X-Men: The Last Stand Writer Reflects on First Class Director's Unrealized Vision for the Movie

X-Men: The Last Stand's Simon Kinberg gives fans a taste of what the movie would've been like under original director Matthew Vaughn.

X-Men: The Last Stand co-screenwriter Simon Kinberg recently reflected on X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn's unrealized vision for the 2006 superhero blockbuster.

Kinberg opened up about his time collaborating with Vaughn before Brett Ratner took control of the project in an interview with Polygon. "The first one that I worked on was [X-Men: The Last Stand], and when I started working on it, Matthew Vaughn was the director," he recalled. "With Matthew, it was a major departure from Bryan Singer, who had directed the first two movies. Matthew himself is a world builder -- or maybe more than a world builder, a tone builder. He wanted to do something tonally very different than the previous two films. And so we were really in the script phase, even through pre-production, because Matthew was aboard for a long time."

"And so it felt like, even though we weren't creating an entirely new universe, because Bryan had obviously done an amazing job of building the foundation with the first two films, and all of those decades' worth of incredible comics, we were creating a new tone within that world and new rules," Kinberg continued. "I think you saw that tone in X-Men: First Class. But it was a real sci-fi sandbox." Kinberg also addressed what is arguably X-Men: The Last Stand's most controversial moment: when Vinnie Jones recreates the "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch" meme. The screenwriter denied responsibility for the infamous scene, insisting Ratner added it during reshoots.

X-Men 3 Star Slams Brett Ratner's On-Set Behavior

While Kinberg stopped short of openly criticizing Ratner, other members of the X-Men: The Last Stand cast and crew haven't always been so diplomatic. Notably, Mystique actor Rebecca Romijn recently said she was "not happy" working with the director and accused him of unprofessional conduct during the production. By contrast, Romijn was complimentary towards Bryan Singer, branding him a "fantastic filmmaker." The star did note that there was "drama" between Singer and some of her X-Men and X2 co-stars, however, she made it clear she wasn't present for any of these alleged on-set incidents.

Romijn's unpleasant experience with Ratner wasn't enough to put her off the X-Men franchise, though. Not only did the star make an uncredited cameo in 2011's X-Men: First Class, but she's since expressed interest in reprising the Mystique role again within the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "I don't know if [Marvel Studios] would ever want me back... [but] I would absolutely be open to that," Romijn said.

X-Men: The Last Stand is currently streaming on Disney+.