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X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011) - PREVIEW



 

X-Men: First Class (2011)

Starring:
TBA
Director: Matthew Vaughn

U.S. Opening Date: June 3, 2011


THEY SAY

X-Men: First Class is expected to inject a next-gen sensibility into the superhero series. The studio has been leaning toward using the younger characters introduced in the previous films in future instalments - teenagers with powers taught at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

In 2007, X-Men: The Last Stand screenwriter Zak Penn revealed he was attached to direct the spin-off.

He explained:

"The original idea was to have me do a young X-Men spin-off, a spin-off of the young X-Men characters. But someone came up with a pretty interesting idea [...] it was this guy who worked with me named Mike Chamoy, he worked a lot with me on X3. He came up with how to do a young X-Men movie which is not what you'd expect."

Since then Bryan Singer (who directed the first two X-Men movies, but bailed before the third one to direct Superman Returns instead) has signed on as a producer and Kick-Ass / Stardust director Matthew Vaughn was hired to direct the project.

Singer had the following to say:

"I've been a fan of Matthew's since Layer Cake. He has a deft hand with multiple characters and storylines, and a great love of the X-Men universe. I feel the combination of this story and his vision will make for an exciting and original X-Men film."

 

WE SAY

Considering that X-Men: The Last Stand made $459 million back in 2006 and the recent box-office success of Wolverine it is unsurprising that Fox is going to cash in some more with spin-offs like this one!

Word has it that the movie will have little to do with the 2006 X-Men First Class comic book series, but will instead focus on lesser known teen characters from the X-Men “universe:”

X-Men: First Class, following the classic Marvel mythology, charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known.

Okay, we have a suspicion that if you think Sky High, but with X-Men rejects you’ll have a good idea of what to expect. Casting teenager unknowns instead of the likes of Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry (is there anyone still out there that still remembers that she actually won an Oscar at one point?) will save a bundle on salaries, so the whole thing reeks of studio avarice to be honest.

But still, it needn’t be too bad: the X-Men Evolution animated TV series tended to focus on younger X-Men unknowns and that was okay-ish . . . sorta. Plus Matthew Vaughn showed a flair for action scenes with Kick-Ass and it should be OK as long as there aren't any underage decapitations . . .


 


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