X2 (often promoted as
X2: X-Men United, or internationally as
X-Men 2) is a 2003 American
superhero film, based on the
X-Men superhero team appearing in
Marvel Comics, distributed by
20th Century Fox. It is the sequel to 2000's
X-Men and the second installment in the
X-Men film series. The film was directed by
Bryan Singer, written by
Michael Dougherty,
Dan Harris, and
David Hayter, and features an
ensemble cast including
Patrick Stewart,
Hugh Jackman,
Ian McKellen,
Halle Berry,
Famke Janssen,
James Marsden,
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos,
Brian Cox,
Alan Cumming,
Bruce Davison,
Shawn Ashmore,
Aaron Stanford,
Kelly Hu, and
Anna Paquin. The plot, inspired by the
graphic novel , pits the X-Men and their enemies, the
Brotherhood, against the
genocidal Colonel
William Stryker (
Brian Cox). He leads an assault on
Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer
Cerebro, in order to destroy every mutant on Earth.