In the original version of ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, Kitty Pryde was the one that traveled back in time to stop the war between humans and mutants from happening. When Bryan Singer’s movie adaptation added Ellen Page to the cast to reprise her role from ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’, it looked as if the big screen version would be remaining faithful to the source material. However, as more information emerged about the next X-flick, we learned that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, not Shadowcat, would be the star of the show. I know that’s become the norm with these movies lately, but writer Simon Kinberg seems to have had a good reason in mind when he made the switch.

In the latest issue of Total Film Magazine, Kinberg revealed that Kitty had initially been the one to go back, but as development progressed on the story, Logan seemed to make sense since they were only going to send a character’s consciousness back rather than an actual body, which would have been problematic for Miss Pryde. Here’s what the writer had to say on the topic:

“We made the decision for a lot of reasons, some of them obvious and some of them more nuanced, to make it Wolverine who goes back in time. One reason is that he’s the protagonist of the franchise, and probably the most beloved character to a mass audience. Probably the bigger reason is that when we started thinking about the logistical realities of Kitty’s consciousness being sent back in time, to her younger self, as opposed to her physical body being sent back.. It was impossible. Obviously in the book it’s Kitty… But you’re talking about an actress (Ellen Page) who, in the age of Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, would have been negative 20 years old. So we started thinking again, and the first reflex response to that was a character who doesn’t age. Wolverine is the only character who would looks the same in 1973 as he does in the future.”

While it may seem like we’re getting an overload of Wolverine in both the comics and the films, at least this time they had a good reason for putting him front and center. I’m sure that it didn’t hurt that he’s arguably the most popular member of the team as well.

What do you think of the reasoning for changing Chris Claremont’s iconic X-Men story for the film version of ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’? Are you in favor of the change? Let us know in the comments below.

‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ hits theaters on July 18, 2014.

Source: Comic Book Movie