You’d think that comic books are a godsend for superhero movie directors. No need to explain characters, their motives or even talk to your lycra-clad cast – just hand over a towering stack of cartoons and leave them to it.
Not for Bryan Singer. According to Cinema Blend's interview with Hugh Jackman, the director strictly banned comic books from the set of 2000’s X-Men – forcing the actors to create a smuggling network.
“Bryan Singer had this thing that people would think he really wanted to take comic book characters seriously, as real three-dimensional characters, that people who don't understand these comics might think they're two-dimensional, so no one was allowed [comics].
“It was contraband. I'd never read X-Men, so people were slipping them under my door.”
It didn’t work out too badly for Singer, in fairness. X-Men earned good reviews from critics, and had a big impact on the superhero revival that came a few years later. It also set Hugh Jackman up for his long career as Wolverine – a part he could even revisit for a Logan sequel.
Nick Pope is the Site Director of Esquire, overseeing digital strategy for the brand.
