While Matthew Vaughn would end up directing X-Men: First Class, the director almost directed X-Men 3 and shared the circumstances involving star Halle Berry that led him to quit.
Vaughn spoke about his experience on X-Men 3 during his panel at the 2023 New York City Comic Con, where he also shared details about upcoming projects including a Kick-Ass reboot and new Kingsman movie. He specifically focused on what led him to quit, which he revealed as due to a fake script the studio was planning to use to “trick” Halle Berry into returning for the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He said he noticed a “fatter” script in an executive's office and immediately asked about the draft. The executive, who was not named, tried to brush off the question before Vaughn, who was attached to direct X3, said it was his business to know and looked over the script. The script's opening sequence would see Storm, played by Halle Berry, creating a thunderstorm somewhere in Africa to save children dying of thirst.
Vaughn though it was a “pretty cool idea” and asked about the script again, which the executive finally explained was specifically written to get Berry to sign on for the sequel. Once she had signed, the script written for her would be thrown out. The revelation immediately prompted Vaughn to quit the film, which would ultimately be directed by Brett Ratner.
The director's decision to quit proved to be the right one as X-Men: The Last Stand is widely regarded as one of the least popular entries in 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, despite its box office success. Vaughn would still get to direct an X-Men film, coming on to direct the 2011 reboot X-Men: First Class. The reboot was still a box office success despite not grossing as much as The Last Stand and was much more positively received by audiences and critics.
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