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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