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Back in 1963, The X-Men first debuted in Marvel comic books, revealing five teenaged "mutants" who were granted superpowers due to their genetic makeup and were shunned by society. 50 years later, the X-Men are not only one of Marvel's most popular comic book characters, but also a multimillion dollar movie franchise to go along with several cartoon adaptations, toys and video games. But how close are mutants to becoming a reality? If some reports are to be believed, it could be only 30 years before human beings are able to control the weather or shoot beams of energy out of their eyes.
Are mutants on their way? >> Posted 03.13.13 by Ryan -
It's easy to feel underwhelmed by the news of another X-Men movie. After all, we'd be more than happy to pretend the last two never happened. Luckily, it seems that the studio agreed with us and stopped moving into the disappointing future of the series and has instead kicked things back into the past. It's not quite a re-boot, it's not quite a spin-off, but X-Men: First Class promises to bring us back to the good old days of X-Men, which we're excited about for the following reasons.
5 Reasons: X-Men: First Class
Posted 06.02.11 by reelz -
Today's Challenge: This weekend last year, Iron Man 2 ruled the box office. Eight years ago this weekend, X2: X-Men United was the number one movie. Can you find a link between these two blockbuster sequels?
Our first Facebook movie game, ClusterFlick, plays off that old "six degrees of separation" theory — you know, the one that has a certain Kevin at the center of the Hollywood universe. It's easy to play, but not so easy to win. The goal is to use the major cast of movies to get from Point A to Point B in the smallest number of moves.
Play ClusterFlick >>
Posted 05.09.11 by reelz -
In the recent issue of Empire Magazine, X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner discussed future X-Men projects beyond June's X-Men prequel, X-Men: First Class.
One of the most discussed X-Men movies is Deadpool, which sees Ryan Reynolds reprising his role from 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While Reynolds admitted last September that he may not be able to fit Deadpool into his jammed schedule, the actor said earlier this month that Deadpool was "still in the works" and that he "wants it to happen." Shuler Donner told Empire (via The Playlist) that Reynolds was still very much involved in the Deadpool adaptation.
He’s very involved, Ryan. He’s working with the writers on the screenplay and it is [his] as much as it is ours. I’m tellin’ ya, it’s true to the comic. You’ll see all of them. You’ll see Wade Wilson, the good-looking Ryan Reynolds! You’ll see Deadpool in his costume and you’ll see the cancer-scarred face.
MORE >> Posted 03.29.11 by Ryan -
After a negotiation that saw director Matthew Vaughn go from hired, to declined, and finally back to hired again, Fox wasted no time in confirming Vaughn will in fact direct their upcoming X-Men: First Class prequel. The talks came after Bryan Singer had been brought back to the franchise to direct the movie, but was forced to drop out as director and stay on only as a producer.
read more about the director drama and the movie's tight timeframe >> Posted 05.05.10 by Ryan -
It appears that comic book movie fans are not going to get a chance to see Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn's take on the young X-Men after all. Vaughn, who was initially signed on to direct X-Men: The Last Stand but dropped out at the last minute, was recently reported to be in talks to direct Fox's X-Men prequel, X-Men: First Class. Now, however, Deadline, citing "sources close to the director," has reported that Vaughn's discussions with Fox have broken down and he "won't be directing the movie."
with Vaughn out, who's in the running? >> Posted 05.02.10 by BrentJS -
Originally, Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn was signed on to direct The Last Stand, but hedropped out at the last minute, opening the door for Brett Ratner (who is unpopular with fans) to step in and take the helm. After seeing how Vaughn managed to put a new spin on superheroes with Kick-Ass, many wonder how Vaughn might have been able to contribute to the X-Men franchise. If a recent scoop turns out to be true, we may yet have the opportunity to find out the answer to that "what if?" scenario.
read more about the talks with Vaughn >> Posted 05.01.10 by BrentJS -
Fox may be looking for a new director for X-Men: First Class now that Bryan Singer is now just producing the movie after his commitment to direct Jack the Giant Killer prohibited him from directing the project.
However, Fox remains undaunted, putting yet another X-Men project in the works. Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar told fans on his Millarworld forum that he was asked to write X-Men 4 for Fox, but turned them down.
Learn why Millar said no >> Posted 03.30.10 by Ryan -
Director Bryan Singer was practically a hero himself to comic book fans following the debut of the X-Men movie, a fairly faithful — except for the costumes — adaptation of one of the most beloved and perennially best-selling Marvel Comics titles. His follow-up, X2: X-Men United, was even better received by the critical comic book audience, and an even bigger hit at the box office, ensuring a sequel. However, rather than continue to guide "Marvel's Merry Mutants," Singer decided to jump ship and helm the reboot of the Superman franchise, Superman Returns.
While Singer's absence from the X-Men didn't seem to hurt its sales — the Brett Ratner-directed X-Men: The Last Stand made more than X2 at both the domestic and international box offices — his homage to Richard Donner's Superman was a flop, costing $270 million to produce and taking in only $200 million at the domestic box office. The movie also damaged his credibility in the comic book community for his portrayal of Superman as a "Super-stalker," and for abandoning comic book continuity by giving Lois Lane Superman's love-child.
Whether because his last movie, the Tom Cruise-led WWII thriller Valkyrie, was also a disappointment at the box office, because he wasn't invited back for the next Superman movie, or because he hopes to repair his damaged reputation among comic book fans, Singer has once again found his way back to the X-Men. Singer may eventually direct X-Men 4, but for now he is taking the helm of X-Men: First Class, a prequel to X-Men that focuses on the formative years of the characters. In a recent interview with the L.A. Times, Singer said that First Class will not just focus on the young mutants, but be very much about the yin-yang relationship of the patriarchs of the two camps of mutants.
Just doing younger mutants is not enough. The story needs to be more than that. I love the relationship between Magneto and Xavier, these two men who have diametrically opposite points of view but still manage to be friends — to a point. They are the ultimate frenemies.
Singer makes no apologies for Superman Returns, but said that he feels more at home in the X-Men "universe," both personally and artistically.
I genuinely like the people, and my personality meshes more with this universe than it does with other universes, I think; I see that now at this point. I feel a connection to the X-Men characters and also the ensemble nature of the films. If you look at Usual Suspects or my last film, Valkyrie, I feel especially comfortable with ensemble juggling. In the space between all the characters you can disguise a central thought that's hidden in all the discourse. I missed that with the singular relationship story of Superman. And, well, it always gives you something to cut to...
While many in Hollywood discount the impact of comic book fans, Singer feels quite the contrary.
Ultimately, the comic book fans are your first core audience, the ones that are going to embrace it and talk about it … or reject it.
Read the entire interview with Bryan Singer and also hear from producer Lauren Shuler Donner.
Posted 03.21.10 by BrentJS -
Shawn Ashmore played the superhero Iceman in the original X-Men trilogy, and is "contracted" for another but is still waiting to make another appearance. Ashmore has previously stated that he doesn't think X-Men 4 will ever get made, and likely won't appear in the upcoming X-Men: First Class. That didn't stop Ashmore from telling Movieline how happy he was to see director Bryan Singer return to the X-Men franchise to work on First Class.
I'm so excited. There was a weird transition between X-Men 2 and X-Men 3 because Bryan left and Brett Ratner came on. Ultimately it turned out to be a great thing, but it was kind of bizarre because Bryan had cast everyone and we'd all done two movies with him. It was bittersweet — it was nice to see Bryan go on and make Superman [Returns], and it was nice to have new blood and a new perspective from Brett coming in to work on thefilm. Bryan is clearly very, very passionate about the X-Men films and the characters, so you know he's going to a good job with whatever the story's going to be.
In the comic books, the character of Iceman is a member of the First Class team, alongside Cyclops, Jean Gray, Beast, and Angel. However, the time line of the X-Men movies put a teenage Iceman alongside adult versions of the original team. Ashmore remains undaunted that he can eventually return for another X-Men one day.
It'd be awesome to do another X-Men film, and it's too badthat there probably won't be a role for me [in First Class, but who knows? The universe is huge and they keep making those films. You never know — hopefully, I'll get the chance to play Iceman one more time.
Posted 01.16.10 by Ryan