There has been a lot of talk surrounding Kick-Ass 2 over recent months, and just a few days ago Kick-Ass comic illustrator John Romita Jr. said he expects shooting to begin this year for a summer 2013 release.

Well now Deadline has word that Universal is in talks with producer Matthew Vaughn and co. to make the sequel, and Jeff Wadlow intends to direct from a script he wrote.

Wadlow previously wrote and directed 2005′s Cry_Wolf and his most recent directing effort was Never Back Down in 2008. Matthew Vaughn directed the first film and will remain as producer while he preps the X-Men: First Class sequel for an early 2013 shoot. Lionsgate picked up the original film following a great reception at Comic Con 2009, but they didn’t sign for a follow-up so Vaughn was free to take it elsewhere (and he has).

Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse are in talks to return, and the film will likely follow Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass 2 comic which first hit shelves last October. I don’t want to ruin the plot for myself, but according to Wikipedia “the story follows the main character Kick-Ass who is trying to form a team of real life superheroes, as well as preparing for the arrival of The Red Mist, who has been gathering a team of “Supervillains” to take both Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl down.”

Are you glad Kick-Ass 2 is finally happening?

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Following the success of The Hunger Games Lionsgate is obviously eager to start production on the sequel, Catching Fire, but before playing Katniss Everdeen Jennifer Lawrence starred as Mystique in X-Men: First Class, which 20th Century Fox is now developing a sequel to.

Recently there were reports that both studios were in conflict over Lawrence’s schedule, with both hoping to start shooting their sequels later this year. Now according to THR “Fox is informing talent agencies that the studio plans to begin shooting its in-development sequel to X-Men: First Class in January”, which means Lawrence is free to shoot Catching Fire in August-September.

While X-Men: First Class mainly focused on the Xavier/Magneto story, Mystique had a great character arc in the film (“Mutant and Proud”), so we can probably expect the character to have a similar presence in the sequel, maybe even more given that Lawrence is now the most in-demand actress around. All this franchise action is great for Lawrence as it means she doesn’t have to worry about becoming unemployed anytime soon, but it also means she’ll have to keep the training up for another year at least.

Matthew Vaughn is returning to direct the X-Men sequel, and Jane Goldman recently confirmed she’d be retuning to work on the script which Simon Kinberg has been developing over recent months. All the cast are signed to return, and with The Wolverine set for a July 2013 release we can probably expect the First Class sequel to hit sometime in 2014.

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With Matthew Vaughn officially on-board to direct the X-Men: First Class sequel fans have been wondering whether his co-writing partner Jane Goldman would also be returning. Following the success of X-Men: First Class and The Woman in Black Goldman has been in demand and has various projects in the works at Warner Bros. and Fox, but she confirmed in an interview with Hey U Guys that she’ll be working with Vaughn once again.

You can watch the short interview below:

Simon Kinberg, who co-wrote X-Men: The Last Stand and co-produced X-Men: First Class, was hired to begin work on the script last year so he’s either moved back into his producing role, or they’re all working together and throwing around ideas for where to go next.

With The Wolverine now set for a July 2013 release, we can probably expect the First Class sequel to hit sometime in 2014. In which case, filming should begin next year.

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Fans of X-Men: First Class received some good news last month when it was reported Matthew Vaughn would be returning to direct the sequel. Simon Kinberg, who co-wrote X-Men: The Last Stand and co-produced X-Men: First Class, was hired to begin work on the script last year, and in a new interview the writer said he wants to do “some things unexpected” with Xavier and Magneto in the sequel.

From MTV:

“I’m a huge X-Men fan. I grew up loving the comic books and it was really exciting to be able to do the origin story of Xavier and Magneto, and getting those two actors, [James] McAvoy and [Michael] Fassbender, were really amazing,” he said. “So being able to explore those characters with actors of that quality will be exciting a second time around, and doing some things unexpected with those characters, which is the plan.”

Kinberg went on to say that while they’re still in the early stages of story-planning, the second film will likely involve a lot more Magneto.

“That’s what was so cool about the first one and what we want to continue,” Kinberg said of exploring the supervillain’s tortured beginnings. “Magneto becomes the villain ultimately of the franchise but he’s a much more complicated character as a young man. He’s someone you sympathize with, you care about you root for even though might not necessarily agree with his methods, you understand his philosophy.”

At the end of X-Men: First Class Erik became Magneto (“I prefer…Magneto”), and while we can expect him to have a villainous side from now on, Kinberg said he’ll have “a sympathetic human side you’ll be able to relate but you’ll also be afraid of him”, which is one of the great things about Magneto as a villain. You can understand his motives, and he’s not your typical ‘take over the world’ type of bad guy.

With The Wolverine now set for a July 2013 release, we can probably expect the First Class sequel to hit sometime in 2014. In which case, filming should begin next year.

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In an article over at Deadline about 20th Century Fox production president Emma Watts signing a deal to stay with the studio until 2015, the site mentions “Fox has just closed a deal with Matthew Vaughn to come back and direct the sequel to X-Men: First Class“.

Over the past few months it was looking likely that Vaughn would return. In November James McAvoy said Vaughn was already pitching ideas to the studio, and Fox Chairman and CEO of Filmed Entertainment Tom Rothman said getting Vaughn back to direct was a priority. In the past Fox has allowed their directors to escape to other projects (X3 lost Bryan Singer to Superman Returns), so it’s good to know Vaughn has a deal in place to return. The site also mentions that Singer, who produced First Class, will also be back as producer.

Simon Kinberg, who co-wrote X-Men: The Last Stand and co-produced X-Men: First Class, was hired to begin work on the script 2 months ago so they should already have a basic layout for the sequel. Vaughn’s co-writer Jane Goldman said she’s on-board if Vaughn wants her earlier this month, so she will likely be hired to re-write the script at some point.

All the cast are signed following their deals on the first film, so it’ll just be a case of waiting until they have a script ready. One advantage this time round is that they have a lot more time and aren’t rushing to make a release date a mere 13 months away (as was the case with First Class). If all goes according to plan we may be seeing the mutants on-screen again in 2014.

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The most recent update on a potential sequel to Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class came from Fox Chairman and CEO of Filmed Entertainment Tom Rothman last year who said they were “working hard” on the script and getting Vaughn back to direct was a priority.

In a brief interview with SHH Michael Fassbender joked that he had “no choice” but to play Magneto again as he’s signed for multiple films. He also said development on the sequel was at “the ground level” so it’ll probably be a while before he has to wear the helmet again.

X-Men: First Class co-writer Jane Goldman was also asked recently about the next film, and she’s on-board if Matthew Vaughn wants her (which is likely).

From MTV:

“James and Michael brought so much to them that I think it’s entirely natural to be talking about where those characters would go next,” she said. “It was inherent in their stories and their arcs. There are so many interesting places to go.”

“In terms of what’s going on with that, again from my point of view, it’s down to what Matthew [Vaughn] decides to do,” she said. “If he decides he wants to direct the next one and if he wants me on board, I’m 100 percent there.”

In November James McAvoy said Vaughn was pitching ideas to 20th Century Fox, so at this point it’s looking likely that Vaughn will be back. Simon Kinberg, who co-wrote X-Men: The Last Stand and co-produced X-Men: First Class, was hired to begin work on the script 2 months ago so we may start hearing things about the next film this year.

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Though Kick-Ass didn’t set the box office alight in 2010 it managed to make over $150 million in total if you include DVD and Blu-ray sales, which isn’t bad when the movie itself cost just $28 million to produce.

People involved with the film have been talking about a potential Kick-Ass 2 over recent years with hints here and there, and the latest update comes from screenwriter Jane Goldman (who also co-wrote X-Men: First Class with Matthew Vaughn) who says that while she doesn’t see herself and Vaughn writing/directing, there have been discussions with someone who might.

From MTV:

“I think the only thing that is fairly sure is that right now, Matthew doesn’t have any plans to direct it. He and I are not currently talking about writing it either,” she told MTV. “It may well be that Matthew oversees ['Kick-Ass 2'] in a producer role, and I may also be involved in that capacity. I know that there is somebody that Matthew has been talking to who would be interested in writing and directing that. That would be cool.”

Goldman goes on to say that while the idea of a sequel is “very tempting” she’s “a little on the fence” regarding whether a sequel is actually needed. Mark Millar debuted the comic version of Kick-Ass 2 on October 20th, and the sixth issue was released just last week, so fans can already find out what happens to Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl. It’s just a matter of whether we’ll see those events unfold on the big screen.

Hopefully Vaughn and Goldman’s lack of direct involvement in Kick-Ass 2 means they’re focusing their attention on the X-Men: First Class sequel which is currently being written.

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The Gotham Independent Film Awards took place yesterday and Fox Chairman and CEO of Filmed Entertainment Tom Rothman was in attendance to receive a career tribute award along with Charlize Theron, Gary Oldman, and David Cronenberg. While there Rothman was asked about potential sequels to Rise of the Planet of the Apes and X-Men: First Class, which have seen movement recently, and he said getting directors Rupert Wyatt and Matthew Vaughn back was a priority.

From Coming Soon:

Rothman confirmed to us that they plan on continuing on from both movies and they’re going to try to get both Rupert Wyatt and Matthew Vaughn back to direct once they get the scripts together. “Both of them were really great scripts and so we have to be sure to get great scripts again,” Rothman said. “We’re working hard on the scripts for both of them, but we have every hope of moving forward with them.”

The CEO also confirmed to THR that the studio will be pushing Andy Serkis for some awards recognition over the upcoming months for his role as Caesar.

“I think we may be at the place where we will see a first-ever in Hollywood this year, which is to see Andy Serkis get nominated for a best supporting actor for Planet of the Apes, even though his face never actually appears. But his performance appears, so we are going to push that hard.”

“The emotionality – what you see and what you feel – he did it. I saw him. I watched him. Then they digitally overlaid – you can think of it as a costume – the skin and the hair of an ape. But I tell you the thing that people felt – and a lot of people where moved when they saw the movie – is because of his performance.”

20th Century Fox haven’t exactly been consistent with their handling of the X-Men and Planet of the Apes franchises, but despite slightly rushed productions Fox have successfully breathed new life into both properties. The involvement of Rupert Wyatt and Matthew Vaughn was a large part of why both movies were great, so getting them back will be key.

Reports suggest Wyatt is already locked following the deal he made for the first Apes film, and screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver have signed to return, so it’ll just be a case of getting the script together. As far as we know Vaughn has no deal to return for an X-Men sequel, but James McAvoy recently said Vaughn was pitching ideas to Fox, so it looks promising.

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A few weeks ago news emerged that X-Men: The Last Stand writer and X-Men: First Class producer Simon Kinberg was in the early stages of writing a script for the sequel. So far he’s the only creative talent confirmed (the cast are already locked), and we’re just waiting to see if Matthew Vaughn will return to direct.

Well in a recent interview James McAvoy said Vaughn is pitching ideas to 20th Century Fox, and everyone wants to make sure they have a good script before moving forward.

From io9:

…I know that with Charles, you either have to write him out of the movie or give him an interesting story. He can’t just become the guy that we saw in the first three movies. He just had two major things happen to him. He’s lost his best friend, essentially, and he’s just been paralyzed from the waist down. Which is just a huge, huge blow to his considerable ego. So he’s got to deal with that.

And I don’t think we can just brush over that and go, “yeah I’m in a wheelchair now,” because Professor X is in a wheelchair. You’ve got to deal with that, I don’t care if he’s a superhero and has brain powers or not, he’s just had a huge part of his physical life taken away from him, by someone he cares about more than anyone else. So he’s got to deal with that. That’s part of the interesting ideas that we’re talking about with Matthew [Vaughn], that Matthew’s very excited about which I think is fantastic, but I can’t really get into them with you because they may (or may not) form the spine of the story.

There’s plenty of story left for Charles in between where he is now and where we’ve seen him before. I hope he isn’t written off.

That’s what Matthew is talking about, he’s come up with a particularly interesting idea, last time I spoke with him. So he’s pitching that to Fox, and they’ve basically just got to write the script.

You can read the full interview here.

It’s good to know that Vaughn is interested in returning and is actively working on ideas. Over recent months it looked like Vaughn would be turning his attention to adapting Mark Millar’s comic books The Secret Service and Superior into movies, like he did with Kick-Ass, but the First Class sequel seems to be further in development than both of them.

It’ll also be interesting to see Xavier dealing with his new situation. They didn’t really have time to touch upon it at the end of First Class as the movie was wrapping up, so to explore how Xavier struggles and eventually accepts losing the ability in his legs will give McAvoy something to chew on as he edges close to Patrick Stewart’s Xavier. He’ll also need to lose his hair at some point, so I don’t think Charles will be having much fun in the next film.

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Jason Flemyng, who played teleporting mutant Azazel in X-Men: First Class, dropped a little nugget of information earlier today when he said work had already begun on the script for a sequel. SHH has obviously taken note, and through some detective work they’ve discovered that Simon Kinberg is currently working on the first draft.

Kinberg is very familiar with the X-Men world having co-written X-Men: The Last Stand and co-produced X-Men: First Class. If you’ve watched the First Class Blu-ray features you’ll know that Kinberg was the guy who first contacted Matthew Vaughn about potentially directing the film after seeing Kick-Ass, so he’s partially to blame for how great First Class turned out.

Matthew Vaughn isn’t confirmed to direct the sequel, but during promotion for the first film in June he said he’d be interested, and already has some ideas. More recently during promotion for the DVD/Blu-ray release producer Lauren Shuler Donner said getting Vaughn back was a priority, so if nothing complicates matters he’ll likely be back. Simon Kinberg will probably develop the story, ready for Vaughn and his writing partner Jane Goldman to work their magic on at a later stage.

Back in May Vaughn revealed his idea for the opening of the next film, saying “I thought it would be fun to open with the Kennedy Assassination, and we reveal that the magic bullet was controlled by Magneto. That would explain the physics of it, and we see that he’s pissed off because Kennedy took all the credit for saving the world and mutants weren’t even mentioned.” Magneto killing John F. Kennedy would have some major ramifications, and it’ll give Xavier a conversation start for when they next run into each other (or roll, in Xavier’s case).

All the actors are locked after signing multi-picture deals, so it’ll just be a case of planning ahead and informing them to leave a gap in their schedule. The Wolverine is currently planning to shoot next year for a 2013 release, so Fox may aim for a 2014 opening for the First Class sequel.

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