Veteran X-Men writer Chris Claremont has said that he was "instrumental" in convincing 20th Century Fox to persevere with the franchise.

The writer has said that he had the "serendipity" to ensure that the hit series of Marvel Comics movies went ahead at a point when its future looked unlikely.

Luigi Novi

"I was instrumental in getting Fox to produce the concept in the first place," he told Comic Book Resources when asked about playing a similar role to Mark Millar for the studio.

"I mean, the whole thing was ready to go into turnaround back in 1998-99. I had the serendipity or the karma to write a memo that convinced both [producer Lauren Shuler Donner] and Fox and Bryan [Singer] that this was a viable project, and this is how to approach it.

"I guess you could say my contributions came in a basic level, back in the beginning.

"You know, I have the pride of looking in the mirror and saying, 'None of this would be there if not for me' on a whole different bunch of levels.

"If Fox wants to utilise my ability, they know where I am. All they have to do is call - that's their decision."

Claremont created many of X-Men's most famous characters and storylines during his 17-year run on the comic.

He also said that he does not expect The Wolverine and X-Men: Days of Future Past to remain faithful to the source material he created.

Fox has created five films in its popular franchise, X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: First Class.

The Wolverine will debut on July 26. X-Men: Days of Future Past is currently shooting, and scheduled for release of July 18, 2014.

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