Roughly a year ago when Bryan Singer was still attached to direct X-Men: First Class he took part in an interview with X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner. It was revealed that Donner had pitched the idea of making X-Men 4 to Singer, with him telling her to “hold that one off for just a little, I’m fixated on the other one right now”.

A week later Singer had to pull out of directing First Class due to his commitments on Jack the Giant Killer, but in various interviews since Singer has stated he still wants to direct another X-Men film in the future, and it looks like X-Men 4 may be it.

Obsessed With Film noticed a quote from Lauren Shuler Donner in the latest issue of Empire magazine regarding another X-Men outing, and she revealed:

“We took the treatment to Fox and they love it… And X4 leads into X5″.

Given Bryan Singer’s renewed involvement in the X-Men franchise, and what he’s had to say in various interviews, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think that Singer may end up directing X-Men 4 (and possibly 5) after he’s finished work on Jack the Giant Killer. An X-Men 4 could potentially see the return of original cast members Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore and X3 additions Ellen Page and Kelsey Grammar. As Cyclops and Jean Grey died it is unlikely James Marsden and Famke Janssen would be back, but the final scene of X3 suggested Xavier was alive so we could see Patrick Stewart and possibly Ian McKellen return.

Plans for X4 and X5 obviously raise questions as to how it would fit with Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class. If it is a success Fox would likely green-light sequels, and all the cast are signed for more. Would audiences accept two strands of the same franchise (with possibly a few of the same characters) running at the same time?

With First Class only 2 months away hopefully Singer, Donner or someone else involved with the X-Men franchise clears things up during the promotional rounds.

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A few days ago Wanted and Kick-Ass comic book writer Mark Millar posted a message on his official message board informing his followers that he had just made the toughest decision of his career by turning down an offer from 20th Century Fox to write the script for X-Men 4. Bryan Singer and producer Lauren Shuler Donner hinted at making X-Men 4 two weeks ago so the possibility didn’t seem too far-fetched, although Millar has been known to talk things up in the past (click here to read Millar’s planned 8 hour Superman trilogy, which he let the internet know about a week after Warner Bros. announced they would be rebooting).

Anyhow, some were skeptical of what Miller said. X-Men: First Class seems to be Fox’s priority at the moment, with talk of a trilogy, so it would be a bit confusing to go from prequels to distant sequels within the space of a few years. As expected, some sites did some digging to see what was actually going on.

From Bleeding Cool:

I’ve spoken by phone and e-mail to those who Mark Millar spoke to at Fox – and they claim that yes, they did speak to him. And that while they conducted a conversation at a high level concerning the X-Men characters and the X-Universe that Fox is mapping out with future films, Mark was not offered a role. Well not yet anyway. They also say that there is no X-Men 4 project being worked on right now – which is also why he was not offered the job of writing on it. And that Jamie Moss is lined up to write the next project, X-Men: First Class.

However, the Fox people told me that they really do want to work with Mark in the future. So, yes according to Fox, Mark Millar got it wrong – but Pincho Taco is wrong too. No one is working on X-Men 4 right now. And that’s from the top.

Unless of course, that isn’t true.

Millar also posted the following on his message board yesterday:

What’s nice is that we’ll announce what we’re doing in the next couple of months and Drew, the exec at Fox who invited me to write X-Men, can easily confirm.

I’m going to talk to Fox about X4 when I edit Wizard in July so we can cover that and the other stuff then too.

Who to believe? Are Fox developing an X-Men 4 alongside First Class? Is Mark Millar doing this simply for attention, or was he genuinely offered a role by Fox? I guess time will tell, although I think Millar should learn to keep some things to himself. He can’t be having meetings with Fox, turning them down in the process, and then start writing about it on the internet. I’m not sure Fox will be too happy with this either.

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It’s been just over 3 months since Bryan Singer announced he would be returning to the X-Men franchise to direct X-Men: First Class, which he said will focus on the friendship between Xavier and Magneto and the formation of the X-Men. Before things can gear up Singer has to direct Jack the Giant Killer for Warner Bros, which is expected to go into production later this year.

Singer still has the X-Men in his conscious though, as he is working on the First Class script with Jamie Moss, and in a recent interview with Hero Complex both he and producer Lauren Shuler Donner spoke about the past and future of the X-Men franchise.

The article begins by looking back at the release of X-Men in 2000, commenting on how it has spawned the current superhero genre we have today and how during production they weren’t sure if it would be a success or failure. It then goes over the trilogy trivia, Singer leaving to direct Superman Returns, X3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine being disappointments etc. Then the interviewer turns the attention back to the present, and what Singer and Donner have in-store for the future.

First they addressed why Singer chose to return to the franchise:

“I genuinely like the people, and my personality meshes more with this universe than it does with other universes, I think; I see that now at this point,” Singer said. “I feel a connection to the X-Men characters and also the ensemble nature of the films. If you look at ‘Usual Suspects” or my last film, ‘Valkyrie,’ I feel especially comfortable with ensemble juggling. In the space between all the characters you can disguise a central thought that’s hidden in all the discourse. I missed that with the singular relationship story of Superman. And, well, it always gives you something to cut to…”

Singer then briefly discussed the story for First Class:

The premise has compelling elements to it, Singer said. “Just doing younger mutants is not enough. The story needs to be more than that. I love the relationship between Magneto and Xavier, these two men who have diametrically opposite points of view but still manage to be friends — to a point. They are the ultimate frenemies.”

Now that Singer is back with the X-Men it seems people are keen to have him make as many X-Men movies as humanly possible:

Shuler Donner also has pitched Singer on doing a fourth instalment of the previously established “X-Men” franchise and Jackman had that lunch with Singer to coax him into a project as well, which may or may not be a “Wolverine” film, which Jackman has said will be set in Japan and released in 2011. “I wish I could be four people,” the director said with a moan. “I could make everybody happy.”

Singer turned to Shuler Donner and said of “X-Men 4″: “Hold that one off for just a little, I’m fixated on the other one right now.” She nodded and answered, “I will, I will … I’m holding it open with high hopes. It’s totally different [from 'First Class'] and it will be so interesting for you.”

With Singer’s commitments to both Jack the Giant Killer and X-Men: First Class he won’t be able to direct Wolverine 2, which he would be quite suited too considering X1 and X2 were when Wolverine was at his best. 20th Century Fox are aiming to shoot the Wolverine sequel in January, and it looks like they are still looking for a director.

While I would be interested in seeing an X-Men 4, I think they should stick with First Class and make a trilogy of it rather than hopping from prequels to distant sequels within the space of a few years. Fox won’t be letting go of the X-Men rights anytime soon, so heading back into the future after all these prequels and spin-offs may be their best move.

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There have been hints over the past few months that Bryan Singer could return to direct an X-Men film. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner said it was “a possibility” and now the director himself was asked whether he would return to the franchise at South Korea’s Pusan International Film Festival:

From THR:

“I’m still looking to possibly return to the ‘X-Men’ franchise. I’ve been talking to Fox about it,” Singer said.

“I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast,” he said, referring to the Australian actor who plays Wolverine.

Singer said he enjoyed making science fiction and fantasy movies because they allowed him to discuss serious issues through entertainment. He said the “X-Men” series, which follows a group of mutants with superpowers who struggle to fit in with humans, is about tolerance and social structures.

He said he likes to “trick audiences into thinking they’re seeing fireworks, but they’re learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say.”

“The excitement about working in science fiction and fantasy is — the stories, if they are good, are about the human condition,” Singer said.

The franchise peaked in 2003 with Singer’s X-Men 2, and it hasn’t reached the same level of greatness since. Sure, it’s still making $300 – 400 million every three years, but X3 and Wolverine could have been so much better.

Out of all the X-films lined up Singer will most likely return for either Wolverine 2 or X-Men: First Class. The second Wolverine film already has a writer, Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote the script for Singer’s The Usual Suspects. Hiring McQuarrie could have been Fox’s way of luring Singer back. First Class would give Singer the chance to go back to the origins of the X-Men, however that would mean he’d have to cast the characters he already cast nearly 10 years ago, and there will be no Hugh Jackman.

There is also a small chance he could direct X-Men Origins: Magneto, although Singer said back June that he’s already “lived in that universe” before having directed Apt Pupil and Valkyrie so he “might need to take a little break before I do something like that.”

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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.

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X-Men 3 wasn’t the worst movie in the world, but it could have been so much better. The films financial success suggested that people wanted to see the mutant freaks, so we are now getting a Wolverine spin-off. But what about X-Men 4? Will it ever happen? Well ShockTillYouDrop caught up with Shawn Ashmore who played Iceman in the trilogy, and he had a few words to say about the franchise.

Shock: You mentioned Bobby Drake earlier, so do you think we’ll ever see you play him again, especially with the way he was developed so much in the last “X-men” movie?
Ashmore: Yeah, it was great. I was waiting to do some of that stuff since the first movie. It was five years, six years in the making to really shoot ice and be in a battle and all that stuff, but honestly, I don’t know. I would love to do another film, but I think they’re doing these spin-offs and origin stories, so I can’t see in the near future there being an “X-Men 4″ but I have no idea to tell you the truth, it’s really hard to say. I’m holding my breath, waiting for it to happen, but I’m not sure if it will or not.

Shock: Hopefully, they won’t wait too long if they do get back into it, because as I said, they really turned Iceman into someone we’d want to see more of and some of the other new characters.
Ashmore: Yeah, and again, it’s a blast. I love the fact that there is such a huge audience for “The X-Men”, characters I love and characters I’ve lived with so long that it’s really exciting when people are like, “Aw, man, I want to see another one.” That’s great, and that gives me a boost to hear that stuff, so that’s really cool.

It’s good to see that he still enjoys the role and the franchise. I think that some of the actors who had to endure 5+ hours of make-up everyday will not be as enthusiastic about an X-Men 4, but I am sure the right price may bring them back.

I am thinking that FOX will get Wolverine out, and if it does well they will do Wolverine: 2 Slashed 2 Furious and then the inevitable Wolverine: The Most Overused Character Ever…in 3D! . Then hopefully enough time will have passed and FOX can start on that Young X-Men movie Zak Penn has been talking about. Or they could pay Halle Berry and the rest of the cast $40 million each to return and make an X-Men 4, which follows on 10 years after the events of X-Men 3. Either way, it’s a long time before we will see Shawn Ashmore’s Iceman on screen again, if ever. However, Shawn should be happy that his characters best moment of the trilogy with this…

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