James Marsden finds the success of the ‘X-Men’ movie franchise "crazy".
This summer marks the 20th anniversary of the first film in the series, ‘X-Men’, in which James played the role of Cyclops and he feels that the franchise has exceeded expectations thanks to the legacy of the X-Men universe, which dates back to the 1960s.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, James said: "I think we all hoped it would become what it’s become, and we knew it had the power to with the legacy of the X-Men universe. They’ve been around since 1962, 1963? And so when we first started, it was 40 years of backstory and superfans.
"So we knew if we do this right, this could be something forever, for a long, long time. I’d hoped, but I did not anticipate that they’d still be making them.
"I mean, I thought maybe they’d make four or five of them in its success, but how many have they made now, 10? So it’s kinda crazy and really cool."
The 46-year-old actor has only appeared in four flicks in the series, most recently in a cameo role in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, but still feels pride in being part of a franchise that is "really special".
James explained: "Obviously I’m not a part of all of them, but you exist in that universe and it’s always something I’ve been really proud of.
"It was definitely the first time in my career I was like, ‘Now I’m part of something really special right now, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.’
"It’s rare to know you’re part of something special while you’re shooting. Often you shoot it and it becomes some sort of surprise success, like The Notebook or something like that, where no one knew when you were filming it. But during the ‘X-Men’ movies, it was like, ‘Okay, this is something unique. This is something special.’"
James Marsden surprised by X-Men success
