Editor John Ottman Reveals What Went Wrong on X‑Men: Apocalypse

Ten years after its release, X‑Men: Apocalypse was intended to build on the success of X‑Men: Days of Future Past but instead became a disappointment, grossing $543.9 million worldwide—more than $200 million less than its predecessor—and earning a 47% Rotten Tomatoes rating, below the 56% for X‑Men: The Last Stand.

Editor John Ottman described the production as "all such a blur, but it was a total, total, total nightmare," saying complacency set in and the script arrived without a coherent third act. He recalled submitting pages of notes that were largely dismissed, leaving the film to go into production as little more than a beat sheet.

Ottman says he scrambled to fix the ending by "huddling with the pre‑vis team and the second unit director," inventing elements for the final confrontation, repurposing scenes and relying on voice‑over to fill gaps. He still called the finished picture "not a terrible movie.

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