| X-Men: The Last Stand | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Brett Ratner |
| Written by | |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Dante Spinotti |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | John Powell |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes[2] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $210 million[4][5] |
| Box office | $460.4 million[5] |
X-Men: The Last Stand[6] (also marketed as X3: The Last Stand, or X-Men 3) is a 2006 superhero film based on the X-Men comic books published by Marvel Entertainment Group.[7] It is the sequel to X2 (2003), as well as the third installment (and the final film of the original X-Men trilogy) in the X-Men film series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and features an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones, and Patrick Stewart. Written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn, the film is loosely based on two X-Men comic book story arcs, "Gifted" and "The Dark Phoenix Saga", with a plot that revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the resurrection of Jean Grey who unleashes a dark force.
Bryan Singer, who had directed the two previous films, X-Men and X2, decided to leave the sequel to work on Superman Returns (2006). X2 composer and editor John Ottman and X2 writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty also left to work on Superman Returns, as did James Marsden, who had very limited screen time in The Last Stand before his character was killed off due to his departure from the film. Singer had not even defined the storyline for a third film. Matthew Vaughn, who co-wrote the script (though was uncredited) and was initially hired as the new director, left due to personal and professional issues, and was replaced with Ratner. Filming took place from August 2005 to January 2006 with a budget of $210 million, and was consequently the most expensive film made at the time of its release. It had extensive visual effects created by 11 different companies.
X-Men: The Last Stand premiered in the Out of Competition section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival,[8] and was released theatrically in the United States on May 26 by 20th Century Fox. It grossed approximately $459 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2006; it was at the time the highest-grossing film in the series and after 2018 stood as the fourth-highest-grossing film of the franchise. It received mixed reviews from critics and was deemed inferior to its predecessors.
A standalone sequel, The Wolverine, was released in 2013; it was followed by X-Men: Days of Future Past a year later in 2014, which retconned the events of The Last Stand.
- ^ a b c "X-Men The Last Stand (2006)". London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2014. For full data, click "Show more" link.
- ^ "X-Men – The Last Stand (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. May 11, 2006. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ a b "X-Men: The Last Stand". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
markswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (2015). "X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ "X-men The Last Stand". Writers Guild of America West. January 25, 2006. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "2006 Official Selection - Out of Competition". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved August 16, 2022.