10 Most Intriguing Marvel Movies That Were Never Made

5) X-Men Origins: Magneto

Due to the failure of 2009’s Wolverine solo film, the proposed X-Men Origins series was cancelled. As such, the next planned movie, Magneto, was worked into First Class and the franchise was put back on track.

However, the Magneto standalone sounds like it could have had a lot of promise. To be directed by David Goyer, it would have explored Erik Lehnsherr’s childhood during World War Two in more detail. Writer Sheldon Turner even described the movie as “The Pianist meets X-Men.”

With a framing device of Ian McKellen’s elderly Magneto looking back at his past, it would have seen Erik escape from a Nazi concentration camp with the help of young soldier Charles Xavier, thereby beginning the pair’s fabled friendship.

Going by the storyline, this might well have been one of the most powerful and affecting superhero films ever – or it could have been just as bad as Origins: Wolverine.