Not many would go to bat for the disgraced director Bryan Singer, not even his longtime creative collaborator John Ottman. The composer-editor, who worked with Singer on several films and won an Oscar — rather controversially — for his work on the blockbuster biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, recently spoke about the disastrous production of their final X-Men movie together. Appearing on the Half the Picture podcast recently, Ottman said that Singer and the creatives behind the X-Men franchise were in a state of complacency following the success of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Widely considered to be one of the best superhero movies of the 2010s, the film was released to massive success in 2014. Ottman said that he would provide instant feedback while working on the edit of X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Simon Kinberg and his team of writers would implement his notes and shoot the necessary scenes. The movie barely had any reshoots because of how well-executed it was.
However, when the time came to work on X-Men: Apocalypse, Ottman said that his concerns about the script weren’t addressed immediately, and Singer was reportedly missing in action on occasion. Ottman said that the movie entered production without a firm third act in place, which caused massive logical gaps in its climax. He also had to juggle several characters, both new and old, and often found himself cornered. He said, “I was given the script, and I had pages and pages of notes. I see things that are going to blow up in my face. For my own sanity, I can’t let the script be the way it is. Then we go into production and we have no third act. It’s not unheard of, and I guess Marvel films that way, too. They have no ending and they just wing it. “
Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap
Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?
Spider-Man
Daredevil
Iron Man
Punisher
Thor
Cap
01
What drives you to do what’s right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.
02
It’s 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you’d think.
03
How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What’s yours?
04
How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
05
You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.
06
What’s your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.
08
When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.
09
What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
10
The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
Queens, New York
Spider-Man
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.
Hell’s Kitchen, New York
Daredevil
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.
Stark Industries, Malibu
Iron Man
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.
New York City
The Punisher
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.
Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms
Thor
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.
Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers
Captain America
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.
‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Received Mixed Reviews
Ottman said that the movie turned out okay, but people didn’t realize how hard it was to get it there. He explained, “So, a lot of the problems I thought were going to happen, they exploded in my face. For the third act, we were huddling with the team and the second unit director, and just coming up with s**t… Thank God for voice-overs… I don’t have good memories, but it’s also just a blur. It was a total, total, total nightmare to get that thing to where it was.” X-Men: Apocalypse brought back the cast of X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past, while also introducing a new batch of younger characters. It grossed a little under $550 million worldwide against a budget of $178 million, and is now sitting at a 47% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The franchise came to an end after the very next installment, Dark Phoenix, tanked at the box office, though a full MCU reboot is in the works from Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier.
