Tag: X-Men: First Class

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Kingsman: The Secret Service

by MCDave

While all of the industry’s attention is focused on the fast-approaching Academy Awards showcase airing next Sunday night, February 22nd, a sleek and wildly engaging action extravaganza appears to be slipping under the radar. Based on Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar’s 2012 spy-centered comic book series, Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class director, Matthew Vaughn, unleashes Kingsman: The Secret Service nationwide beginning this Friday. And if you’re seeking a crowd-pleasing popcorn flick over this Valentine’s Day weekend, then look no further than Kingsman.

When a secret spy organization known as the Kingsmen seek out a replacement agent, the veteran member Harry (Colin Firth) stumbles across Eggsy (Taron Egerton), the son of a former agent who saved Harry’s life. Although Eggsy has grown up in a rough neighborhood and attracted the attention of local police, under the tutelage of Harry he begins to realize his own potential. But while Eggsy tries his best to out-duel the other highly qualified candidates for the position, a sadistic technological mastermind named Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) puts a plan in motion that threatens the entire world.

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For as off-the-wall and crazy as it is, Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman is an enjoyable ride. The film flaunts its well-earned R-rating with brilliantly choreographed and stylishly-violent action sequences that never lose their flavor. Channeling its inner James Bond, Vaughn’s espionage-adventure features Academy Award winner Colin Firth as a classic gentleman who you wouldn’t want to provoke in a bar setting, or anywhere for that manner. Simply stated, Firth makes for an excellent choice, but it’s newcomer Taron Egerton who emerges as the film’s brightest spot. The youngster is both charming and exquisite in the role of a street kid-turned-spy extraordinaire. Egerton delivers an eye-catching performance that not only solidifies Kingsman as a worthwhile feature, but also shines the light on this blossoming star.

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As someone who admittedly knows nothing about the film’s original source material, there was obviously an influx of characters and events that Kingsman refused to ignore. Consequently, the feature’s 129 minute running time feels like a marathon at multiple points throughout its duration. However, well-timed jokes and phenomenal fight scenes make the lulls completely worth it. One unforgivable aspect, though, resides in a huge plot hole surrounding Valentine’s crafty female assistant. Without giving away any spoilers, she somehow manages to avoid catastrophe like everyone else in her similar situation during a pivotal moment in the third act. But despite this obvious blunder, Samuel L. Jackson’s speech-impaired villain is hysterical enough to wash away any sour taste this inconsistency brings.

I ventured to my advanced screening of Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service with mild expectations and left the theater pleasantly surprised. The humor was legitimate, the acting was spot-on, the story was effective and the action was very tasteful. All of these ingredients blend together extremely well in Vaughn’s successful contemporary spy adventure, Kingsman.

GRADE: 3.5/5

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WonderCon 2014: ‘The Secret Service’

by Kari Lane

One of the awesome benefits of attending a convention is getting a sneak peak/extended look at upcoming projects. One such project that was announced at WonderCon was The Secret Service starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson (as the bad guy!). A nearly finished (rough cut) fight scene was screened along with a short trailer. The scene consisted of Firth talking to a young man in a bar when they are rudely interrupted by a group of troublemakers. Firth gets up but instead of leaving he takes on the entire gang by himself! It was AWESOME! Academy Awarding winning Firth is not known for action films so this scene was a big surprise.

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The Secret Service is based on Mark Miller’s (writer of Kick-Ass) comic book of the same name. The film will be directed by Matthew Vaughn who directed Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class. I would say the film is in some good hands. Firth is a veteran agent who brings in a young man, in whom he sees great potential.

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The style of fighting does have that over-the-top Kick-Ass vibe. Parts were in slow motion which gave you a cool perspective and contributed to the comic book style. Did I mention Firth also fought the gang using an umbrella? Yep. This reminded me of the film Gothic & Lolita Psycho (2010) where the female protagonist uses an umbrella as a weapon as well (though I doubt many people saw this film). The film also reminded me of The Avengers; no, not that one. I am referring to the 1960s TV show and 1998 film.

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All that being said, I was blown away by the footage. I had heard nothing about the film before WonderCon and now I am excited to see it! Unfortunately, a trailer has not been released yet, but be on the look out. The film is scheduled to be released in late October this year.

Caleb Landry Jones Won’t Be Back For ‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’

by Shawn Madden

Bryan Singer has put together a massive cast for the upcoming X-Men: Days Of Future Past.  However, we haven’t heard much regarding the currently missing members from X-Men: First Class. We do know now that Caleb Landry Jones, who played Banshee in the previous film, will not be returning for this one.

— Ryan Turek (@_RyanTurek) March 29, 2013

 

At this point, with filming set to begin very soon, we may have to rule out a number of the unannounced cast members of First Class returning for this film. But we’re hoping that a few do.

X-Men: Days Of Future Past is set to hit theaters July 18, 2014

Could ‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’ See The Introduction Of A “New” Team?

by Shawn Madden

There’s been plenty of news when it comes to cast members from the original trilogy returning for  X-Men: Days Of Future Past, but when it comes to the cast from X-Men: First Class only a handful have been revealed to be coming back. Bryan Singer has already revealed that James MacAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult will all be returning for the film. But what about the rest of the cast?

 

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With the recent revelation that events in the sequel would take place over ten years after the events of First Class, there’s highly a chance we may not see some of the younger cast members returning. Does this mean that we may see a “new” team introduced in the upcoming sequel comprised of younger versions of characters from the original trilogy?

 

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With the director bringing back many cast members from his previous X-films, is the possibility of Singer not only bringing back actors but characters that he’s previously worked with highly unlikely? Definitely not. This would also work quite well is Singer and Millar are working to fix FOX’s X-movie timeline being. Why is that you ask? Well, we did get cameos from two of the mentioned characters in X-Men: First Class.

 

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There’s plenty of exciting possibilities surrounding this film. And this one is just speculation for now, but at the rate things are going, we’re definitely going to be learning a lot more about the film before it begins shooting in a few months. But seriously Singer, we really all want Scott Summers to come back for this one.

 

X-Men: Days Of Future Past is scheduled to hit theaters July 17, 2014.

‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’ Will Take Place Over Ten Years After ‘First Class’

by Shawn Madden

A casting call for X-Men: Days of Future Past has revealed an interesting piece of information about the film. The casting call reveals that a majority of Bryan Singer’s upcoming sequel will take place over ten years after the events of X-Men: First Class. This could be the reason that some of the cast members from that film won’t be returning. But this also does open up the door for a number of interesting new members to join the team, including some of the original X-Men from the first film. Since it’s set in the 70’s…does that mean we might see an appearance by the X-Men’s resident queen of disco, Dazzler? Check out the casting call below.

 

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X-Men: Days Of Future Past is scheduled to hit theaters July 17, 2014.

 

Source: CBM

Bryan Singer Talks About The Use Of Time Travel In ‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’

by Shawn Madden

While speaking with Empire Magazine, X-Men: Days Of Future Past director Bryan Singer talked about dealing with time travel in the upcoming X-film. The film will be based on a classic X-Men storyline that sees Kitty Pryde travel back in time from an apocalyptic future in which mutants are hunted by Sentinels in an attempt to change the past. And from the sound of it, Singer has been talking to the right people when it comes to making a movie that involves time travelling.

 

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“”It’s epic. I don’t think people realise how big this movie’s going to be. We get to bring both casts together. We’ve cracked it in a way that makes sense. I had a two-hour conversation with James Cameron about time travel, string theory, multiverses and all that. You have to create your rules and stick with them. That’s what makes Terminator and Back To The Future work so well. And there are certain mechanisms in X-Men, certain powers, perceptions and characters, that make this possible. More than any of the movies I’ve made, it comes to me much more quickly than on other films. With Superman Returns I struggled a lot. I guess it’s either my history with the X-Men universe or I have some kind of knack for this particular story.”

 

Singer also commented on what to expect from the upcoming prequel/sequel:

 

“It has a lot of aspects of the comic. The actual comic of Days Of Future Past had a whole ton of stuff going on, so it’s like any of these things; you have to distill it. But I think the fans will be pleased that some of the most exciting parts of Days Of Future Past are going to be connected to this movie.”

 

The director also commented on how much this film will tie in with the previous X-films:

 

“I’m taking into account every movie – I’m not just grabbing my first two movies and First Class and smashing them together. I’m taking into account the entire universe as it’s been laid out so far on the screen, and really respecting it and trying to work with that. People took things in various directions, so there’s some clean-up. But ultimately I’m not just ignoring them either.”

 

Whether you liked Superman Returns or not, it’s undeniable that Singer made two great X-Men films prior to working on that. And it definitely sounds like he’s on the right track for making a great, if not the best, X-Men film to date here. But seriously, Bryan we’re waiting for you to announce the return of one of the Summers brothers already.

 

X-Men: Days Of Future Past is scheduled to hit theaters July 18, 2014.

 

Source: EmpireOnline

Geekscape 272: Jason Trost and Lucas Till Talk Superheroes

by Jonathan

Geekscape arrives at the ToadHop Network with a brand new episode featuring guest co-host Corey Roberts and guests Jason Trost and Lucas Till! Jason and Luke talk about their new movie ‘All Superheroes Must Die’! Luke talks about his character of Havok in ‘X-Men: First Class’ and the chances of returning in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’! Corey Roberts says some inappropriate jokes! ‘The Baytown Outlaws’ director Barry Battles calls in to talk about what it took to make the movie and how you can check it out now on VOD, iTunes and Amazon! PLUS! Appearances from Geekscape’s Shawn Madden and Frank Sanders!

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Check out the episode on The ToadHopNetwork’s Geekscape Page!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:05 — 22.1MB)

X-Men First Class’s Lucas Till In Talks To Star In Werewolf Movie ‘Wolves’

by Shawn Madden

Looks like we may be getting some non-teenie bopper werewolf movies again! Deadline is reporting that X-Men: First Class‘s Lucas Till is in negotiations to star in the feature directorial debut of David Hayter (X-Men, X2, Watchmen), Wolves. The actor is currently filming the thrill Paranoia and recently wrapped up the indie thriller Crush.

Hayter wrote the script for Wolves, which centers on a young man (Till), who transforms into a werewolf and finds himself falsely accused of murdering his parents. He goes on the run, eventually arriving at a small town named Lupine Ridge that has a history of supernatural happenings. There he finds the secrets to his past.

It looks like Till is going to have a busy year or two here. That’s three movies plus the upcoming X-Men: Days Of Future Past he has lined up. We will keep you updated on Wolves as more news breaks.

Let’s Crash Some Planets (Or Not)! The Geekscapepod For July 29th, 2012!

by Jonathan

Let’s get some reviews going! I watch “Ruby Sparks” and say ‘forget writing up a girl… let’s write up a different ending’! X-Men First Class sequel gets a fantastic name! Geekscape casts the Fantastic Four reboot for Fox! FX refuses to give up on “Powers”! I definitely give up on the 3DS title “Planet Crashers” but it leads me back into the arms of the original Zelda! Oh sweet, sweet adventurous, exploring original Zelda arms!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:20 — 17.7MB)

Simon Kinberg Talks About The Much Anticipated Sequel To ‘X-Men: First Class’!

by Shawn Madden

Simon Kinberg  has already given some hints as to the direction that the X-Men: First Class sequel may take and in a recent interview with Collider he went a little more in-depth (well…minus actual plot points that is) into it. He also comments that he, Vaughn and Goldman have been given a little more creative room due to the success of movies such as Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and Chronicle.

“I wish I could tell you about it, but literally, it’s like the most guarded state secret I’ve ever been around.  I can tell you that it’s going really well, and I can tell you that I’ve been working closely with Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman on the script of the movie and that we hope to be shooting in Spring of next year to come out in July of 2014 and that I’m really excited about it, because the only thing I can say, because I have to be extraordinarily vague about it, because the last time I talked to anybody about it, I got in trouble…big trouble…what I can tell you is [that] it’s extraordinarily ambitious.  It is unlike the other X-Men movies and yet very much a celebration of the X-Men movies.”
“I don’t know enough of what he [Vaughn] has or hasn’t talked about.  I can tell you it’s been a very fluid process in the sense of we really went into it, Matthew, Jane and myself, just wanting to create a movie that was as…I’m very proud of First Class…as dramatic as that movie, I think it is as dramatic as that movie, but more epic, mythic in a way as well.  So, there are ideas that we’ve started with that haven’t survived, there are ideas that we started with from conversations we had from making First Class that are going to be in the sequel.  So, it’s vague but…”
“It’s one of those movies that, because it’s such a big deal for the studio, they have some sense of what it is that we’re writing and they are ambitious about the movie, too.  I don’t know what the budget’s going to be, we’ve got to finish the script before we have a budget, but I would assume that it is a bigger movie than the last in physical scope, and that we have the license to do that because of the success of First Class. And because I think Fox has had success with interesting movies in the last couple of years in the genre, like Planet of the Apes was a really good movie, Chronicle was a cool movie, First Class, they’re just narratively or creatively a little bit more ambitious.  So they’ve encouraged us to do that with the sequel.”

UPDATE: Castings News For ‘The Wolverine’

by Scott Alminiana

Update: Casting news is just pouring in now! Heat Vision is reporting that not only is Will Yun Lee been cast but Brian Tee (“Grim,” “Burn Notice,” The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) has also been cast.

Tee is playing Noburo Mori, a corrupt minister of justice who is about to marry the daughter of a yakuza crime lord (the daughter is Wolverine’s love interest).

Update: Deadline is reporting that Will Yun Lee (Total Recall, “Hawai 5-0,” Elektra) has been cast as Harada in The Wolverine. In the comics, Kenuichio Harada is also known as the Silver Samurai. Does this mean that we will get to see Silver Samurai and his badass armor? I can only hope!

 

Superherohype is reporting that sources inside the production of The Wolverine have told them that casting  is starting to come together on the movie.  So far four new cast members have been added to the cast with more to come:

Hiroyuki Sanada (“Lost,” Rush Hour 3, The Last Samurai) is set to play Shingen; veteran actor Hal Yamanouchi (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Push, Sinbad of the Seven Seas) plays Yashida; and new discoveries Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima will star as Mariko and Yukio, respectively.

The Wolverine is set for release on July 26, 2013  and is being directed by James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Knight and Day, Walk the Line) from a script by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Jack Reacher). Hugh Jackman will once again don the claws as Logan aka Weapon X aka Wolverine. The story is reported to be heavily inspired by the Chris Claremont and Frank Miller four-issue mini-series from 1982. Filming is set to take place in Australia and Japan. 

I’m really hoping that this movie is decent and can make me forgot the abomination that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I still have nightmares about how crappy that thing was. Here’s to hoping that Fox can follow-up the awesomeness that was X-Men: First Class and with The Wolverine and give Logan the kind of movie we know he deserves.

Lucas Till Talks Havok In ‘X-Men: First Class’ Sequel

by Shawn Madden

One of the best pieces of casting when it came to ‘looking the part’ ‘First Class’ was Lucas Till as Alex Summers, also known as Havok. While they did take a few liberties, I do think they did a good job with the character. Hopefully we will get a little more screen time for Alex Summers this time, as we didn’t get much character development the first time around.

IGN spoke with Till at E3 this past week about the upcoming sequel.

“All I know is that my mom told me we’re going to start shooting in January. It’s funny because she tells me everything that goes on before I know. I don’t know if you saw, but Havok shoots hula hoops out of his body. I remember when (director Matthew Vaughn) told me, and I was like, ‘NOOOO!’ It’s going to ruin it for all the fans of Havok and I tried to make the best of it, but I really hope in the next one that the chest piece—because there’s always that circle in the middle so you could tell where his power level was at—but not necessarily used as a device to channel the energy from. I want some gauntlets or something to shoot it out of my hands, and I want Polaris in there. I want a sexy green-haired girl to fall in love with. That’s all I’m asking for.”

 

Why “Days of Future Past” Is A Brilliant Idea For An X-Men Sequel

by Eric Diaz

Yesterday it was revealed that Twentieth Century Fox had registered the name Days of Future Past with the MPAA. While this might turn out to be nothing, I’d say it is pretty significant clue as to what the future holds for an X-Men First Class sequel, now scheduled to come out in Summer 2014. The idea of using Days as a template is a minor stroke of genius on the part of director Matthew Vaughn, and if Days in indeed the inspiration for the new movie, here are some reasons why it is a brilliant move.

The Original Story Is A Classic

The original Days of Future Past story was a two parter that ran in 1980, and closed out Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s legendary run on Uncanny X-Men. Along with The Dark Phoenix Saga, it is considered one of the greatest X-Men stories ever told, and one that has been revisited many a time. The original story deals with a dystopian future, one in which mutants are incarcerated in concentration camps and the city of New York is patrolled by mutant hunting Sentinel robots. An older Kitty Pryde transfers her mind into the younger, present-day Kitty Pryde, who brings the X-Men to prevent a fatal moment in history (in this instance, a political assassination) which triggers anti-mutant hysteria. The story constantly  switches between the past and the present.

One can imagine that if DOFP is used, then certain story elements would be radically altered. A character from the “future” X-Men team would need to have a physical presence in the past as well for the whole mind switch thing to work, and since the “present” scenes are presumably still in the 1960’s era (and since there is no Kitty Pryde character among the First Class kids) my money is on Mystique. With Jennifer Lawrence’s star ascending thanks to the Hunger Games, Fox will no doubt want to expand her role in a sequel. Mystique could be a member of the future X-Men, who (like the original comic) include mutants that are former enemies like Magneto among them, banded together for survival.

Days of Future Past Is A First Class Sequel AND an X4

Fox has been mulling an X4 ever since the end of Last Stand. Sure, most fans hate X3, but it made a gajillion dollars. The only reason that Fox didn’t do another one right away was because everyone’s salary would have had to double to come back, and they didn’t think it was worth it with that many principle players. But the “Future” segments of DOFP could serve as an unofficial X4, although it is likely that only Wolverine (and maybe one other member of the original cast) would still be around.  X3 killed off Cyclops, Jean and Charles Xavier (sorta) and a subsequent mutant Holocaust could get rid of the other dead weight, *cough*HalleBerry*cough*  leaving an older grizzled Wolverine and an “X-Men” team of survivors. This would be a good time to flesh out characters like Colossus and maybe even Angel, characters who just stood around in the last movie with little to no characterization. And unlike Wolverine, no one will care if those other parts are re-cast.

And let’s not pretend the leader of the future team and main returning X-Man will be anyone but Hugh Jackman as Logan; let’s face it, whether you are sick of him or not, Hugh Jackman is THE face of the X-Men franchise.  His presence alone would guarantee more asses in seats. And unlike so many other members of the original X-Men cast, he sems to genuinely love playing Wolverine, and seems happy to continue doing so for as long as he’s able. The idea of an X-Men sequel with rising stars Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender sharing top billing with Hugh Jackman must have Fox salivating right now.

It Ups The Stakes In A Post Avengers World

As far as super hero movies, especially super hero team movies are concerned, the success of Avengers just changed everything. Long gone are the days when a handful of X-Men can have a fight in the gift shop of the Statue of Liberty and people were satisfied with that.  But a dystopian future, where giant robots roam Manhattan fighting mutants? That’s thinking big, and thinking big is what the X-Men franchise will have to do from now on if it wants to compete.

It Frees Future New Films From Bad Continuity

Despite what many fans might think, First Class was not a total reboot; the opening scenes of both the original  X-Men and First Class in the German death camps are identical, not to mention just having Hugh Jackman cameo as Wolverine is letting you know this is the same universe, some minor continuity errors aside. The biggest problem is that the end of First Class contradicts the beginning of X3, where an older Charles Xavier and Magneto are still allies as late as the 1980’s, and Charles is still walking.

In the original DOFP story, the future Kitty Pryde prevents the assassination attempt that was supposed to result in her oppressive future. But upon returning to her own time, she finds it exactly the same, as she discovers you can’t change the past, only create a new, alternate timeline.

If the movie keeps this ending, it serves two purposes. One, it’s a bittersweet ending, because while Kitty (or whoever replaces Kitty in this movie) can’t save her own world, she creates a new world where the atrocities she experienced may not happen.  Second, it frees any remaining First Class sequels from the shackles of continuity; They would now be free to introduce Cyclops without worrying about him going out like a red shirt, or even redo the whole Dark Phoenix saga correctly. Storm could be introduced and not be Halle Berry. It opens up the X-Men universe again without negating the previous movies, and also not worrying about how this matches up with that. This is the same solution JJ Abrams came up with for his Star Trek reboot, and it worked there, it can work just as well in the X-Men world.

Sentinels, Sentinels, Sentinels

Along with Magneto and Dark Phoenix, the Sentinels are among the most iconic adversaries the X-Men ever faced. And yet, they’ve never made it into a movie (no, the cameo in X3 does not count) DOFP creates a perfect opportunity to introduce various types of  Sentinels. Because who the hell doesn’t wanna see the X-Men fight giant robots?

Of course, in the next few days and months, it could be revealed that DOFP isn’t really the basis for the new movie at all, and I’ll feel really silly here.

RUMOR: Days Of Future Past For ‘X-Men: First Class’ Sequel?

by Shawn Madden

With the recent announcement of the sequel to ‘X-Men: First Class’ having a release date of July 18, 2014 it is highly possible that details to the film may start to drip out and one rumor already has.

Aint It Cool is reporting something that will quite possibly make fans happy

“One of my little birds Weapon X recently dropped me some information that 20th Century Fox had recently registered the title DAYS OF FUTURE PAST with the MPAA Title Registration Bureau. The Bureau exists for studios and productions companies to stake their claims on certain titles that they intend to release and distribute, so that others can stray from using a similar title.”

Fans have been begging for Sentinels since almost around the time of ‘X2: X-Men United’ and we were given that major tease of one in ‘X3’. I was so excited when I heard there was Sentinels in ‘X3’ and as soon as the scene ended all I could say was “…wait. That was it?!”

Now some of you younger fans may not have any idea what I’m talking about here. So, from Wikipedia here a little info about ‘Days Of Future Past’ and just why this could be a very exciting story to take elements from:

“The storyline alternates between present day, in which the X-Men fight Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and a future timeline caused by the X-Men’s failure to prevent the Brotherhood from assassinating Senator Robert Kelly. In this future universe, Sentinels rule the United States, and mutants live in internment camps. The present-day X-Men are forewarned of the possible future by a future version of their teammate Kitty Pryde, whose mind traveled back in time and possessed her younger self to warn the X-Men. She succeeds in her mission and returns to the future, but despite her success, the future timeline still exists as an alternative timeline rather than as the actual future.”

The story also featured huge involvements from Rachel Summers and Nimrod. And while a direct adaptation is unlikely as hell to happen (especially since Shadowcast was like 16 in ‘X3’…unless they’re going to somehow ignore that)… incorporating elements could happen and I definitely have faith in Vaughn after seeing ‘First Class’. Another interesting element is that months back Rob Lifefeld has tweeted “Also excited to discuss possibilities of Cable in future X-films!!!” Could this film be a way to incorporate Nathan Summers? Only time will tell! Pun intended.

Twentieth Century Fox Teases Fans At Cinemacon 2012

by Eric Diaz

For years, Twentieth Century Fox has been the studio fanboys love to hate; from slowly killing the Alien franchise with bad sequel after bad sequel, to their treatment of their Marvel properties, let’s just say that Fox chairman Tom Rothman has a bad reputation with the geek crowd. But last summer that started to change, when both X-Men First Class and Rise of the Planet of the Apes actually ended up being….really good. And now Prometheus looks to be a legitimate sci fi movie and not just another cheap cash in like AVP. Has Rothman seen the light? In any event, people are excited about Fox genre fare for the first time in a long time. At this year’s Cinemacon in Las Vegas, several websites got the chance to quiz Rothman on several genre movies, and here are some of the tidbits that they got:

According to MTV News, who spoke to Rothman, the sequel to X-Men: First Class will begin shooting early next year; “We’re going to start shooting January 2013 for a release date of either Christmas 2013, or Summer 2014, The script is in development now. Matt, Simon Kinberg and Jane Goldman are working on it now.” In other mutant news, The Wolverine is still set in Japan and based on the famous Chris Claremont/Frank Miller mini series from the 80’s. Studio work is going to be done in Australia, but location shooting is going to be in Japan. Rothman admits to the mistakes on the last Wolverine movie, and indicates that they’re “listening to the fans” this time.  “I can just tell you on behalf of (Hugh Jackman) his goal is to make the ultimate, bad ass, berserker rage Wolverine” Also, it looks like the rumors of Chronicle director Josh Trank taking on the Fantastic Four reboot are true, as he has been brought in to develop the new FF movie: And speaking of Chronicle, that might be getting a sequel too, although Rothman said they “won’t just make a sequel to make one; the story needs to be there, one that maintains the honesty and integrity of the original.” 

In terms of the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rothman said (in speaking with Collider) “That’s very much on the tracks.  We’re developing a script.  Rupert Wyatt, who directed the first one, will direct the second one.  We’re pushing forward aggressively, so the script’s being written now… but the goal for us would be summer of 2014, if that’s possible.

And finally, for those excited about the fifth Die Hard movie, A Good Day to Die Hard, here’s what Rothman  had to say about this one: “John McClane, the ultimate American hero, goes to Russia.  So talk about a fish out of water, he’s completely out of water….It’s really a father-son story, which is that John McClane’s been a great cop his whole life but he’s been a pretty lousy father.  He has a grown son who he’s not really been in much touch with, and McClane thinks the son’s a fuck up—that’s a technical term. So he goes to Russia, he thinks, to bail his son out of jail, and it turns out the son’s not a fuck up, he’s the antithesis of that.  In fact, the apple has not fallen far from the tree, the apple has not fallen from the tree, which is that the son is a badder ass John McClane than John McClane.” Sounds to me like they are setting up Willis free Die Hard 6 with Jr. McClane.

X-Men: First Class Sequel Gets January 2013 Start Date

by Eric Diaz

The sequel to X-Men: First Class is now officially a go; although director Matthew Vaughn had already been asked to return, and a script was currently being written, nothing concrete was confirmed regarding when/if the new movie would start shooting, at least until now. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox  informed talent agencies Thursday that they plan to begin shooting the sequel to X-Men: First Class in January of 2013. That means Lionsgate could move forward with a Fall  start date for the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire without a conflict for newly minted star Jennifer Lawrence, who is set to star in both films.

Not much else is known about First Class 2, except that it probably won’t be called First Class 2. If filming is set to begin next January, that means either a Christmas 2013 or Summer 2014 release date. Given that Jennifer Lawrence is now a big star (or at least the “it girl” of the moment) she’ll likely get a bigger part than last time. Rumors have the movie taking place anywhere from the mid 60’s to the 70’s, but right now is little more than fanboy speculation. Personally, I vote for the 70’s…because that increases the chances for an appearance by Dazzler, not to mention killer sideburns for Michael Fassbender’s Magneto.