This 2000s Film Starring Halle Berry Was Packed With 'Shady' Behind-The-Scenes Drama

In the early 2000s, Halle Berry found herself on the ground floor of the modern superhero movie boom. She starred opposite a fresh-faced Hugh Jackman in 20th Century Fox's 2000 Marvel film "X-Men," playing the mutant hero Ororo Munroe, aka Storm. Berry subsequently reprised her role in the 2003 sequel, "X2: X-Men United." However, when it came time to make the third movie, "X-Men: The Last Stand," she strongly considered taking a pass. This isn't particularly surprising, as Berry had not only clashed with controversial director Bryan Singer on the set of "X2," but also felt her character was being underutilized. With that in mind, the studio allegedly resorted to some rather underhanded tactics to secure the Oscar-winning star's involvement in its 2006 Marvel trilogy capper.

"X-Men: The Last Stand" was once set to be directed by Matthew Vaughn after Singer left the franchise to direct future Hallmark star Brandon Routh in Warner Bros. Pictures' 2006 DC film "Superman Returns." But Vaughn himself quit the project in disgust after discovering what he says was a fake script Fox executives used to trick Berry into doing the movie. This revelation came to light at New York Comic Con in October 2023 (via ScreenRant), when Vaughn explained that the draft he found opened on a scene of Storm using her powers to save a group of dying African children. He recalled liking the idea, only to immediately learn that there were no plans to actually shoot that scene. Rather, that version of the script was produced specifically to appease Berry, and went directly in the trash once Fox had her signature. "Ya just never know the shady s*** going on behind ya back!" Berry wrote on Instagram in response to Vaughn's story in October 2024, and thanked the director for going public with it.

Notably, the behind-the-scenes controversy surrounding "X-Men: The Last Stand" did not begin and end with the alleged fake script used to lure Halle Berry back to the series, nor director Matthew Vaughn's abrupt exit as a result. The film was ultimately directed by Brett Ratner, whom Berry's co-star Elliot Page (who has since come out as transgender on his own terms) later accused of sexuality-based harassment during their time working together. In general, "The Last Stand" also ended up being an early crack in the ship of the aforementioned superhero boom, failing to secure the same critical praise that the first two "X-Men" movies had received.

Despite everything, however, Berry, Page, and Vaughn all eventually returned to 20th Century Fox's Marvel franchise. Vaughn went on to direct the 2011 prequel film "X-Men: First Class," which marked the franchise's first critical success since "X2" in 2003. Meanwhile, following what had been an eight-year absence for both actors that began with "The Last Stand," Berry and Page reprised their respective mutant roles for the 2014 film "X-Men: Days of Future Past." That film would also mark both actors' final "X-Men" appearances as of writing, though Alexandra Shipp was soon cast to play a younger version of Berry's Storm in subsequent entries.

In July 2026, Berry celebrated the 26th anniversary of the first "X-Men" film by positively reflecting on the experience in a post to X. "Playing Storm has been one of the greatest honors and I'm forever thankful to everyone who's loved her right alongside me," she wrote. Five months earlier, Berry told ScreenRant that she would not be joining her former "X-Men" co-stars for Disney and Marvel Studios' late-2026 film "Avengers: Doomsday," though she remained open to future reprisals.