After filmmaker Bryan Singer was accused of sexual misconduct by several men a few years ago, the legacy of the X-Men franchise felt tainted in some ways.
Hollywood star Hugh Jackman‘s X-Men movie was in many ways the film that re-introduced the superhero genre and pushed it to become what it has today. Following the movie’s massive success, he went on to star in future instalments, several of which were directed by the disgraced filmmaker Bryan Singer.
However, after the filmmaker was accused of sexual misconduct by several men a few years ago, the legacy of the franchise felt tainted in some ways. Now, in a recent interview with The Guardian, Jackman, who played the role of Wolverine in the series, weighed in on the subject, saying, “You know, that’s a really, really complicated question.”
He continued, “There’s a lot of things at stake there. X-Men was the turning point, I believe, in terms of comic-book movies and I think there’s a lot to be proud of. And there’s certainly questions to be asked and I think they should be asked. But I guess I don’t know how to elegantly answer that. I think it’s complex and ultimately I look back with pride at what we’ve achieved and what momentum that started.”
Apart from the sexual misconduct allegations, the filmmaker also faced accusations of inappropriate on-set behaviour from X-Men actors. Halle Berry, who played Storm opposite Jackman’s Wolverine in the franchise, told Variety in 2020 that “Bryan’s not the easiest dude to work with.” Singer was fired from his last film, the musical biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, after displaying erratic on-set behaviour.
Speaking about Singer’s on-set behaviour, Jackman responded, “This was my first movie in America, you gotta understand; it was all so new to me. I think it’s fair to say that…There are some stories, you know… I think there are some ways of being on set that would not happen now. And I think that things have changed for the better.”
Jackman is currently wrapping up his run on Broadway in The Music Man before he begins shooting the third Deadpool movie, slated for a 2024 release.
