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'Paul Greengrass' held talks about directing 'X-Men vs Fantastic Four'

Josh Trank's Fantastic Four (Credit: 20th Century Fox)
Josh Trank's Fantastic Four (Credit: 20th Century Fox)

Paul Greengrass has confirmed that he did hold talks about overseeing an X-Men and Fantastic Four crossover film.

Back in 2019, X-Men: First Class scribe Zack Stentz revealed that he co-wrote a screenplay for 20th Century Fox alongside Ashley Edward Miller that would have included all of the studio’s Marvel characters. According to SyFy, Stentz explained that it “used the X-Men. It used the Fantastic Four. It used Daredevil. It used Deadpool.”

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Stentz said that the film, which was being developed around 2011, would have been directed by Paul Greengrass, who has drawn critical acclaim for his work on the likes of The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93, and Captain Phillips.

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Greengrass was asked about this project during his recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to mark the release of News Of The World on Netflix. Greengrass didn’t go into too much detail but did admit, “They did talk to me about it. I wouldn’t say I was attached. [We] talked, and I thought about it, and in the end …”

The 75th Venice International Film Festival - Photocall for the film "22 July" competing in the Venezia 75 section - Venice, Italy, September 5, 2018 - Director Paul Greengrass. REUTERS/Tony Gentile
The 75th Venice International Film Festival - Photocall for the film "22 July" competing in the Venezia 75 section - Venice, Italy, September 5, 2018 - Director Paul Greengrass. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

But while Greengrass didn’t say much about his plans for X-Men vs Fantastic Four, he did open up about his unfulfilled plans to adapt Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel, Watchmen.

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Rather than making a faithful adaptation, Greengrass wanted to set the film “in the real world” and depict their actions as “delusional.” Greengrass even compared his vision to Todd Phillips’ Joker, before admitting that he’s not sure if his version actually “would have worked.”

Watch: ‘News Of The World’ featurette