The X-Men film series, which features 13 movies released between 2000 and 2020, has seen its fair share of praise and criticism. But the franchise is now getting looked at through a negative lens after comments were made that actress Halle Berry, who played superhero Storm, received a fake script for the third movie. Keep reading to find out more about the “shady” tactics allegedly utilized by 20th Century Fox Studios at the time and how Berry responded to the news coming to light.
The story behind Halle Berry’s fake ‘X-Men’ script
A clip from a 2023 New York Comic Con panel recently resurfaced where director Matthew Vaughn shared what caused him to leave the X-Men franchise. In the video, Vaughn explained how he discovered there was a fake script floating around for the 2006 flick X-Men: The Last Stand.
“Hollywood is really political and odd. I went into an executive’s office, and I saw a script that was a lot fatter,” the director said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “I was like, what the hell’s this draft? They said, ‘don’t worry about it.’”
Vaughn ignored the comment, however, and felt that his role as director meant he had every right to look at the script. When he looked at the first page, he noticed a scene that showcased Storm conjuring up a thunderstorm to save severely dehydrated children in Africa.
Though he liked the idea, the comments from executives that followed completely caught him off guard. “They said it was the Halle Berry script,” Vaughn recalled. “’She hasn’t signed on yet, but this is what she wants it to be. So once she signs on, we’ll throw it in the bin.’ I said, ‘Wow, you’re going to do that to an Oscar-winning actress? I’m out of here.’”
True to his word, the director quit and Brett Ratner filled the role for the film. (Vaughn did return to direct 2011’s X-Men: First Class).
How Halle Berry responded to the fake script remarks
Though the panel comments are from last October, the revelation is gaining attention once again thanks to Berry. The Oscar-winner took to Instagram to share the clip of the moment, which was originally posted by @popculturebrain.
“Ya just never know the shady shady s— going on behind ya back! Thank you Matthew Vaughn for bringing the dark to light,” she wrote in the caption.
The alleged fake script that Vaughn described heavily featured her character, so it can be assumed that the “bait and switch” attempt was made to get Berry to commit to the installment. She did end up appearing in the film though, and continued to portray Storm in other sequels through 2014.
By Firstforwomen