The X-Men series was in cinemas years before Cinematic Universes became popular. Beginning with Bryan Singer’s initial 2000 blockbuster, the mutant-centric franchise spans 13 films, including Deadpool and The New Mutants. However, there has been some criticism over Singer’s behavior on production, with a recent report surfacing in which the majority of X-Men 2’s actors nearly deserted the movie when Hugh Jackman was hurt.

Following a stunt gone wrong, the principal actors, including Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, threatened to leave the superhero sequel “X2: X-Men United.”

After realizing that Singer and other crew members were “incapacitated after taking a narcotic” while doing the stunt ahead of time, producer Tom DeSanto allegedly ordered for the production to be halted.

According to reports, DeSanto “became fearful that someone on set could be injured,” but Singer “was defiant and continued shooting.”

Bryan Singer allegedly pushed for a dangerous stunt to be shot despite the fact that there was no stunt coordinator on set because the segment was supposed to be filmed the next day. Hugh Jackman was eventually hurt and bled as a result, and Tom DeSanto had to shut down the set.

The actors of “X-Men” threatened to abandon the film the next day when 20th Century Fox “appeared to side with Singer” by instructing DeSanto to leave the set and return to Los Angeles. “That prompted the main cast members, minus McKellen and Romijn — all dressed in their full X-Men costumes — to converge in Singer’s trailer and confront him, threatening to quit if DeSanto left. That’s when Berry famously said to Singer, ‘You can kiss my Black ass,’ a line that has been oft-reported in the years since but never with the correct backstory.”

As the 20th anniversary of X-Men approaches, it’s tough not to ponder on Singer’s legacy, which has included legal claims filed by adolescent boys and young men who claim Singer sexually molested them. Singer has also faced numerous charges of sexual misconduct throughout the years, most recently in 2019 when The Atlantic published a piece detailing 20 years of complaints. Aside from sexual misbehavior, the filmmaker has been accused of improper behavior on film sets. Singer was sacked from Bohemian Rhapsody in 2017 because of his actions.

Singer finished production on the picture and went on to helm the sequels “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.”

X-Men: Apocalypse actor Sophie Turner described Singer as “unpleasant,” while co-star Olivia Munn described Singer’s 10-day absence from the set as “unusual for a movie.” There have been several reports of Singer behaving inappropriately on the sets of his films.

The X-Men franchise may have been momentous, but the film sets were not without controversy. Bryan Singer’s multiple charges have also effectively ended any future directorial opportunities he may have had, such as Red Sonja. While Simon Kinberg’s Dark Phoenix finished the X-Men franchise, there are no doubt some unfavorable sentiments regarding the concept after knowing about the on-set controversy.

“It’s a weird business, the film business,” producer Lauren Shuler Donner said. “We honor creativity and talent and we forgive the brilliant ones. Unconsciously, we probably do enable them by turning a blind eye to whatever they’re doing and taking their product and putting it out to the world.”

X-Men revolutionized the face of superhero films in Hollywood, paving the way for franchises such as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, and others.