Today is the twentieth anniversary of the release of X2: X-Men United. The film is a sequel to the 2000 hit film X-Men. The story follows the X-Men who must team up with their archenemies in order to stop a xenophobic colonel with ties to Wolverine from wiping out the mutant race.
Production on the film began shortly after the highly successful first film from 20th Century Studios. The film was envisioned as "The Empire Strikes Back" of the series. Several ideas were considered including the Legacy Virus and The Dark Phoenix Saga, before finally settling on the famed graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. Several characters were intended to be added, but budget restrictions forced the removal of the Sentinels, Gambit, Angel, Beast, and Sabretooth. The production was massive and, at the time, was the largest North American production outside of Los Angeles with filming taking place in Vancouver.
Like the first film, it was a massive success with fans and critics. Its opening weekend broke several records, like the highest grossing weekend for a Fox film. It eventually became the ninth highest grossing film of the year. Critics raved about the film, with many calling it better than the first. It continues to rank as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. It was accompanied by a video game tie-in. It was successful enough to lead to one additional direct sequel.
David Hayter co-wrote the script. Avi Arad, Kevin Feige, and Stan Lee served as producers. Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, Jack Kirby, Lee, John Romita, Sr., Roy Thomas, Herb Trimpe, and Len Wein all created characters used in the film. It features the talents of Shawn Ashmore as Iceman, Kelly Hu as Lady Deathstrike, and David Kaye as a television host.