X-Men: First Class release date set

It’s official. X-Men: First Class will be directed by Matthew Vaughn and 20th Century Fox has set a release date for June 3rd 2011. They are a little late in getting this one going, but Variety say Fox are moving ‘aggressively’ and filming will begin towards the end of the summer. They already have a script ready; it will just be a case of prepping over the next 3 months or so ready for shooting.

Fox released a new synopsis along with the press release:

“First Class” will chart the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.”

While the film will focus on Xavier and Magneto, young versions of the X-Men will no doubt be appearing (there’d be no point calling it First Class otherwise). It’ll be interesting to see who lands the key roles. Casting Eric and Charles will be important, as will the casting of the Cyclops, Jean, Beast and Storm (they’ve been mentioned as being in the film in the past, the script may have changed however).

The June 3rd release date means X-Men: First Class will be going up against Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom. Green Lantern will be released 2 weeks after on June 17th, and Mission Impossible 4 will be released a week beforehand on May 27th. If I were Fox I’d have probably released it later on in the year after all the big boys are out of the way, but I guess they needed a blockbuster for summer.

What are your thoughts on X-Men: First Class? Who would you cast as Xavier and Magneto?