Josh Schwartz explains X-Men: First Class exit

Back in November 2008 Gossip Girl and The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz was hired by 20th Century Fox to write the script for X-Men: First Class. As the film would focus on the X-Men as teenagers it seemed Schwartz was the right guy for the job, as he’s written and produced a few different teen-orientated TV shows.

However a few months ago it was announced that Bryan Singer would be returning to the franchise to direct the film, and as a result Schwartz’s script was pushed aside and Singer hired Jamie Moss to write the screenplay for his vision. We haven’t heard anything from Schwartz on the matter for a while, but MTV managed to ask him about it recently.

“I finished my draft,” Schwartz told MTV News. “Bryan Singer came onboard the movie, who’s the best possible guy to direct the ‘X-Men’ movies, and he wanted to make a very different kind of movie.”

“He’s Bryan Singer. If he wants to make an X-Men movie, they make his X-Men movie,” said Schwartz. “But it was a great experience and it was an honor to work on it.”

Pressed for more information about the “First Class” script that almost made it to the screen, Schwartz said he’d be endangering his life if he let any details slip. “I cannot. It’s on lockdown,” he said. “Sworn to secrecy. I swear to god, there’s a sniper with a gun pointed at me from that building.”

I guess there will forever be a ‘what if’ now with First Class, adding to the ‘what if’ Singer directed X-Men 3.

From the small bits of info we’ve received over the past year or so it seemed Schwartz was heading in an interesting direction. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner said they “want it to be like the recent, darker Potters. It should not be a kiddie movie – we’re in the X-Men world so you can’t suddenly change the tone.” She also mentioned Schwartz reviewed his script following the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so the actors who played Cyclops and Emma Frost could have appeared in First Class also.

Singer’s version will focus more attention on the relationship between Xavier and Magneto (who probably wasn’t in Schwartz’ script) which I’m looking forward too. We will also see the formation of the X-Men, so they will probably be looking for some young kids/teens to play Cyclops, Storm and Jean. Beast will be slightly older if his appearance in The Last Stand is anything to go by.

It looks like Singer will be directing Jack the Giant Killer for New Line sometime this year, so X-Men: First Class will likely go into production in 2011, depending on Singer’s schedule.