46 Really Clever Hollywood Movie Facts Very Few Know – Part 3

Prior to the critical and box office failures of the 2015 Fantastic Four film, 20th Century Fox was planning a shared universe crossover film between the X-Men franchise and the Fantastic Four.

27. David S. Goyer, who co-wrote the 2016 movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, claimed in 2005 that writing a Superman vs. Batman story is what a studio turns to when they have “exhausted all possibilities… It’s somewhat of an admission that this franchise is on its last gasp.”

28. The forest moon setting of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi was named “Endor,“ which is one of the elvish language translations of "Middle-earth”, as a tribute to the influence that The Lord of the Rings series had on Star Wars.

29. A survey carried out by Fandango showed that the introduction of Wonder Woman on screen was the primary draw for 88% of the moviegoers the week before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released.

30. Ben Affleck was among Disney’s top contenders to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The original costume designed for Psylocke in the film X-Men: Apocalypse was black, but actress Olivia Munn demanded it be changed to purple so it would fit more in line with the comics.

32. While not included in any dialogue, Joss Whedon’s script for The Avengers has 11 instances of the word “sh*t” and 19 uses of “f*ck,” including lines like, “IRON MAN stands up, looking around like `holy sh*t,‘” and "THOR LEAPS HIGH INTO THE AIR, RAISING THAT F*CKING HAMMER.”

33. About 480 hours of footage was shot for Mad Max: Fury Road. That’s equivalent to nearly three straight weeks of footage.

34. The two volcanoes in the Pixar short Lava were based on the late Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwoʻole and his wife Marlene, while the style of music used in the short is heavily inspired by his cover of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”.

35. Quentin Tarantino nearly directed a Luke Cage film starring Laurence Fishburne right after the release of Reservoir Dogs but left the project to write Pulp Fiction instead.

The final battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi was originally set on a lava planet that concealed the Emperor’s lair. The film’s finale would’ve seen the planet destroyed by the second Death Star, which had been conquered by the rebels.

37. Batman does not wear boots in Batman Returns. Instead, his Batsuit is comprised of body armor connected to a pair of Air Jordan 6.

38. The idea to cast Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaw in Avengers: Age of Ultron originated from the film’s creative team finding a photoshopped picture of the actor fan-cast as the character online.

39. For the production of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, sets were only built to tops of the actors’ heads and computer graphics filled in the rest. However, Qui-Gon Jinn actor Liam Neeson was significantly taller than the rest of the cast, forcing many of the pre-built sets to be reconstructed, costing production an extra $150,000.

40. When the script was originally written, Taskmaster was going to be included as a villain in the Deadpool film. He had to be removed by the time production started as the character rights reverted back to Marvel in 2013.

Director Peter Jackson wanted David Bowie to auditioned for the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings film series, but that the actor/musician was too busy.

42. After the title The Avengers: Age of Ultron was revealed at Marvel’s 2013 Comic-Con panel, Chris Evans, who portrays Captain America in the sequel, had to ask reporters, “Who’s Ultron?”

43. Jack Nicholson took a pay cut from his usual standard rate to portray the Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman, but in exchange, his contract stipulated the actor receive a percentage the film’s gross, a cut all merchandise bearing his likeness, and a percentage of every future Batman sequel’s earnings too. This even included Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

44. The screenwriter for ‘Back to the Future’ came up with the idea for the film when looking through his parents’ old yearbooks and wondering if he would’ve been friends with them had he gone to their high school.

45. Author J.K. Rowling personally hand-picked Alan Rickman to play Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series.

Channing Tatum originally turned down the role of Duke in G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra because he felt the script was terrible. However, since the actor signed a three-picture deal with Paramount Pictures, the studio forced him to take the role under threat of a lawsuit.