When Fox put together the first X-Men movie, discussions arose over whether moviegoers would be put off by the comic's more ‘silly’ elements. They instead opted for a darker aesthetic inspired by The Matrix.
"We are a revival, not a reboot. So, we looked a lot at: What was going on between '96 and '98? What was anime able to accomplish in that time? What was Westernized animation able to accomplish in that time?"