It's no secret that superhero movies are everywhere. While there are currently three shared universes fighting for box office dominance, the X-Men franchise was way ahead of the game. While new installments still being released in theaters, the X-Men movies go all the way back to 2000 with Bryan Singer's original blockbuster. Singer adapted the beloved Marvel heroes for the silver screen, helping to launch the careers of actors like Hugh Jackman in the process. The director/producer is still involved in the franchise today, and he recently shared a sweet photo from the set of X-Men. Check it out below.
How sweet (and cool!) is that? Bryan Singer got to get his dad on set for the original blockbuster, even taking a photo in one of the coolest sets of the entire film.
The above Instagram post shows Bryan Singer and his father Norbert playing chess from within Magneto's plastic prison. This is from one of the final scenes in the original X-Men film, after the titular team manages to stop Magneto's plan to turn the country's most powerful figures into mutants. After being arrested, the Master of Magnetism is kept in a plastic cell, rendering him essentially powerless. Magneto and Professor X's friendship and conflict are at the heart of most of the franchise's films, and this becomes clear when they're playing chess within Erik's cell.
Ultimately, this setting would also come into play in X-Men 2 as well. The sequel opens up with Magneto still in his prison, although he's got a plan to ultimately escape. Mystique ends up seducing and drugging one of his guards with massive amounts of iron, allowing Magneto to kill him by manipulating the metal out of his bloodstream and into three circular balls. That's all he needed to free himself and massacre everyone, and it's one of the franchise's most thrilling sequences.
Bryan Singer is still very much known as the father of the X-Men franchise, which is still going strong today. While he didn't direct The Last Stand (which he regrets) or First Class, he eventually returned to helm Days of Future Past and Apocalypse. He'll be handing over the directing reins to frequent franchise collaborator Simon Kinberg for Dark Phoenix, although Singer is still a producer on the upcoming blockbuster.
In addition to Dark Phoenix, the X-Men franchise is also going in some new and exciting directions. Deadpool 2 will arrive this month, complete with favorites like Cable and Colossus in another highly anticipated R-Rated romp. Plus, Josh Boone has promised the world's first superhero horror movie with The New Mutants. And with Disney and Fox's deal feeling like more of a reality with every passing day, the possibility for the X-Men to finally interact with the MCU feels like an inevitability.
Deadpool 2 will arrive in theaters May 18th, while X-Men: Dark Phoenix was recently pushed back to February 14, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
