So far, there's been ten X-Men films. And most of them were bursting at the seams with mutants from our favorite childhood comic books. Since day one, it seemed like Fox was anxious to throw as many mutants at us as could fit in a movie -- which has an upside and, of course has a downside. The upside? Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, Patrick Stewart's Professor X, Michael Fassbender's Magneto. The downside? January Jones' Emma Frost, Vinnie Jones' Juggernaut, and Tyler Mane's Sabertooth.

To exacerbate the downside, some of the casting rumors we've heard would've turned out better than what we got. When we hear these rumors, we can't help but feel cheated, and ruminate on what could've been. What if Bryan Cranston had played the role of a famous X-Men villain? What if Angela Bassett had stood side by side with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine? Then there are the rumors that make us count our blessings. These rumors are enough to give fans nightmares. Some of them sound like jokes -- but they aren't. We're talking about Mariah Carey auditioning for Storm, and Bob Hoskins gunning for the role of Wolverine. Here are eight rumored X-Men better than what we got and seven worse.

15 BETTER: EDWARD NORTON AS CYCLOPS

Nearly a decade before he hulked out in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's second installment, Edward Norton nearly got the role of Cyclops in X-Men. Norton, who was also rumored for the role of Wolverine, lost Cyclops to James Marsden.

To be fair, Marsden didn't have a lot to work with in the X-Men trilogy. Cyclops was relegated to a flat supporting character to make room for focus on other mutants. Still, we think Norton would've brought more to the table. He was already an established actor at the time and fans could depend on him to do something noteworthy with the character. Who knows, maybe the studio would've been impressed by his ability to do a lot with a little in the first film, and decided to develop Cyclops more in the latter two flicks.

14 WORSE: KEANU REEVES AS WOLVERINE

During an interview several years ago, Keanu Reeves lamented the fact that he'd been passed over for both Wolverine and Batman. Reeves tried out for Wolverine way back when Fox was gearing up for the first X-Men flick to hit the big screen. Of course, the role went to the perfect Hugh Jackman. Since then, Wolverine has only become increasingly popular, as has Jackman (which can't be said for Reeves).

Reeves has never had another shot at Wolverine -- and there's a good reason for that. Although Reeves has his moments, he can't portray nearly the same amount of emotional depth that Jackman can. If Reeves had gotten the role, Wolverine would've been just one more action hero for general audiences. And we certainly wouldn't have gotten anything like Logan.

13 BETTER: ANGELA BASSETT AS STORM

Fans might recognize Angela Bassett as T'Challa's mom, Ramonda, from Black Panther. But that wasn't the first superhero-related role that she was being majorly considered for. Bassett was Fox's first choice for Storm in the original X-Men. Unfortunately, her agents were asking for too much money, so the role of Storm went to Halle Berry.

Berry didn't bring much to the role. And she had her chance, too. Unlike a lot of the mutants in those movies, she had plenty of screentime. To this day, it seems like the lasting impression is related to her changing hairstyles. We're confident that Bassett would've given us a Storm that was to be reckoned with. Bassett comes across as tougher and more regal than Berry -- both necessary characteristics for the goddess, Storm.

12 WORSE: SUMMER GLAU AS KITTY PRYDE

Summer Glau is best known for her roles in science fiction shows like Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Dollhouse, but she could've been known as the X-Men's Kitty Pryde. When X3 was revving up, the studio was searching for their Shadowcat. The character had floated around in the background of the first two films but was going to have a larger presence in the third. Glau was considered before the studio landed on Ellen Page.

X-Men: The Last Stand was a chaotic mutant mess -- but Page's Kitty Pryde was a pocket of sunshine. With what little they gave her, she still gave an endearing performance. Fans walked away from theaters forgetting more than half of the mutants forced into the movie -- but they didn't forget Kitty Pryde.

11 BETTER: KEVIN NASH AS SABERTOOTH

Audiences almost saw professional wrestling icon, Kevin Nash, as Wolverine's archnemesis in the first X-Men movie. In fact, Nash had won the role of Sabertooth but had to forfeit it due to scheduling conflicts. The role went to Nash's stunt double -- and his former professional wrestling tag-team partner -- Tyler Mane.

Like plenty of other characters in the over-stuffed X-Men movies, Mane didn't have a lot to work with. Sabertooth was written as little more than a horror movie monster, and sure enough, Mane looked just the part. However, Nash is more renowned than Mane was inside and outside of the ring. Most people didn't -- and still don't -- know who Mane is. Seeing Wolverine square off against not just Sabertooth, but also Kevin Nash would've served as more of a draw.

10 WORSE: CHANNING TATUM AS GAMBIT

Channing Tatum has been trying to play Gambit for the better part of a decade. He's been gunning for the role ever since Fox revealed that Gambit would be showing up in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Taylor Kitsch won the role, but that didn't stop Tatum from doggedly pursuing his dream project. For what seems like forever, Tatum has been attached to a standalone Gambit movie, and it's unclear whether or not it'll ever be made.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was full of egregious choices that left fans feeling nauseous, but casting Kitsch as Gambit wasn't one of them. Simply put, the guy looks like and feels like Gambit. And his Cajun accent wasn't half-bad. The shame is that Kitsch's Gambit was used in such a trivial way.

9 BETTER: BRYAN CRANSTON AS SEBASTIAN SHAW

Bryan Cranston nearly played a supervillain. Although Sebastian Shaw wasn't our dream pick for him (Lex Luthor, anyone?), we would've appreciated it. Ever since Cranston broke bad as Walter White, we've been salivating at the thought of him going toe-to-toe with Marvel or DC's finest. If that role proved anything, it's that the guy was born to play evil masterminds.

Cranston read for the role of the leader of Shaw but had to give it up due to a scheduling conflict he had with Drive. Kevin Bacon ended up with the job -- and it's a good thing he did. Bacon provided us with a compelling performance that set the next wave of X-Men movies off to a good start. However, we still can't help but wonder what could've been.

8 WORSE: TAYLOR LAUTNER AS BEAST

When Fox was recruiting their next generation of mutants for X-Men: First Class, they eyed Taylor Lautner for the role of Beast. At the time, Lautner was still a big name due to his part in the Twilight saga. Casting him as Beast would've been tempting, knowing the additional demographic (preteen girls) he could bring in.

Luckily, Fox went with Nicholas Hoult. Hoult had more acting chops than Lautner, and he immediately endeared himself to fans as the kind but troubled young Beast. Over the course of the second generation of X-Men films, Hoult has proven to be a strong point.  Also, the fact that Hoult was a relative no-name at the time of his casting helped. If Lautner had taken on the role, it would've been difficult to not see the guy from the Twilight movies.

7 BETTER: ROSAMUND PIKE AS EMMA FROST

Whereas Hoult's Beast was a highlight of X-Men: First Class, January Jones' Emma Frost was a whole other story. She didn't portray the seductive menace that we would expect from the White Queen that we see in the Marvel comics. That part of the movie felt like a missed opportunity to provide a memorable on-screen Emma Frost in all her glory.

Fans will be, no doubt, doubly disappointed to find out that Rosamund Pike had been up for the role. Anybody who's seen Gone Girl will know just how much potential Pike had for Emma Frost. In the movie, she's ice-cold and manipulative -- two characteristics that couldn't better describe the White Queen. We can only hope that the MCU will give us a good on-screen Emma Frost whenever they decide to introduce mutants.

6 WORSE: TERENCE STAMP AS MAGNETO

Terence Stamp is no stranger to playing hovering revolutionary supervillains. Stamp played General Zod in Richard Donner's Superman II, a villain who, at the time, set the standard cinematic supervillains. It may come as no surprise that Stamp was up for the role of Magneto for X-Men. He was similar in age, appearance, and acting style to the man who beat him out, Ian McKellen.

Despite the similarities between the two actors, we're happy with the finished product. We reason that if anybody else were in the role, the quality of the movie would've dropped. That's the power of McKellen. Plus, McKellen brings an air of subtlety that Stamp is often missing -- which is saying something, especially when you're playing a guy who spends his time around Toad, Sabertooth, and Mystique.

5 BETTER: RACHAEL LEIGH COOK AS ROGUE

Rachael Leigh Cook was everywhere in the late '90s and early '00s. Best known for her role in She's All That, Cook looked capable of becoming an A-list actor. For a while, she was a big get -- that's why Fox initially offered her the role of Rogue. But Cook was already committed to making four indie films a year and couldn't manage the schedule. In an interview years later, Cook expressed regret over the decision, saying that it was "incredibly stupid."

The role was awarded to Anna Paquin, who served as our entrance into the world of mutants in X-Men. A lot of fans favored her portrayal of the lost mutant, even getting upset when she didn't appear in X-Men: Days Of Future Past. However, we're still curious to see what Cook would've done with the role.

4 WORSE: NEIL PATRICK HARRIS AS NIGHTCRAWLER

Neil Patrick Harris was in the running to play Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United. The star of How I Met Your Mother almost landed the role too if it weren't for Alan Cummings' ability to speak fluent German, and X2 could've been a whole different film had this casting occured.

In retrospect, it looks like Fox made the right choice. X2 was a smash-hit, and Cummings' fan-favorite Nightcrawler played no small part in that. The teleporting mutant grabbed audiences' attention from the opening scene where a brainwashed Nightcrawler attempted to assassinate the President. Cummings did an excellent job in the role, and our only complaint is that he didn't return for the next movie. We just can't see Harris turning in a more memorable performance than the one we got in X2.

3 BETTER: TARON EGERTON AS CYCLOPS

When Fox was casting young Cyclops for X-Men: Apocalypse, naturally they approached one of the biggest young action heroes. Taron Egerton was hot off Kingsmen: The Secret Service, and would've been a huge win for the future X-Men team. Rumor has it that Edgerton's agents wanted too much, so Fox went with the less expensive Tye Sheridan.

If we want our on-screen Cyclops to grow into something that resembles the Cyclops in comics, Edgerton would've been a better choice. Comic-book Cyclops is a complex character. In the past two decades, his character has evolved into a militant leader with no shortage of serious familial and romantic problems. We think Edgerton could better represent this Cyclops. It might just be because he's so young, but we can't see Sheridan taking on that militant role.

2 WORSE: MICHAEL JACKSON AS PROFESSOR X

No, this is not a joke. Michael Jackson desperately wanted to play Professor X in Bryan Singer's first X-Men flick. David Hayter, the writer of the first two X-Men movies, has some interesting stories about who auditioned for roles in X-Men and we loved hearing about each and every one of them. Shaq had his heart set on Bishop (who was in an earlier draft that didn't make it to the big screen), Mariah Carey tried out for Storm, and Michael Jackson let the studio know that he wanted Professor X.

It's strange to think that even in an alternate universe Michael Jackson could faithfully adapt Professor X to the big screen. The two have totally different personalities. We couldn't be more thankful that Fox went with Patrick Stewart for the role -- and didn't indulge in any passing fantasies.

1 BETTER: SAOIRSE RONAN AS JEAN GREY

X-Men: Apocalypse saw the debut of a young Jean Grey, played by Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner. But the character was almost played by Saoirse Ronan. Ronan, still only 23, has had a heck of an acting career. She recently won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance as the titular character in Lady Bird, and her future looks bright. No matter how you look at it, it seems like Fox missed a huge opportunity when they didn't choose Ronan for the role of Jean.

Although Jean's role wasn't terribly big in X-Men: Apocalypse, we still think that Ronan would've brought an emotional complexity that Turner doesn't convey. And that emotional complexity looks to be even more important for the next movie, X-Men: Dark Phoenix.