X-Men: The Last Stand

The third film was shaped by who walked away. Bryan Singer went to Superman Returns, Fox refused to move the date, Matthew Vaughn signed on and then withdrew because the window the studio allowed looked too short, and Brett Ratner was hired for his record of delivering on schedule. What arrives is two stories crammed into 104 minutes. The argument about the cure is set up properly while the Phoenix line is summarised; Cyclops is written out inside the first twenty minutes and Xavier at the midpoint, each disposed of in a single scene. Anyone watching for the characters will feel it as a clearing of the deck. Commercially the plan worked. The film opened to 102.7 million dollars in North America and finished at 460 million worldwide, so the studio had nothing to complain about. The narrative damage was repaired afterwards, when the series treated part of these events as never having happened. For a viewer who wants the trilogy completed and will wait through the scene after the credits, which alters what became of Xavier. Not for one who expects a favourite mutant to receive the farewell the part deserves.