Filmmaker Matthew Vaughn revealed during a Saturday panel at the New York Comic Con that Fox executives allegedly attempted to mislead Halle Berry into signing onto the 2006 film, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” by providing her with a phony script, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Vaughn, who eventually departed from the project in 2005, shed light on the alleged deceptive tactics employed by Fox to secure the actress’ participation in the film, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The studio allegedly crafted an extended script with a substantial focus on Berry’s character, Storm/Ororo Munroe, per the outlet. This alleged X3 script included a significant sequence at the beginning of the film and story elements Fox allegedly had no intention of including in the final product, per the outlet.
Matthew Vaughn quit directing ‘X-MEN: THE LAST STAND’ after execs wrote a scene to trick Halle Berry into signing on.
“It said, ‘Africa. Storm. Kids dying of no water. She creates a thunderstorm and saves all these children…’ I went, ‘What is this?’ [They said,] ‘Oh, it’s Halle… pic.twitter.com/uQbuMWJqME
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 15, 2023
Vaughn shared the incident, claiming he discovered an X3 script in an executive’s office which was significantly larger than the one he had been working with. “One of the main reasons I quit X-Men 3, and this is a true story: Hollywood is really political and odd. I went to an executive’s office and I saw an X3 script. It was a lot fatter. I asked, ‘What is this draft?’ They were like, ‘Don’t worry about it,'” the director recounted. (RELATED: Halle Berry’s New Movie Looks Incredible, And The Preview Is Pure Adrenaline)
“I opened the first page, and it said, ‘Africa. Storm. Kids dying of no water. She creates a thunderstorm and saves all these children. What is this?’ [They said,] ‘Oh, it’s Halle Berry’s script. I went, ‘OK, because she hasn’t signed up yet.’ ‘But this is what she wants it to be, and once she signs up, we’ll throw it in the bin,'” Vaughn added, per the outlet.
“Wow, you’re gonna do that to an Oscar-winning actress who plays Storm? I’m outta here.’ So I quit at that point.”
Brett Ratner went on to direct the 2006 film after Vaughn left the project.