Filmonic » X-Men Origins: Magneto

Fan made X-Men Origins: Magneto Trailer

Liam — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:23:30 +0000

Last month X-Men producer Lauren Shulder Donner pretty much confirmed that X-Men Origins: Magneto, which had been in development limbo for 2 years, was dead. I can understand why, I mean out of all the planned X-Men movies Magneto would probably perform worst at the box office, unless they could somehow get Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt involved.

The script revolved around a young Magneto getting revenge on Nazi’s and befriending a young Charles Xavier. It’s not really blockbuster material, however I would love to see a Magneto movie at some point in the future. The character may not be as commercial as Wolverine but he is far more interesting. 20th Century Fox just need to find a director who could make a dark, gritty and badass movie.

In the meantime (which could be a few years) here’s a cool X-Men Origins: Magneto fan made trailer you can be watching. It uses footage from all three movies, so (if you can) just imagine everyone looking younger. It also doubles up as a tribute to the character Ian McKellen brought to life so magnificently.

Updates on the X-Men franchise: Wolverine 2, First Class and Deadpool. Magneto is dead

Liam — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:31:05 +0000

X-Men Origins: Wolverine will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK next week, and UK magazine Empire flew out to the US to have a one-one-one with producer Lauren Shuler Donner. As expected, they asked her for updates on Wolverine 2, X-Men: First Class, Deadpool and X-Men Origins: Magneto and she had a lot to say.

Wolverine 2

Donner says that Wolverine 2 is the furthest along out of all the projects and will focus on the relationship between Wolverine and Mariko, the daughter of a Japanese crime lord, and what happens to him in Japan. She says they wanted an “A+ writer” so they got Chris McQuarrie (Valkyrie, The Usual Suspects) who has tightened up the story and has “got really immersed in the whole thing”. 20th Century Fox will also be working with the Japanese Fox executives as they “don’t want to portray the way [Japanese people] speak, dress and act in an inaccurate way.” Although it is “likely the characters will speak English rather than Japanese with subtitles”.

Donner finishes by saying “there’ll be samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts – mano-a-mano, extreme fighting. We’re going to come up with a new style of fighting. It’s going to be awesome.”

X-Men: First Class

According to Donner the script is not finished and they aren’t where they want to be yet. They are trying hard not to make it too similar to the previous trilogy and want to make it different. Donner also admits that the Harry Potter movies are “role models” for them but 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 says that there’s still friction between mutants and the outside world, but First Class will be set before anyone knows mutants exist so it will probably have a more secretive edge. Regarding the characters Donner says they will be in Xavier’s School but they will also be off on adventures and some will be “naughty children”. She gives Cyclops as an example who is “a tough kid that bobbed from foster home to foster home, until he ends up at the school and becomes the leader.” None of the characters have been cast yet, but they plan on turning First Class into a whole new franchise so “the casting of the child actors will be all-important.” I’m not sure how young the actors will be but they’ll probably be young enough so we see them grow up on-screen.

Deadpool

Deadpool will be a complete reboot as they want to “ignore the version of Deadpool that we saw in Wolverine and just start over again”. Donner says it will be a “dark, snarky, very funny movie” and they are just working out which villain(s) to incorporate. They hope to have a writer on-board by next month and are currently talking to a few. “We need someone really imaginative because we want to do some really innovative, ambitious stuff. Ryan’s mentioned this in an interview already but there are parts where he’s going to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience in the cinema. We have to work out how to do that. I don’t know that Fox will agree with all our decisions, but we’ll see!”

X-Men Origins: Magneto

…won’t be seen for a while, if ever. Donner says the film is “at the back of the queue” out of all the films and she isn’t sure if the script David Goyer wrote is ever going to be made. “Maybe it’ll get made in five years – who knows? I can tell you that Ian McKellen won’t be playing the character the whole way through. We used Lola technology in X-Men 3 to de-age Ian and Patrick for one scene, but it’s very expensive. To do that for a two-hour movie would be prohibitive financially. And to find a younger actor to fill Ian’s shoes, that’s pretty daunting. It’s not easy.”

Summary

The X-Men franchise peaked in 2003. 20th Century Fox have since been too involved with the creative process and we have ended up with disappointments. Although, they have hired Chris McQuarrie to write Wolverine 2 and there is a chance Bryan Singer could return to direct. If that happens Wolverine 2 may actually be a good movie.

If Fox don’t screw things up they could have a new franchise with X-Men: First Class. The films won’t be as good as the Potter ones, but that franchise ends in 2011 and there will be a gap in the market. They need to get an “A+ director” involved.

I’m not that much of a Deadpool fan but from what we’ve heard they want to stay close to the source material. When we find out who they hire to write and direct it will give us an indication whether it’s a potential new superhero franchise or just doomed.

I’ve been wanting to see a Magneto movie ever since it was announced they were making one. Over the years I’ve questioned whether David Goyer is actually the right man for the job, but I don’t think he is. I’d rather get a great Magneto movie in 5+ years than have a sub-par movie start filming next year.

Which movie are you looking forward too (if any)? Can 20th Century Fox bring the X-Men franchise back up to the level it once was?

David Goyer and James McTeigue talk Magneto

Liam — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:04:03 +0000

X-Men Origins: Magneto has been in development hell ever since the writers strike in 2007/2008 and it’s been a frustrating two years. They were scouting for locations and budgeting before the WGA put down their pens, but then David Goyer started working on The Unborn (12% on Rotten Tomatoes) and then he moved onto the his TV show FlashForward.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox were waiting to see how X-Men Origins: Wolverine fared ($371 million worldwide), and have since been developing a Wolverine 2, Deadpool and X-Men: First Class. Magneto, however, looks like it will be in development hell for a while.

Collider recently asked Goyer for an update on the project, and he basically said what he’s been saying for the past few months: “I’m busy, Fox are thinking”.

I’ll pretend I didn’t see the part where he didn’t know how to pronounce Magneto (the same Magneto he’s apparently co-wrote a script for, and the same Magneto that’s been in 3 X-Men movies).

I don’t think I want David Goyer to direct Magneto. In the past I was up for it because I wanted to see the movie made and he worked on The Dark Knight, but that has really been the only great thing he’s done and it’s mainly down to Christopher Nolan. Goyer is busy with FlashForward and Ghost Rider 2 anyway. If only there were another director interested in it…

…oh wait, there is! V for Vendetta and Ninja Assassin director James McTeigue. From FirstShowing:

To wrap things up, I asked James about the rumor that IMDb lists his name as a co-director (with David Goyer) on the still-in-development X-Men Origins: Magneto movie. As you might’ve expected, that is pretty much a completely BS rumor. “I think David Goyer would probably be surprised about that, actually. I think that’s just one of those rumors that kind of starts… Until he drops out!” McTeigue said he would love to do it, but it’s Goyer’s project, he wrote it, he’ll probably direct, and he won’t touch it since it’s entirely Goyer’s baby.

Imagine having a baby you can’t pronounce the name of! Fox I suggest you give McTeigue a call before Warner Bros. sign him up for the next Superman movie. You don’t want to make the same mistake twice do you!?

(If you do may I suggest Bryan Singer, you may have heard of him, or Alfonso Cuarón. He made Children of Men)

[Magneto and Sentinel image by Livio]

More X-Men talk. X4 still possible? Gavin Hood for Magneto?

Liam — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:58:27 +0000

Last week Tim Pocock who played Cyclops in X-Men Origins: Wolverine updated his Twitter page with the following:

currently shooting Australian TV series till February 2010…then X-men first class ;)

However, a few days later he had this to say:

victim of cruel prank.last tweet=NOT me.AM filming Aussie show till2010.no official word on XM:FC but am interested.please post retraction.

Was this actually a prank? Or had 20th Century Fox picked up on it and told him to shut his Twitter hole? Well /Film recently had the chance to ask producer Lauren Shuler Donner what’s going on:

According to Shuler Donner, there’s no truth to the initial claim at all. She announced that the film has no scheduled start date and will definitely not be kicking off in February. What’s more, she confirmed that no actors have signed contracts to appear in the film.
I asked if they had signed the young mutants up for an option on future films, and she admitted that yes, everybody was under option. No surprises there.

Donner also said that she is cooking up plans for an X-Men 4 and a movie based on The New Mutants, although having followed the X-Men films for years I know that Donner likes to blurt out ideas and nothing ever comes of them. I think that they should focus their attention on making the films they’ve already got scripts for like X-Men: First Class and X-Men Origins: Magneto…

…which brings me to an interview MTV had with X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood.

David Goyer has been the popular name mentioned to direct “X-Men Origins: Magneto,” but if the “Dark Knight” writer finds himself committed when the project finally comes together, Hood says he’d be willing to step behind the camera.
“I think the character of Magneto is still a phenomenally interesting character,” Hood told MTV News while discussing last week’s release of “Wolverine” on DVD and Blu-Ray.
“Absolutely, if I was asked I’d take an interest,” the director said. “But the truth is I haven’t been asked and I think that the studio right now is waiting to see how we do with the ["X-Men Origins: Wolverine"] DVDs, and who knows where we’ll all be if and when a ["Wolverine 2"] script is ready.”

In interviews Gavin Hood comes across as an intelligent and likeable guy, however I don’t want him directing Magneto. I’d prefer them to get someone with a bit more experience with big budget movies, and a director who can tell 20th Century Fox where to stick it when they start making stupid creative decisions.

David Goyer expects Magneto to move forward ‘in the next year’

Liam — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:09:05 +0000

It’s been a few years since David Goyer was hired to direct X-Men Origins: Magneto and at one point they were scouting for filming locations and working on the budget, however things didn’t work out (possibly due to the writers strike). Then we were told that Magneto would only go ahead if X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a success. Well it was (financially anyway), and I was hoping 20th Century Fox would give it the green-light as they have done with Deadpool. However, we haven’t heard anything yet and the latest comes from David Goyer who gave some slightly encouraging news.

Goyer spoke with MTV News about the long rumored “X-Men Origins: Magneto” project, and while the filmmaker acknowledged its prospects, he also mentioned that “Magneto” is just one in a long line of potential X-films.
“They’re still thinking about doing it,” Goyer revealed to MTV News. “They’re definitely looking into doing other X-Men spinoffs.”
“I’ve been in touch with them,” he said. “I’m sure that project will move forward in the next year or so.”

The problem with Magneto is that it is probably the least ‘commercial’ X-Men movie 20th Century Fox could be working on. X-Men: First Class will have a similar audience to the previous X-Men films but not everyone will want to see Magneto running around with Xavier getting revenge on Navi’s. And while Inglorious Bastards has recently given the whole ‘killing Nazi’ genre a boost, Magneto won’t be doing it with funky music in the background and he won’t have Quentin Tarantino or Brad Pitt.

X-Men: First Class vs. X-Men Origins: Magneto

Liam — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:53:20 +0000

X-Men Origins: Wolverine proved that people haven’t tired of X-Men franchise just yet as it has made $350 million worldwide, and we already know that a Wolverine 2 is in the early stages of development, as is a Deadpool spin-off. But what about X-Men: First Class and X-Men Origins: Magneto? At one point back in 2007 director David Goyer was scouting for locations to film Magneto, but then the writers went on strike and work on the film stopped. 20th Century Fox focused all of their attention on Wolverine while David Goyer worked on other stuff such as The Dark Knight and The Unborn. Then we got word in October last year that Josh Schwartz had been hired to write the script for X-Men: First Class, which would revolve around Xavier’s first students at his School for Gifted Youngsters.

As it currently stands 20th Century Fox have three X-Men films in development and a spin-off, so which will come first? And in what order? SHH got the chance to speak to David Goyer and he explained what the current thinking at Fox was:

“There have been some preliminary discussions,” he told us about Magneto, adding, “I think, at Fox, they’re trying to decide if making a young X-Men film makes the most sense next, does making a ‘Magneto’ make the most sense next. They’re just trying to decide internally who’s next up.”

Wolverine 2 and Deadpool will come whenever they are ready, but Fox are deciding whether X-Men: First Class or X-Men Origins: Magneto should come first. Early drafts of the Magneto script include a young Charles Xavier who meets up with Magneto on his travels, so would it make sense to show Xavier and Magneto’s origins, then show Xavier setting up his school in First Class? Or do they set up First Class and then show how it all began? If they want do to things in order Magneto would come first. But X-Men Origins: Wolverine has shown that you can go back in time and still have a hit without confusing the audience.

Whatever they decide I just hope they get them right. I think it’s fair to say that the X-Men franchise peaked back in 2003 with X2, but with the money still rolling in will Fox continue to pump out so-so X-Men films or will they hire an X-Men version of Christopher Nolan to give the franchise a kick?

Bryan Singer talks X-Men, Magneto and Superman

Liam — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:15:20 +0000

X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner recently said that she would love Bryan Singer to return to the franchise after he left to direct Superman Returns. X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are overall considered disappointments compared to X2, which I think is still one of the best comic book/superhero films ever made. Singer recently spoke to Total Film about not directing X-Men 3 and about possibly returning to direct X-Men Origins: Magneto.

From The Geek Files:

Speaking to Total Film, Singer said: “I’m eternally intertwined with X-Men now. What takes an audience four hours to watch – the first two movies – took six years of my life. So, to not be part of it….It’s a shame.”
Asked whether he wished he had directed X-Men: The Last Stand, he admitted he had that feeling “before I was watching it, during watching it, after watching it.”
Singer added:”It’s weird for me to watch it, because I’m so close to the universe. And also Brett is a good friend of mine. But, of course, I would love to return to that universe.”
And on the question of whether he might be interested in X-Men Origins: Magneto, he said: “Possibly. The only thing that concerns me about Magneto is that if the prequel were to follow the track I used in X-Men, which is Magneto’s history in the concentration camp, then I’ve lived in that world.
“Apt Pupil, X-Men and now Valkyrie…I’ve lived in that Nazi universe for quite a while. I just might need to take a little break before I do something like that.”

So far Bryan Singer is the only director who has proven he can make an X-Men film that pleases fans, critics and the general public alike, so for him to return to direct another X-Men film would be something i’d like to see. Wolverine would have been ideal for him as we saw in the first two films that he obviously knows the character well, however that one has been done. The opening scene of X-Men involving Magneto as a teenager is the exact tone and style X-Men Origins: Magneto should be, so Fox should definitely consider getting Singer back for that.

Singer also spoke about the Superman sequel/reboot/thing that has been talked about for the past few years. He doesn’t seem optimistic.

“I don’t know, I don’t know. There are still issues…I just…I just don’t know. I don’t necessarily…I don’t know. It’s one of those things where…It’s so weird talking about stuff unless I’m about to ramp up and shoot it.”

Singer should have stayed with X-Men instead of making Superman Returns. I liked the film, however it didn’t perform as well as expected at the box office. It wasn’t a huge success, but it wasn’t a total failure either.

Lauren Shuler Donner talks Magneto and X-Men: First Class

Liam — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:50:14 +0000

Last week X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner revealed that she hopes X-Men: First Class becomes a new franchise, and that it will focus on younger version of characters we have already seen, such as Jean, Cyclops and Beast. Now she has spoken a bit more about it to Scifi Wire, and she also gave us an update on Magneto which may get some attention now X-Men Origins: Wolverine is almost out of the way.

What’s the latest on Magneto?
Shuler Donner: I don’t know. We have a great script. Honestly, we have all been just so focused on getting Wolverine out that we didn’t take the time to sit down and explore “What are the movies we’re going to do next within the genre?” We will do that. We will do that. We all want to. Magneto is a fantastic script, and hopefully we’ll make it. I don’t know.
How much will the reaction to Wolverine affect Magneto?
Shuler Donner: I think this is partly to do with it, yes. And then we have First Class, which is based on the X-Men comics’ first class and is very literal to the title. It’s the first class in Xavier’s school. But that’s just being written. I haven’t even seen a first draft. And I’m producing that with Simon Kinberg.
What interests you about First Class as a potential franchise?

Shuler Donner: I like kids. I did produce Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire. I do like those kind of teenage movies; I really do. Part of it takes me to my roots. It’s action. There seems, to me, to be more humor, or more potential for humor. I really like that idea. The relationship … I don’t want to get into what the script is about, but it provides a bit of a lighter touch to the franchise.

I’m not sure I like the idea of the X-Men becoming more light with added humor, but then again Iron Man was ‘light’ compared to other comic book movies and had a few laughs. As long as it light as well as serious i’ll be happy.

However with X-Men Origins: Magneto…I want it dark, and with a script involving Nazi concentration camps and genocide I don’t see how it won’t be. I know 20th Century Fox like to make the most commerical movies possible, but I can’t see that with Magneto. They might aswell just make a dark, faithful movie rather than making it lighter in order to sell toys.

Lauren Shuler Donner wants X-Men: First Class to become a franchise

Liam — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:29:11 +0000

In February Josh Schwartz said that he was just getting started on writing X-Men: First Class, so we didn’t expect to hear much at this stage of development, however, promotion for X-Men Origins: Wolverine is gearing up and people behind the X-Men franchise are starting to talk. Lauren Shuler Donner has produced all the X-Men films, including Wolverine, and revealed on Fox Movie Channel’s Life after Film School that she hoped X-Men: First Class becomes a whole new X-Men franchise. She also revealed which characters will be involved.

From Comics Continuum:

“It is the first class of Xavier’s school, way back when, so it’s young Scott, young Jean, young Beast and that’ll be really fun,” Donner said. “I think (the plan) is to follow some of the characters into their own stories, and weave them back into the X-Men world.
“And hopefully First Class will become its own franchise and we can follow them as they grow up.”
She also acknowledged that a Magneto movie remains in development.

I’m glad we finally know which characters the film will revolve around, as there was speculation that it could focus on a whole new bunch of characters. While we will be seeing young versions of Cyclops, Jean and Beast, we have already seen young versions of Iceman and Angel in the trilogy, so the famous original line-up probably won’t happen. There is also the fact that a young Cyclops appears in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so the chances are X-Men: First Class will take place after Wolverine, and Tim Pocock (who plays young Cyclops) could have a good few years ahead of him, unless they recast for whatever reason.

They will obviously involve other characters, including some we have seen before. We could see a young Storm (we caught a glimpse of a toddler-looking Storm in the first Wolverine trailer, however Lauren Shuler Donner said that the scene won’t make the final cut. This could be so that it doesn’t screw up continuity if they plan on adding a young Storm in X-Men: First Class). As it will be the first class of Xavier’s school Patrick Stewart may end up returning, unless they recast Xavier like they did with William Stryker. I hope they don’t though. I’d like to think that Patrick Stewart will be the man that links the X-Men franchise together on-screen.

I’m happy that Fox have chosen Josh Schwartz (The O.C, Chuck) as writer. If you’re going to make a movie about young adults, you might as well get the guy who knows how to write them well. Fanboys may want people like Christopher Nolan (the current fanboy God after The Dark Knight) to write and direct their favourite superhero’s, but writing for young mutants with young mutant problems might not be one of their strengths. I am eager to find out who ends up directing this. As long as it’s not Brett Ratner i’ll be happy.

Ian McKellen ‘ready and waiting’ for Wolverine 2

Liam — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:51:11 +0000

Ian McKellen has revealed to Showbiz Spy that in the event of a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine being green light he would be willing to grab his helmet and reprise his role as Magneto.

Ian says, “I’m here and ready and waiting.
“If the Wolverine movie does well they’ll probably make another one and I’d love to do battle with Hugh again.”

Personally I wouldn’t be too interested in seeing Magneto in a Wolverine movie. I’d much rather see that Magneto movie Fox have been sat on for years.

In other Magneto/X-Men Origins: Wolverine news (possible spoilers) someone brought to my attention a scene that the crew may be filming in Vancouver. Additional filming is currently taking place and apparently one scene towards the end of the film involves a badly beaten Sabretooth being picked up by two familiar faces. One is already mentioned in this post and the other is rather blue and naked. Apparently it will involve body doubles because McKellen and Rebecca Romijn are busy (McKellen is on stage and Romijn has just had twins). X-Men Origins: Wolverine takes place around 15 years before X-Men so they may be adding that scene to link the movies, as Sabretooh appears in the Brotherhood alongside Magneto and Mystique in X-Men.

Of course it could be bull, however the person who informed me has been right in the past about a few things regarding filming, so take it as you will.