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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 -
With X-Men: First Class, 20th Century Fox took its X-Men franchise back in time, to the early '60s, to show how and why Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) became Prof. X and Magneto, respectively, and went from being close friends to having diametrically opposed viewpoints on the role of mutants vis-à-vis the human population. With the sequel, Fox is looking to not only the future of the franchise, but to a possible future in which mutants are hunted like animals and incarcerated in internment camps.
When Fox registered the title Days of Future Past back in June, comic book fans immediately recognized it as the title of the classic story that ran in the pages of Marvel's The Uncanny X-Men #141-142 and assumed that the sequel to First Class would be adapted from this story. Well, those fans were right. Producer Bryan Singer recently confirmed the title in an interview with IGN (presumably, Fox will want "X-Men" on the marquee, making it X-Men: Days of Future Past) and spoke a bit about the future of the franchise, including the fact that he "might" one day direct another X-Men movie.
what did singer say? >> Posted 08.02.12 by BrentJS -
Twentieth Century Fox didn't have a panel at this year's Comic-Con, but Simon Kinberg, who wrote the ill-fated 2006 sequel X-Men: The Last Stand and produced last year's X-Men: First Class, was on hand to discuss Fox's X-Men franchise. While ostensibly there to help promote Sony's upcoming sci-fi movie Elysium, Kinberg also spoke to ComingSoon about the X-Men: First Class sequel, which Kinberg is writing for First Class director Matthew Vaughn, whose return for the sequel was in question until he was confirmed to return in January. During the interview, Kinberg discussed his relationship with Vaughn and the X-Men franchise.
what will happen in the sequel? >> Posted 07.15.12 by Ryan -
Now that the sequel to last summer’s X-Men: First Class has an official release date (July 18, 2014), it’s time to start speculating about what returning director Matt Vaughn will have in store Magneto, Professor X, and the rest of the X-Men crew. Today, we got a possible hint at the sequel’s plot. As first reported by Ain't It Cool News, Fox has registered the title Days of Future Past with the MPAA, a name fans of the X-Men comic books will be very familiar with.
Despite sounding like a 007 title, Days of Future Past is a two-part X-Men storyline that deals with a dystopian alternate future where mutants are incarcerated in internment camps. The alternate storyline became popular with fans and was used in several other X-Men tales. The first issue of Days of Future Past was voted the 25th greatest Marvel Comic of all time by fans in 2001.
More about Days of Future Past's storyline >> Posted 06.05.12 by Chris -
Twentieth Century Fox likely surprised itself last summer by creating not one but two prequel franchises. Considering the popularity of the X-Men franchise, the studio probably expected that X-Men: First Class would perform well enough to illicit a sequel (the studio backed a pretty extensive marketing campaign in hopes). However, the studio probably didn't expect Planet of the Apes prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes to earn $481 million worldwide. Unsurprisingly, Fox CEO Tom Rothman announced sequels last November and the studio is pressing forward, scheduling both sequels for summer 2014.
There's still little known about the Rise sequel, other than it will continue seeing humanity fall as the apes, well, rise. Director Rupert Wyatt, who is returning, said last December that the sequel will show "why humanity is going to be vulnerable enough for this ever growing army of intelligent apes and their offspring to be able to take us on." According to Box Office Mojo, the sequel will be titled Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (don't worry, we're pretty sure it won't feature zombie-apes) and will open on May 23, 2014.
more about Thor 2 and the First Class sequel >> Posted 06.01.12 by Ryan -
Today we learn that Jennifer Lawrence's schedule has cleared up so she can return to play Katniss Everdeen in the sequel to The Hunger Games but it was also revealed today that she won't be reuniting with director Gary Ross.
With The Hunger Games destroying everything in its path at the box office, Lionsgate already basically announced that the sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was in the works when the studio gave the sequel a November 2013 release date last year. Catching Fire took another step forward when Academy Award–winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) delivered the first draft of the sequel script before Hunger Games even opened. The only issue that seemed to be a stumbling block for Catching Fire was that Lawrence was also contractually obligated to a X-Men: First Class sequel, with Lawrence confirming last month that she's "in" for a return as mutant shapeshifter Mystique. Since X-Men: First Class came before The Hunger Games, 20th Century Fox had the right to exercise their contract option over Lawrence even if Lionsgate needed her for Catching Fire.
According to THR, however, Fox decided to play nice and shoot the First Class sequel next January as opposed to the fall, which is when Lionsgate had planned to shoot Catching Fire. However, now Catching Fire has another hurdle to clear before they can start production: hiring a new director.
Ross gone from catching fire? >> Posted 04.06.12 by Ryan -
Jennifer Lawrence has had a fairytale start to her young acting career, capping off her Academy Award nomination for Winter's Bone by appearing in last summer's X-Men: First Class and landing the lead role in next week's The Hunger Games. While The Hunger Games is likely to take up a lot of Lawrence's time over the next several years, the actress recently told HitFix that she's "in" for a X-Men: First Class sequel if "they write me in."
I don't know, I mean...if they write me in, then I'm in, but I don't even know if there'll be...I've only heard what everybody else has heard, just whispers. I haven't heard the official word yet.
more about a First Class sequel >> Posted 03.14.12 by Ryan -
Now that Twentieth Century Fox has officially hired back director Matthew Vaughn to helm a sequel to his comic book adaptation of X-Men: First Class, all speculation rests with the script, which First Class producer Simon Kinberg is reportedly writing. Kinberg, who also wrote 2006's fanboy-maligned X-Men: The Last Stand, was reportedly hired to script the sequel last November and confirmed his involvement in a recent interview with MTV.
I don’t know what the title is going to be but certainly I’m working on the sequel to X-Men: First Class right now. I’m going to be writing and producing it, I’m starting now, with Matthew Vaughn directing.
what will magneto be up to in the sequel? >> Posted 02.17.12 by Ryan -
After a long period of silence, 20th Century Fox is moving quickly on the expected sequel to X-Men: First Class. First Class producer and 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand screenwriter Simon Kinberg was hired to write the sequel in November, and earlier this week, Fox officially hired back director Matthew Vaughn. THR reports that the rest of the cast is confirmed to return as well, including James McAvoy, who played Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, and Michael Fassbender, who played Erik Lensherr, a.k.a. Magneto. Of course, this comes as little surprise since McAvoy has already revealed in November that he was contractually obligated to return, stating "if Fox decides we're doing it, then I don't have a choice," while Fassbender revealed earlier this month that he is actually signed "for two options," meaning two sequels.
The question remains whether First Class screenwriter Jane Goldman will be back as well. A frequent collaborator with Vaughn, including 2010's Kick-Ass and 2007's Stardust, Goldman recently revealed that she would be "100% there" if Vaughn decided to return, but was less confident about a return during an interview with Bleeding Cool.
more from goldman >> Posted 02.02.12 by Ryan -
As summers go, Twentieth Century Fox had a pretty good one, releasing two hit comic book movie prequels with X-Men: First Class, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. While Fox hasn't made an official announcement that either will get sequels, the profit margin has made such announcements unnecessary.
More movement has been made on Rise — the more profitable of the two movies at $480 million worldwide — with Fox already securing actor Andy Serkis to reprise his role (in motion-capture) as the lead ape Caesar in the sequel. The studio is also exercising sequel contract options on Rise co-producers and screenwriters Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa and director Rupert Wyatt. As a result, Wyatt was forced to drop out of the true-life drama Londongrad, which examines the mysterious death of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.
more on the Rise and First Class sequels >> Posted 11.30.11 by Ryan