“All I asked is that…”: Halle Berry Had Only 1 Condition to Return as Storm in X-Men That Studio Used as Bait Instead of Honoring the Deal

As the MCU brings X-Men characters into the current Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, four years after Disney bought X-Men from Fox, Matthew Vaughn drops a bomb about how the studio wronged Halle Berry a decade ago. He also reveals it to be the reason why he dropped out of the franchise after replacing Bryan Singer.

Halle Berry had strict conditions for her role if she were to return as Storm in X-Men for the third movie. However, the studio executives tricked Halle Berry into signing the contract without having any intention of honoring the deal. It shows the dark side of Hollywood and how actors are often exploited if they are not careful.

Halle Berry was tricked into being in the third X-Men movie

Halle Berry made her debut as one of the mutants in the 2000s X-Men. While she did an admirable job, she did not have much to do in terms of the script. There was very little for her to work with. It was especially disappointing since her character, Ororo Munroe, aka. Storm, possessed the coolest power of all the mutants, which was the ability to control weather. It technically means she is one of the strongest X-Men out there. However, she was stuck as a side character in the movie. 

Also Read: All You Need To Know About Marvel’s Upcoming X-Men ’97

Even in Bryan Singer’s X2: X-Men United, where she arguably had a better role, she was lost among a crowd of characters and did not have much to do. According to a 2005 article by Digital Spy, Halle Berry was tired of her character not reaching its full potential on-screen and set out a staunch condition that she be given more to do:

 “I have not read the script. All I asked is that, if I come back, Storm needs more to do. If they have, in fact, written her closer to the comic book, then I’m in. If not, then I’m out. I hope I’m in though. I love Storm and really want to be a part of the last film.”

She basically gave them an ultimatum. It was precisely at this point that the studio decided to make a fool of her instead of considering her demands. According to Matthew Vaughn, who infamously dropped out of the movie all of a sudden, citing “personal issues,” Berry opened up about the gross injustice Berry had to go through. Speaking at the New York Comic Con, he did not hold back while airing the dirty laundry of Hollywood executives:

“One of the main reasons I quit X-Men 3, and this is a true story. Hollywood is really political and odd. I went to an executive’s office and I saw an X3 script. It was a lot fatter. I asked, “what is this draft?” They were like, “don’t worry about it.” So I grabbed it, and opened the first page, and it said, “Africa. Kids dying from no water, and Storm creates a thunderstorm to save all these children.” I thought it was a pretty cool idea.”

Also Read: Every X-Men Animated Series, Ranked

He continued.

I said, “what is this?” They said, “this is the Halle Berry script, because she hasn’t signed on yet. This is what she wants it to be. And once she signs on, we’ll throw it in the bin.” I thought, if you’re going to do that to an Oscar winning actress who plays Storm, I quit. I thought, I’m mincemeat.””

(Via. ScreenRant)

Halle Berry was trapped, however, as she signed the contract and therefore had to play her role out of obligation. However, it is still one of the dirtiest hoodwinks Hollywood has pulled on an actor. 

Matthew Vaughn returned to Fox and made a separate X-Men movie

Vaughn later came back to the franchise to make X-Men: First Class. After the colossal failure that was The Last Stand, the studio rebooted the whole franchise with a new cast and setting. At New York Comic Con, he opened up about what made him go back: 

“The man who said, “you’ll never work in this town again,” watched Kick-Ass, and, to his credit, he called me up and said, “I didn’t mean it when I said that.””

(Via. ScreenRant)

Also Read: X-Men The Animated Series – Why It’s Better Than You Remember

Due to Vaughn’s version, the franchise again had a fighting chance with a fantastic cast of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence. Although the franchise stood up thanks to Vaughn, it was only to fail again with many behind-the-scenes debacles and movies like Dark Phoenix and New Mutants that were largely forgotten. However, Vaughn breathed life into the franchise that would never be forgotten.

The X-Men movies are available to watch on Disney+.