X-Men: First Class - Singer returning to direct

[DC 536]

Singer to helm X-Men: First Class

The director returns to the X-Verse…

BY Josh Winning

Dec 17th 2009 12:12PM

 

While the cream of Hollywood attended the US premiere of Avatar last night (replete with a fittingly blue carpet standing in for the usual red), Bryan Singer let slip that he has signed on to return to the X-Verse with mutant prequel X-Men: First Class.

 

Speaking to reporters, Singer coolly stated: “I just signed yesterday to do an X-Men: First Class origins picture. Which is kind of cool. I’m very excited.”

 

Internet speculation has been rife that Singer would be returning to steer the filmic X-Men oeuvre back into clear waters after Brett Ratner took the reins for the less critically acclaimed X-Men: The Last Stand.

 

The new X-Men: First Class film will be inked by Gossip Girl showrunner Josh Schwartz, who hopes to retain the same tone as its filmic predecessors.

 

Producer Lauren Schuler Donner has already talked First Class up as a fun-but-dark project, reflective of the original First Class comics on which it is based.

 

"We want it to be like the recent, darker Potters,” she said back in October. “It should not be a kiddie movie: we're in the X-Men world so you can't suddenly change the tone.

 

“The First Class comics are really fun — they're funnier than any other comics I've read.”

Credit: Total Film

 

This is really great news and gives the second "Origin" tale of the X-Men series a huge boost. It's widely acknowledged that X-Men: The Last Stand suffered due to Singer's decision to leave the project and direct Superman Returns instead.

 

The story revolves around the titular First Class of Xavier's school (with a brief link to this coming at the end of X-Men Origins: Wolverine), with the comic line-up being Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Jean Grey and Professor X himself.

 

How this will work in the movie, what with Iceman and Angel both being teens AND late recruits in the present timeline, is anyones guess, but seeing early versions of Beast (who'll hopefully be played by Frasier again), Cyclops and Jean could be fun.

 

I'm assuming other mutants, particularly Storm, will fill the void (presumably) left by Angel and Iceman and, perhaps, Magneto being an ally to Xavier in the beginning and ultimately leaving to do his own thing at the end of the film.

[Guest Phil]

This will only work if they stick to the original class, if they can't include Iceman or Angel because of the later films then they shouldn't be making it.

 

Plus, I thought The Last Stand was just as good as the previous 2 films, so I dont get why Ratner gets so much slack. It was better than Wolverine's origins film anyway.

[Guest Saz]

Sounds like yet another reboot...

[DC 536]

Sounds like yet another reboot...

It's not, it's a prequel (in the same vein the Wolverine was a prequel and not a reboot).

[Guest Saz]

It will be if previous "child" characters suddenly become founding members.

[DC 536]

It will be if previous "child" characters suddenly become founding members.

I think they'll have no choice but to abandon Angel and Iceman from the prequel. Singer was quoted in an interview as saying "Singer was quoted as saying, "This is the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where there relationship took a wrong turn ... there is a romantic element, and some of the mutants from 'X-Men' will figure into the plot, though I don't want to say which ones. There will be a lot of new mutants and a great villain."

 

Of course, that doesn't tell us exactly who's going to be made younger, but the fact he says "some" does give hope that Angel and Iceman will be left alone.

 

As for who the new mutants and villain will be, let the guessing begin. I wouldn't mind seeing Apocalypse, the Sentinels/Mastermold or Mr. Sinister as the villain(s).

[DC 536]

In a major casting update, Total Film are saying that James McAvoy has signed on to play the young Charles Xavier. No word on who is in line to take on the role of Magneto, but word from the studio is that at least some of the planned storyline from the canned X-Men Origins: Magneto will find its way into this one.

[Guest Sydney Aradi]

I'm happy that Bryan Singer is returning to the X-Men Universe. This sounds like an interesting movie. I dislike X-Men 3 because it just lacked some of that human emotion that the first two X-Men movies had, same goes for that Wolverine movie which was kinda meh.

[DC 536]

In a major casting update, Total Film are saying that James McAvoy has signed on to play the young Charles Xavier. No word on who is in line to take on the role of Magneto, but word from the studio is that at least some of the planned storyline from the canned X-Men Origins: Magneto will find its way into this one.

It seems that there now is word on who could be playing Magneto; Michael Fassbender.

 

Total Film are reporting that he's been offered the role of Magneto or the lead villain in the upcoming Spider-Man movie... but scheduling means he won't be able to do both. The smart money is on Magneto getting picked.

[Guest John Hancock]

I'd LOVE to see Christoph Waltz playing Magneto. I mean, he is supposed to be German after all (never understood how the last trilogy got away with having an English Holocaust survivor). It'll never happen, of course, but I'd love it.

[DC 536]

If Alan Rickman and Jeremy Irons can get away with playing Germans, then so can Ian McKellen.

[Guest John Hancock]

Aye, but both them did accents, hence my point. McKellen was playing a German, but spoke in an English accent.

 

In X-Men, the Americans had America accents, the English had English accents, the Russians had Russian accents, and the Germans had... English accents.

[DC 536]

He also had control over the power of magnetism, so a little bit of unrealism (I think it's a word) should be OK. Besides, Magneto may have been putting on the English accent (he never had a German one in the ace cartoon either) to hide who he really is and where he's really from if you want a logical explanation for it.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention, and I don't know why I didn't post it sooner, but Singer is overseeing the project, it'll be Mathew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) who'll be handling the directing duties.

[Guest The Cork]

If Vinnie Jones is in it, I boycott.

[Guest Dante Spears]

Aye, but both them did accents, hence my point. McKellen was playing a German, but spoke in an English accent.

 

In X-Men, the Americans had America accents, the English had English accents, the Russians had Russian accents, and the Germans had... English accents.

 

Or maybe he just got the hell out of Germany at a young age and lost his accent over the 50 years?

 

Christopher Waltz is Austrian, I believe. And it was Ian McKellen, he was the best pick for the role.

Edited June 10, 2010 by Dante Spears

[dsrchris 190]

Christopher Waltz would look amazing as Magneto!! Good shout JH!

[DC 536]

Some updated casting news as more names are announced as being in negotiations with Fox.

• Rosamund Pike - Moira McTaggart
  
• Amber Heard - Mystique
  
• Aaron Johnson - Cyclops

This, with Fassbender and McAvoy as Magneto and Prof. X, brings the character count to five. Still waiting on word regarding who could be up for Beast and Jean Gray, but I imagine that won't be long in coming.

[Guest Phil]

is Aaron Johnson the same Aaron Johnson from Kick Ass? I don't know why, but he really annoys me for some reason. Couldn't they have got the guy who played cyclops from the origins movie? Wouldn't that make more sense?

[DC 536]

is Aaron Johnson the same Aaron Johnson from Kick Ass?

Yeah, but he's currently being courted for both this and Peter Parker in the reboot of Spider-Man, so it's not set in stone as of yet.

 

In other casting news, Benjamin Walker (Flags of our Father) is being lined up to play the younger version of Beast, a.k.a. Hank McCoy. The costume won't be as cumbersome as the one Kelsey Grammer had to wear due to Beast not developing the blue fur until his twenties.

[DC 536]

In other casting news, Benjamin Walker (Flags of our Father) is being lined up to play the younger version of Beast, a.k.a. Hank McCoy. The costume won't be as cumbersome as the one Kelsey Grammer had to wear due to Beast not developing the blue fur until his twenties.

A little update here as Walker has decided to walk away from the project (no pun intended) for undisclosed reasons. He's to be replaced by Nicholas Hoult who was fantastic in A Single Man and had a role in Clash of the Titans, but I haven't seen it yet, so I don't know if he was any good in that or not.

 

EDIT - I forgot to mention that Caleb Landry Jones (Friday Night Lights) has also been cast as Banshee.

Edited July 10, 2010 by DC