The director and producer of the upcoming film talk about the franchise's future
The premise has compelling elements to it, Singer said. "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."
It was also said that Shuler Donner has pitched Singer to come back for a fourth regular X-Men film, although it seems Singer still has to work out scheduling with his Warner Bros. film Jack the Giant Killer
Shuler Donner also has pitched Singer on doing a fourth installment of the previously established X-Men franchise and Jackman had that lunch with Singer to coax him into a project as well, which may or may not be a Wolverine film, which Jackman has said will be set in Japan and released in 2011. "I wish I could be four people," the director said with a moan. "I could make everybody happy."
Singer turned to Shuler Donner and said of X-Men 4: "Hold that one off for just a little, I'm fixated on the other one right now." She nodded and answered, "I will, I will ... I'm holding it open with high hopes. It's totally different [frFirst Class] and it will be so interesting for you."
Singer turned to Shuler Donner and said of X-Men 4: "Hold that one off for just a little, I'm fixated on the other one right now." She nodded and answered, "I will, I will ... I'm holding it open with high hopes. It's totally different [frFirst Class] and it will be so interesting for you."
X-Men: First Class was released June 3rd, 2011 and stars James McAvoy, Laurence Belcher, Michael Fassbender, Bill Milner, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, Beth Goddard. The film is directed by Matthew Vaughn.
The Wolverine comes to theaters July 26th, 2013 and stars Hugh Jackman. The film is directed by James Mangold.
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ParkWilliams
@Josh: I liked them about equally actually, I realize I accidently lumped 2 in with a comment I meant for 3.
2 years agoby @azadorFlag
Josh
@ejk1: I think, other than the third film which they wrote him out of in the first act (terrible idea), the handling of him in the movies was quite good. But if you're a die-hard Cyclops fan -- I'm not and I honestly didn't think there were, lol -- I can see why you wouldn't like it.
@azador: You really think the first movie is the best? I've always found people, myself included, think the second is the pinnacle of the series. It juggles the most plot threads and themes, and manages to keep them all in the air, unlike the third. Bret Ratner is a terrible juggler?
2 years agoby @shuabertFlag
ejk1
CBF, sporadic thoughts are sometimes the most informative. This was one such case.
Josh, you're first sentence is my entire point. He has the most responsibility, and yet he had the least importance in the movies.
I'll admit that Cyclops is my favorite X-man. He had the difficult job of leading the X-Men into battle, and as of now is the leader of the rapidly dwindling mutant race. The decisions he's made have been tough, and he may have to pay big for them, especially in the coming weeks(roughly ten days until Second Coming). I understand Wolverine's popularity, and why he should be a key player in the X-Men movies, though his best moments should be reserved for the origins movies and a possible Wolverine movie in present time(like a movie where he deals with Daken). But Cyclops has become the comic book version of Atlas. His importance should never have been diminished for money(though I do understand that a story's integrity is non-existent in Hollywood when big money is involved). He's the man Sinister wanted to make a new race out of, he's the man that merged with Apocalypse, he's the man in whose arms Jean Grey truly died, and now he's trying to save his besieged race from extinction. Granted, having Emma Frost in bed next to him is one hell of a way to end each day, but getting there is just hell.
2 years agoby @ejk1Flag
ParkWilliams
I agree partly with you CBF, the treatment of many characters was overshadowed by Wolverine, which in the first movie worked really well. I had no problems with Wolverine and I thought that Jackman portrayed him really well. I do however think that the real problem was more the fact that they tried to shift focus to the wrong characters (e.g. Storm, Archangel, and the sorry excuse for Dark Phoenix in X3). They should have taken the time to focus each film around another of the central characters, i.e. the first was split between Wolverine and Rogue, good, the second should have shifted to Jean and Cyclops, and the last one should have been given over to some of the younger characters like Kitty Pride, Ice Man, and Pyro. And this is just the heroes, there are of course other villains that should have gotten time in the spotlight as well. The movies just steadily lost the good direction that the first one had, and the result culminated the gongshow that was X3. The fact is that Wolverine is the most popular character and the one that draws the masses. He's also the best character, but that doesn't mean he needed to dominate the story the way he did. X-Men is a story populated with a lot of characters, and it seems like Singer was the only one who really knew how to deal with that and keep them spread out nicely throughout his two films.
2 years agoby @azadorFlag
Josh
But Cyclops always had more responsibility for the team than he could handle. That's part of the reason he takes everything so seriously and clashes so much with Wolverine who really doesn't care about his authority.
2 years agoby @shuabertFlag
CBF
ejk1, I sort of feel the same way you do. I mean Cyke wasn't always my favorite character, but he was the original Uncanny X-Men de facto leader. And the films didn't give him enough justice, you're right. I liked that they got Ricky from Second Noah (James Marsden) to play him, but overall he just didn't know how to be a leader, especially in that first film at the end, when they are finally the X-Men team for the first time. A prime example of this is when they are in the lobby of Lady Liberty and Wolverine has disappeared when he smells someone nearby. Cyke was told to keep his eye open and he just stands there, looking around, until Wolverine gets back (really Mystique appearing to be Wolverine). That's just an example. And then what you said, that entire fight, he was pwned by everybody. Magneto, Logan. "Storm....Fry him." Uh, hello? The Statue of Liberty is COPPER...? Did you even go to school? And you're supposed to be our LEADER?? No, thanks, dude. And then of course there's his weak demeanor in X2 (getting his ass handed to him by Deathstrike and then becoming a Stryker slave and then cheezy "Jean, don't do this" one-liners while crying), and of course his two scenes in X3 before he was rushedly killed off-screen just b/c of the scheduling conflict and limited availability due to following Bryan Singer over to Superman Returns.
So, yeah... the joke that was Cyclops in the live-action films were overlooked by the fact that Logan was really the leader. I mean, c'mon, all the characters got pushed over by the character development of Wolverine. I didn't see any other character development going on and even though there was attempts, like Storm and Jean, they were largely overshadowed and had really nothing much to do in the movies. Like when Jean Grey became Dark Phoenix in X3 (SIDENOTE: which she's supposed to be Phoenix first and THEN Dark Phoenix, but no, Brett Ranter says that she WAS Phoenix in X2 when her eyes glowed with fire, although that wasn't Phoenix b/c she couldn't even control her powers that well, Phoenix is supposed to be all-powerful), she had nothing to do the entire film after she killed people but stand around the whole film with Magneto's army. BOOOORING! That wasn't the Dark Phoenix story. Nightcrawler in X2 was the only other character to be handled well besides Logan. As far as Cyclops in X-Men Origins: Wolverine goes, I kinda liked him better there in that movie although Weapon X never kidnaps him and "steals" his power (I don't even think that's possible with Scott's power, since he was injured as a kid) for "Weapon XI" who by the way, Deadpool never had a bunch of people's powers - that is not what "Dead Pool" means, he only had healing and teleporting, not Baraka swords in his arms - but that is a topic for another day.
The main point in all of my sporadic thoughts here? Yeah...you're right. And I agree with you, 100%.
2 years agoby @comicbookfanFlag
Josh
I've liked all his films immensely, though I haven't seen Valkyrie.
2 years agoby @shuabertFlag
Mutant
Superman Returns was iffy, but enjoyable.
I've all ways liked Bryan, his films are great though I have a feeling he'll fix the mistake Ratner did.
2 years agoby @zenderFlag
Josh
Superman Returns was great!
2 years agoby @shuabertFlag
ejk1
CBF, how do you feel about the way the X-movies handled Cyclops? I felt that he was greatly underused, and at times made to look stupid(I cringed when he told Storm to fry Magneto in the Statue of Liberty, only to get a lesson from Magneto about conducting electricity a first grader would know about). I suppose he could be brought back, especially since his death occurred off-screen, but hopefully as a real leader, not the joke he ended up being.
2 years agoby @ejk1Flag
CBF
X4 would be cool to see Xavier's return in the form of his former vegetative brother's human form, and Magneto and Rogue regaining their powers, since The Cure is only temporary. Maybe Rogue will fly in X4. And maybe Gambit can finally enter the picture and be an X-Man, after his lackluster scenes in XMO:W. Of course I love to wishfully hope.
Still not sure about a First Class film, though. But hey, if Bryan Singer is returning to direct it, then it's got massive potential. I don't doubt Singer at all when it comes to X-Men. Superman? He sucks. Let's just hope doing that film didn't corrupt him, in other words....hope he's still "got it."
2 years agoby @comicbookfanFlag
knobie09
jean grey died as the phoenix in the comic books. bringing her back would undo the reality motiff in the movies. killing her off was a very risque move from brett ratner's part,and i admire him for that. plentyfull lot of untold stories and plentyfull of characters to be introduced into the movies.
2 years agoby @knobie09Flag
knobie09
this is cool. loving it!
2 years agoby @knobie09Flag
Moviedude21
Just so it has a good story line to it.
2 years agoby @moviedude21Flag
Avian
Instead, they should just re-do X3, and say the other one never happened. But I'm still glad to see Singer talking X-men. I just watched X2 the other day, such a great movie.
2 years agoby @avian005Flag
ejk1
I don't want an X-4. X-3 was just horrific, especially in the way they bumped off Cyclops and Xavier. As a matter of fact, this is one series that deserves a reboot. The first three movies were all about Wolverine. Hopefully, First Class is the first step in creating an actual X-Men movie series, where all the characters get equal screen time, not just the overly popular guy.
2 years agoby @ejk1Flag
Mutant
It'll be in 3D. Now as of Wolverine, okay Hugh is a talented actor but he's a pretty boy, something that Logan isn't which sort of turns me off.
the character is nasty, a loner, a wild child, something close to a horror film would be better in the long run. When dealing with the X-Men, the character was recruited to Alpha flight introducing those characters. In the long run with the first solo film, it was too shinny and clean cut.
I preferred the beginning, the war scene and the mission which was so rushed that those three could have been film's.
Now in the present, First Class maybe good enough to watch. We just have to wait and see.
2 years agoby @zenderFlag
Batman Rules !!!
Dont be shocked if they 3D or reboot This sh-t
2 years agoby @the-fallenFlag
Err
i'm just not interested in this movie, right now.
maybe in a hundred years when they have a trailer to show, i may give a sh*t, but right now i just don't.
2 years agoby @err2005Flag
tyler13d
Actually, I dont mind for someone else taking a shot at being Wolverine. Jackman had his time. It'd better be a relative unknown like he was at the time though, not one of the A-listers. Seeing how its going with Cap, I can already imagine the casting headlines and endless rumours about who's likely getting the part...
2 years agoby @tyler13dFlag