) and starring practically everybody in the industry. A quick scan of our past articles show that we've written more about this film than pretty much anything else, with good reason. We're both big comic book fans, and me I've been reading X-men comics long before I ever cracked open a real book. The other reason is that the X-men movies, to me anyway, are the defining superhero film franchise. Blade
might've gotten it started, but it was the X-men movies that really blasted superheroes into the public consciousness.Anyway, with all that news there have been some hits and misses. Some turned out to be true(Taylor Lautner was pursued for a role), and some turned out wrong(Alice Eve as Mystique). In an effort to clear the air, I guess, producer Bryan Singer spoke with Aint It Cool News about the production. He unveiled a lot of details, but i'll just note the ones I found interesting:
* the story takes place during the 1960s, and is presented as a real world take on the time period. Expect to see references made to actual people, such as Martin Luther King and president John F. Kennedy.
* Seeing as how this takes place in the 60s, don't expect to see Cyclops(played by James Marsden in the films) or Jean Grae(Famke Janssen). But that doesn't explain the presence of Hank "Beast" McCoy(played by Nicholas Hoult), who is confirmed.
* the story will revolve around the friendship of Charles Xavier(James McAvoy) and Erik Lenhsherr(Michael Fassbender) aka Magneto. The two will be in their 20s, with Xavier studying at Oxford. He'll also be walking at this point in his life, but we will see the incident that causes him to be paralyzed.
* Kevin Bacon will in fact be playing Sebastian Shaw, leader of the cabal known as the Hellfire Club. The film version will be similar to the way the Club was initially conceived, that of a clandestine group of movers and shakers dressed in Victorian clothing. Since Emma Frost(January Jones) was initially a member of the group, it's assumed she will be in the film as well.
* the main thrust of the story will be the ideological differences between Xavier and Magneto, similar to that of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Xavier has a more peaceful plan for the future, while Magneto's will be much more aggressive and isolating.
* Matthew Vaughn is going for a James Bond feel for the tone of the film, with technology reminscient of that era. The costumes also will be similar to the ones the X-men sported in their earliest appearances. Very simple in design, and none too flashy.
Now things are starting to make sense. The time period gives Vaughn a chance to use a slew of characters we likely never would've had a chance to see in the current X-men movies. But also by introducing Xavier, Magneto, Shaw, and Mystique(who is virtually ageless thanks to her mutation, I might add) they add depth to any future films set in the present day. Consider me even more excited than I was before!
