Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Xavier), Dafne Keen (Laura), Boyd Holbrook (Pierce), Stephan Merchant (Caliban)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
In a future where mutants are nearly extinct, an elderly and weary Logan leads a quiet life. But when Laura, a mutant child pursued by scientists, comes to him for help, he must get her to safety.
Xtra Fact:
This was the first superhero movie to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Deadpool 2
US Release Date: May 18, 2018
Worldwide Box Office: $785.8 million
Director: David Leitch
Metascore: 66
Main Cast:
Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Josh Brolin (Cable), Julian Dennison (Firefist), Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), Zazie Beetz (Domino), T.J. Miller (Dopinder), Stefan Kapicic (Colossus), Rob Delaney (Peter)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool) assembles a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy with supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-travelling cyborg Cable.
Xtra Fact:
The footage of the X-Men closing the door was shot on the set of Dark Phoenix.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
US Release Date: June 7, 2019
Worldwide Box Office: $252.4 million
Director: Simon Kinberg
Metascore: 43
Main Cast:
James McAvoy (Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Jennifer Lawrence (Raven), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Evan Peters (Quicksilver), Kod Smit McPhee (Nightcrawler), Jessica Chastain (Vuk)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix, causing the X-Men to decide if her life is worth more than all of humanity.
Xtra Fact:
This was supposed to be the first of a new series of X-Men movies featuring the younger cast members but the critical and financial failure of the movie put an end to those plans.
The New Mutants
US Release Date: August 28, 2020
Worldwide Box Office: $49.2 million
Director: Josh Boone
Metascore: 43
Main Cast:
Maisie Williams (Rahne Sinclair), Anya Taylor-Joy (Illyana Rasputin), Charlie Heaton (Cannonball), Blu Hunt (Mirage), Henry Zaga (Sunspot), Alice Braga (Dr. Reyes)
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.
Xtra Fact:
The filmmakers described the movie as a “haunted-house movie with a bunch of hormonal teenagers.”
Which is your favourite X-Men movie? Let us know in the comments below.