It had been rumored for awhile now, but Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2, Superman Returns) has finally announced that he'll be directing X-Men: First Class, a move that will mark the director's return to the franchise after having to bow out of directing X-Men: The Last Stand due to his wanting to helm Superman Returns instead.
Variety reports that Jamie Moss has been hired to write the script and the studio wants to really push this sucker into production as fast as they can – especially since Singer is also committed to several other projects in some way, shape or form. So what's X-Men: First Class about, you ask? Well, it's definitely another Origins-type story, and I guess you can say it's sort of like an X-Men prequel.
Says Singer, "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." Variety goes on to add that Xavier and Magneto (played by Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen in the original X-Men movies) will be in their twenties, and the entire film feels similar to what J.J. Abrams just did with Star Trek.
In other X-Men news, there are still plans for several more spin-offs, including a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a Deadpool spin-off and a Magneto spin-off. Something tells me Fox will hold off on the Magneto movie until they see what the fan reaction is like for the younger Magneto in First Class. The other two films, however, are currently in the early planning stages.
What do you think about X-Men: First Class? Are you excited to see Singer return to the franchise he helped build?
