In Another Life: Michael Jackson Would Have Starred in the 2000's X-Men Movies

(SPOT.ph) Throughout the years, there have been many singers who have transitioned from the record label to the big screen. Some simply up the dial and take their vocal talents to cinematic musicals, like Lady Gaga with A Star is Born, Beyonce with The Lion King, and Elvis with...all the Elvis Presley movies. Others, however, branch out into all sorts of genres. Think Jennifer Lopez and her portfolio of rom-coms, Harry Styles and the psychological thriller Don't Worry Darling, and David Bowie with the mind-melting features The Prestige, Fire Walk With Me, and The Last Temptation of Christ (he was Pontius Pilate).

However, today's random bite of entertainment comes not from a pop star taking on a role completely off from their established branding but, rather, from a pop star who campaigned hard for a role they never got to bring to fruition. That pop star being none other than the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, and the role being that of the 50-year-old, bald, and paralyzed patriarch of the X-Men, Professor Charles Xavier.

Also read: 10 Upcoming Sequels That Should Be Musicals As Well

Here's how Michael Jackson almost starred as Professor X in the X-Men films:

Written by Joanna Robinson, the new book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios chronicles the rise of Marvel Studios from the comics company's bankruptcy in the 1990's to its domination of the global box office by the early 2010's all the way up to the shortcomings of its post-Avengers: Endgame era. In its first couple chapters, the book touches upon how the studio came to be during the film productions of the characters it had sold away during the enterprise's bankruptcy, namely Spider-Man, Blade, and the X-Men.

One particular segment of the second chapter focused on the development of the 2000's X-Men film, which Fox greenlit due to the popularity of the 1990's X-Men: The Animated Series. Marvel Studios' current president Kevin Feige was then merely an intern under the film's producer Lauren Shuler Donner. According to the book, Feige reportedly helped keep the film close to the original source material by providing unprompted notes on comic accuracy and even things like how Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) hair should have the pointy tips—to the bereavement of the film's hairstylist.

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The intern Feige was even the one who pushed for the casting of Australian musical actor Jackman for the role of Logan / Wolverine, which did receive some pushback due to how tall the actor was. However, the one striking piece of trivia from the section comes as a brief aside merely mentioning how King of Pop Michael Jackson lobbied hard amongst the producers to portray Professor X, a role that eventually went to Star Trek's Sir Patrick Stewart. The book states:

"The cast also included Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart—but not Michael Jackson, who had lobbied the production team for the role of Professor Charles Xavier. When Shuler Donner reminded the pop star that Professor X was an old white guy, Jackson replied, ‘I can wear makeup.’"

Jackson as Professor X going head-to-head in chess matches against Sir Ian McKellen's Magneto certainly would've been a sight to see. Who knows, maybe there's a universe out there where Jackson's Professor X is head of the Illuminati with John Krasinski's Mr. Fantastic and Tom Cruise's Iron Man.

Also read: 10 Years Later: Why Iron Man 3 Is Still Top-Tier MCU

MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is now on sale online as a digital copy or as an audiobook.