X-Men: The Last Stand Almost Forced James Marsden To Choose Between Two Superhero Movies
Does James Marsden's agent have something against him? For the majority of his career, Marsden has played characters that are the equivalent of tapioca pudding. He was the nice guy who Rachel McAdams dumps for Ryan Gosling in "The Notebook." Then he was the nice guy Lois Lane hooked up with while Superman was away in "Superman Returns." (She probably would've dumped him too, had a sequel come to pass.) More recently, he's played Sonic's adopted dad in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" films, a fellow whose personality consists solely of being nice and panicking whenever Sonic gets into trouble. Heck, Marsden's android character in the titular park on "Westworld," Teddy, literally has no identity outside of being the nice guy boyfriend for Evan Rachel Wood's Dolores. He's essentially the Ken to her Barbie (and that's Tedough).
The trouble arguably started with Marsden's breakout turn as Scott Summers/Cyclops in "X-Men." Despite being a prominent member of Professor Xavier's superhero team in Marvel's comic books, Cyclops is little more than Wolverine's disapproving rival for Jean Grey's affections in that film and its sequel, "X2." In fact, he's so disposable, there was a chance the third entry in the series, "X-Men: The Last Stand," could've left him out entirely.
A tale of two franchises
Breaking down his career in a 2020 video for Vanity Fair, Marsden recalled being almost forced to choose between "Superman Returns" and "X-Men: The Last Stand." After "X-Men" and "X2" director/alleged sexual predator Bryan Singer (remember when we used to let that guy make movies?) left the franchise to go helm "Superman Returns," he approached Marsden about playing a role. Because a third "X-Men" film was up in the air at the time, Marsden accepted the offer without pause, only to find himself stuck between a rock and a hard place when "The Last Stand" suddenly began moving forward. Marsden explained:
"There was a moment where it felt like it might've been an either/or. Like, make a choice. It turned out that we were able to work out the schedules. And then when I finished actually shooting 'Superman Returns,' I was able to go back and do a couple of weeks on, about a week and a half, on 'X-Men 3,' where Cyclops meets his end."
Cyclops' swift, violent death at the hands of Jean Grey (who's become the Dark Phoenix by that point) early on in "The Last Stand" is pretty anticlimactic for a character who was, in theory, one of the franchise's protagonists. Once again, Marsden deserved better as an actor and he didn't get it. It's a shame, too. Marsden can be a real hoot when you let him. He's an absolute delight as Prince Edward in "Enchanted," a sendup of your typical Disney prince who Marsden plays with nary a hint of self-awareness. And let's not forget him camping it up as the grinning, singing '60s teen dance show host Corny Collins in the 2007 "Hairspray." But hey, at least he got Baxtered by Superman for his troubles, eh?