An abandoned Fox X-Men film would have featured Wolverine in costume on the big screen at last. Mutants have finally become part of the MCU, and it's only a matter of time until the X-Men make their debut as part of the shared universe. This was only possible because, back in 2019, Disney finally acquired the bulk of Fox's film and TV empire. The acquisition brought an end to Fox's X-Men franchise, and a number of films were abandoned. Since then, though, details have emerged that show what audiences have missed out on.
One of the stranger ideas was for X-Men: Fear the Beast, designed as a contiation for the main X-Men stories - starring Nicholaus Hoult as beast and, surprisingly, what seems to be Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Written by Byron Burton over just a fortnight, it was set in the late '80s and kicked off in an Inuit village stalked by a monstrous mutant Wendigo. With Beast in over his head and the rest of the X-Men on a mission, James McAvoy's Professor X was forced to send out a psychic SOS to Logan, bringing him back into the fray. But this would have been Wolverine as he was never seen before in the Fox films.
X-Men: Fear The Beast Would Have Featured Wolverine's Brown And Yellow Costume
The script for X-Men: Fear the Beast was published by Burton and John Ottman back in 2019, and it is most notable for featuring Wolverine in costume at last. The script explicitly notes that Wolverine is wearing his "brown and yellow" costume in a scene where he interrupts a brawl between Beast and Wendigo, and he's later described slipping his mask over his head. The idea of finally introducing Wolverine's costume in a film featuring Wendigo seems so very appropriate; Logan made his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181, when he crashed a scrap between the Hulk and a Wendigo. Marketing for X-Men: Fear the Beast would surely have made this a main hook, and it would have delighted viewers.
Wolverine's Role Is Why X-Men: Fear The Beast Didn't Happen
It's easy to see why Burton believed this was a good time for a more comic-book-accurate Wolverine. The end of X-Men: Apocalypse saw the X-Men wear individualized superhero costumes for the first time, with most viewers believing this signaled a change in direction for Fox. But Wolverine's role unfortunately meant the script had to be checked through by Simon Kinberg, who was charting the franchise's future course. He didn't even bother to read the script, simply because he was already thinking through plans for a recast Wolverine, and X-Men: Fear the Beast would have complicated his developing ideas. The film was abandoned.
Oddly enough, X-Men: Apocalypse did not begin a new direction for the X-Men franchise after all. Fox pivoted again, introducing new team costumes in X-Men: Dark Phoenix instead of individualized outfits. These were at least a little more comic-book-accurate, but they still didn't fulfill the promise of X-Men: Apocalypse's ending. It means Fox never really did justice to Wolverine or, in truth, any of the X-Men. Hopefully the MCU will take a different approach, giving them some of their classic costumes at last.