The details to date for the upcoming X-Men prequel haven’t exactly set the Internet on fire to put it mildly, but the information released today has got me excited. Not only is the movie a prequel that will embrace the comic book designs rather than furthering the leather biker gear look, but it will also be a period film set in the 1960′s, paying homage to the comics by Lee and Kirby.
To my knowledge, this approach completely destroys the timeline created by the previous three films and the Wolverine spin-off which may be for the best seeing as how those movies are already not aging well in fan opinion.
Giant Size X-Men #1
- The movie is set in the 1960s, and invokes John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
- It will detail the first meeting between Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender).
- Xavier is not yet in a wheelchair (although we’ll see how he gets there) and has a full head of hair.
- The movie is not based at all on the X-Men: First Class comics. Jean Grey and Scott Summers are not in the movie.
- Look for 1960s James Bond-inspired technology.
- The Hellfire Club is definitely a part of the storyline. Kevin Bacon is, in fact, playing Sebastian Shaw and January Jones’ Emma Frost is part of The Club. Singer thinks the trappings of the club are perfectly suited to the 1960s setting.
- The cast list found on IMDB is correct with the exception of Rosamund Pike.
- The movie will be set in numerous locations around the world, giving it a more international flavor.
- Costumes will be more like the comics than previous X-Men movies were and fans will get a first look in a month or so.
- There are additional characters in the movie that have yet to be leaked.
(full article here)
I’ve always been a big fan of Marvel’s un-Merry Mutant family and while I do enjoy the two Bryan Singer films, I have to admit that he did deviate from the source material in significant ways in order to appeal to the mass market. Will ignoring what has been released in film form to date by creating an entirely new franchise that has more in common with the look of the comic book series pay off?
Who can say.
More details as they come.
