STARDUST's Jane Goldman Rewriting FABLES Movie

Fables producer David Heyman (Harry Potter, Paddington) confirmed to Comic Book Resources that director Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) and screenwriter Jane Goldman are currently rewriting the script originally penned by Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four).

Jane Goldman is working on a draft as we speak. Nik Arcel is attached [to direct]. He did a draft, and now he’s supervising Jane, who’s doing a draft. Hoping that it’ll come in and we’ll be able to move to the next stage. All these things always take longer than you want. And “Fables” is not easy, by any means, but I think it’ll be pretty great.

You might remember Arcel had been in the mix to direct Marvel's Doctor Strange but the gig went to Scott Derrickson instead. This is the first time he'll be working with Goldman.

The prolific screenwriter's credits include Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Woman In Black, X-Men First Class, X-Men Days of Future Past, and The Debut. Her work on Stardust easily stands outs as a strong reason why her involvement could greatly help the fairy tale inspired film.

Warner Bros. originally attempted to have the comic book film adaption made by the Jim Henson Company back in 2004 but it didn't get to the writing stage.

I'm curious if we'll see the Henson Company getting involved like they did with Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are.

Relocating to Earth, the likes of King Cole, Snow White, Cinderella and the rest have, over the years, settled into their own secret community in New York, which they informally call Fabletown, hidden among us normal folk (unless they look like monsters or weird creatures, in which case they live at 'the Farm'). Cole claims to run the place, but Snow White is the power behind the throne, sick of people bringing up her dwarf-filled history and long since divorced from Prince Charming (who, in a fun touch, went on to marry and lose both Cinders and Sleeping Beauty in turn).

Here's a bit of a rundown of Jane's upcoming projects or ones she could involved with in the future.

Jane is working on two Tim Burton projects with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Pinocchio writing/rewriting those scripts. It seems that Goldman has a real knack for genre and fantasy material.

Miss Peregrine involves a child finding an abandoned school for children with supernatural powers who may not have actually vacated the premises.

Robert Downey Jr. was attached to play the role of Gepetto in Burton's Pinocchio.

Interesting to note that in first trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron the famous song "I Got No Strings" from the Disney film is playing in the background. Ultron, seemingly comparing himself to Pinocchio and Stark possibly the Gepetto in that comparison.

She penned Warner Bros' adaptation of Nate Simpson's Nonplayer where a young woman who escapes from her drab life into an online fantasy world.

Another project sees her adapting another macabre novel similar to her work on The Woman In Black. Set in Victorian London, Dan Leno and The Limehouse Golem focuses on a Jack The Ripper-style serial killer case woven into the story of a star in vaudeville.

Painless director Juan Carlos Medina is attached for the film which could be extremely dark and chilling.

Jane and Matthew on the set of Kick-Ass.

Goldman is a frequent collaborator with writer-director Matthew Vaughn. The two could end-up working together on adapting comic book films such as Superior, Bloodshot, Golden Age and film adaptations together. Her husband Jonathan Ross wrote the the last two comics mentioned.

Superior is a bit of hybrid of Superman meets Shazam, with a young boy given the abilities of his favorite superhero only to find-out he also has brought his destructive alien nemesis to life as well. There is some speculation the film setup at Fox could be next for Vaughn but nothing has been made official.

Golden Age focuses on a group of retired elderly superheroes who have to team-up with their grandkids to save the parents.

Turf is a oddball genre comic focusing on gangsters, vampires and aliens squaring-off during the Prohibition era.

Turf begins in Prohibition-era New York as a vengeful gang war erupts between booze-smuggling mobsters and the blood thirsty Dragonmir Family. As an ancient prophecy unfolds amidst the maelstrom of violence, the entire city is up for grabs and it's anyone's guess who will come out on top. The only glimmer of hope is an unlikely alliance between tough guy Eddie Falco and a stranger from another world.

Blooshot had been toted as one of Matthew Vaughn's next projects but we haven't had much updates since 2010.

The corpse of Angelo Mortalli has been reanimated and remade into the ultimate killing machine—an engine of destruction code named: Bloodshot. But, in the process, his memories were lost…and maybe his soul. His makers meant to use him as a weapon—an unstoppable assassin. But they made him too well. Too powerful to be contained, he breaks free and escapes.

Goldman hasn't been officially announced for these four films, but where Matthew Vaughn goes his writing partner seems to follow. Considering the duo have worked together on Vaughn's last five films including their script for X-Men Days of Future Past which ended-up getting directed by Bryan Singer. Jane being announced for any of these film projects wouldn't be shocking at the least.

SOURCE: COMICBOOKRESOURCES 

Marvel Studios Needs To Consider Jane Goldman For CAPTAIN MARVEL

While Marvel is still playing the marketing-game of when to announce the rest of their Phase 3 and Phase 4 lineups. Warner Bros. and Sony have planted release dates for their female-led superhero projects. Warners aiming to release Wonder Woman in July 2017 and Sony giving their in-development Spider-Man spin-off (Spider-Woman/Black Cat?) a to-be-determined slot sometime in 2016.

Marvel's Kevin Feige has insisted in recent interviews there is active development on a Captain Marvel movie. The studio isn't seemingly ready to commit or announce this to the public officially. Behind closed doors we know that Marvel is developing the film, but it's unknown when they'll reveal their plans for it. Bloggers who have got a hold of the shooting script for Age of Ultron, have mentioned a cameo for her in the final scenes. It's possible the leak may cause the studio to cut the scene entirely, but rumor is it hasn't even been shot yet. I assume because they haven't hired/announced the actress for the role.

We know at the moment the Black Widow film is in limbo, and Scarlett Johansson might agree to join Warner Bros./Dreamworks Ghost In The Shell franchise. The project would spawn sequels if successful, the material lends itself to be serialized. Not giving Marvel much room if they did decide to make the Widow film happen. As her contract with Marvel expires soon, and her new contract with Shell (a reported $10M offer) could be a problem. This adds further fuel to the talk Marvel is going with Captain Marvel instead of a Black Widow movie.

I suggested earlier this week that Marvel would be smart to release Captain Marvel in their slot for November 2017. Mainly, because that month has served well for the Hunger Games franchise and could support a bigger film before the holiday event films in December. This would give over a year of room between Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel, should Marvel decide to make this a priority.

While I've been giving out many casting suggestions for the film. Emily Blunt being previously linked for the role and sounds like a safe bet. Blunt was original cast as Black Widow, exited Iron Man 2 and ever since Marvel has been trying to find a role for her.

In all the casting talk and bitching about the lack of announcements from Marvel. I don't think many are actually talking about who should actually write or direct this project. When Lexi Alexander suggested Jane Goldman to direct WB's Wonder Woman, I totally agreed. I've mentioned Jane for smaller comic book projects, but never for the big ones. Shockingly, it dawned on me that Jane could very well make an amazing Captain Marvel film too.

Jane Goldman (Stardust, The Woman In Black, The Debt, Pinocchio, Nonplayer, Miss Peregrine, Dan Leno And The Lighthouse Golem) is best known as a screenwriter, and the sometimes writing partner of director Matthew Vaughn. Her comic book writing credits include Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. I have to assume she might also get involved with scripting for other comic film projects such as Superior, Golden Age and Bloodshot. A seasoned writer of genre material, and has written some excellent female characters. The only thing that makes me lean toward Danvers over Diana, is Jane's humor and playful action scenes. I'm not actually sure the serious tone of the new DC Comics cinematic universe would be a good fit for her.

Besides writing a ton of scripts for comic book movies she lives with a comic book writer/creator. British television host Jonathan Ross is Jane's husband, and is well-known in the comic book community. He's created comics such as The Revenger,  Golden Age and Turf. I'm this shared interest is what's helped them both stay so creative. Ross' amazing BBC documentary Searching For Steve Ditko is still one of my favorite things ever covered about the community. With Doctor Strange about shoot at Marvel, I recommend learning a bit about one of the character's co-creators.

Goldman actually has a love and passion for comic book material. This is one of the key reasons why Joss Whedon's Avengers and James Gunn's Guardians of The Galaxy have made such splashes with audiences. They respect and also understand the original material. This is sort of why I believe she's a solid fit for a project at Marvel Studios. Sometimes when hired-guns are brought-in you can tell they don't really get the characters or even the world they are set in. Moving forward it would be nice to see Marvel tapping more people who are actually obsessed with their comics to make their movies.

We've seen that the better Marvel films have the directors also contributing as writers as well. I've been hearing for a while that Marvel is keen on having future directors being able to juggle both getting behind the camera, and also contributing to the script. Doctor Strange's Scott Derrickson might not end-up with writing credits on the film, but is an accomplished screenwriter and will have likely been working closely with Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, The Mummy). The Russo Brothers are also working hard with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely to get Captain America 3 on the level of Winter Soldier and Avengers installments. Having Jane work together with another talented writer could echo her relationship with Matthew Vaughn.

The trades have reported that a Captain Marvel script exits over at Marvel, but we don't know who actually wrote it. It's rumored Guardians' Nicole Perlman may have written an early Captain Marvel outline for Marvel at some point. Marvel is known for using their writer's program to get early outlines, and then sending these off to potential directors/writers. The thought of a collaboration between Jane Goldman and Nicole Perlman is too good not to consider. Plus, having two female writers on one project would correct a lot of potential blunders, before they even happen.

Seeing Jane make the jump to director feels more natural than Roberto Orci, Frank Miller, Mark Millar or David S. Goyer. If, we're going to talk about writers who deserve shots to become features directors, Jane is good place to start. Working closely with director Matthew Vaughn on Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class and Kingsman. Obviously, she has the vision and passion needed to handle such a task, which you can clearly see with her writing. Jane's also been able to adapt novels into solid screenplays, so another reason why she would be a great choice.

Lionsgate's POWER RANGERS Movie Lands THOR And X-MEN FIRST CLASS Writers

When it was first announced that a new Power Rangers movie was in the works, it sounded like a big joke. However, it sounds like Lionsgate isn't messing around and are hiring names known for delivering big noisy films. Roberto Orci will produce the film, and will work with writers to develop it's story. This on the heels of Orci exiting the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, and gearing-up to direct Star Trek 3 for Paramount. Lionsgate must want a franchise and not just a one-off to boost the ratings of the series and toy sales.

Orci seems like a decent choice since he's helped turn Transformers into a multi-billion dollar franchise. That piece of history cannot be ignored or left-out, in that arena he is successful. I'm not too sure he's the right voice for the project, but that's speaking as a fan of the original material growing-up.

The writers in question, are the screenwriting duo of Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. The pair are known for writing credits on Marvel's Thor and Fox's X-Men First Class. They don't enstill too much hope for a great film, since most of their work get's rewritten. But, they ca

Power Rangers creator Haim Saban and Lionsgate's Allison Shearmur will also produce the film. Shearmur helped spearhead the direction of the studio's Hunger Games franchise, and is the most interesting name attached to the project. She could help push this into a more serious direction, than seen previously.

What kind of tone should we be expecting from this reboot? I have no clue, but if the studio puts-in the effort they did with Hunger Games, they could have a massive hit on their hands. Since the awareness for Power Rangers is huge worldwide, and with kaiju fever at it's modern peak (thanks to Godzilla and Pacific Rim). This is a perfect time to dust-off the zords. Not to mention the martial arts angle to likely get a shot-in-the-arm if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is successful in August.

SOURCE: VARIETY 

Talk Of A MYSTIQUE Movie Returns, This Time With Jennifer Lawrence As Lead

Most people don't remember this, but around the time of the production for X-Men Origins: The Wolverine there was talk of more spin-offs. Characters like Magneto and Mystique were posed to get their own origin films as well. David S. Goyer was hired to write and possibly direct a Magento film, that wasn't to be. The elements of that film were used in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, possibly a similar fate for Mystique's origin as well.

The Mystique film hadn't been fully realized by the studio at the time, but Rebecca Romijn was still attached for the role. Later on, the studio developed First Class and Jennifer Lawrence was cast as a young Raven. This might have been the best thing for the character, as we got to see her develop as a fully functioning female lead. We've seen Mystique go from villain side-kick, to become the largest standout female character currently in the franchise. Standing alongside Magneto and Xavier in First Class, and now with Wolverine in Days of Future Past.

A third Wolverine (March 3rd, 2017) spin-off is in the works and producer Lauren Shuler Donner has previously mentioned a desire to pursue Deadpool and Gambit solo films. While speaking with EW she does briefly hint to the potential of developing a Mystique film again.

“There was a regime [at the studio] that didn’t see the worth in [spin-offs], and the current people who run Fox understand, embrace it, and we’re going to do right by it,” says producer Lauren Shuler Donner, who’s produced all of the X-Men films. “I’d like to do Gambit. I’d like to do Deadpool. We’ll see. There’s a lot of really great characters.”

With shapeshifter Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) taking a pivotal role in Past‘s plot, Donner says she’d be interested in taking that character into a solo film.

Producer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg, who is currently building the new X-Men universe with Bryan Singer also sees the value of a Mystique movie.

“I love what Jen Lawrence has done with her, and I feel like because she is in such a crowded ensemble, there’s so much more opportunity if you were to follow her solo.”

This makes a lot of sense, as Oscar winning actress Jennifer Lawrence is already the face of a massively successful billion dollar franchise, with Hunger Games (earning $1.5 billion in just two installments and two more on the way). While none of the X-Men films have been able to break $500 million worldwide, both of Lawrence's films have (Games earning $691M and Catching Fire raking-in $864M). She has the talent, following and box office numbers to support her own comic book franchise.

Jennifer is also expected to return for a role in X-Men: Apocalypse, which is could begin production sometime in 2015. Fox has also announced a release date for an untitled Fox/Marvel film in 2018. A lot of people suspect this could be X-Men/Fantastic Four Crossover, Gambit, Deadpool, X-Force or even Silver Surfer, but it's now possible that it might end-up Mystique as well.

SOURCE: EW

Fox Looking At Daniel Espinosa To Direct Michael Fassbender In ASSASSIN'S CREED?

TwitchFilm reports that 20th Century Fox is considering Swedish director Daniel Espinosa to direct their live-action Assassin's Creed film, which has Michael Fassbender attached to star and produce. The film's script (originally penned by Michael Lesslie) is undergoing rewrites by Scott Frank, best known for writing scripts such as Minority Report, Out of Sight, The Lookout, Get Shorty and The Wolverine. Creed has a set release date of August 7th, 2015 with an expectation to begin production sometime in 2014.

Daniel has a history of making action-packed thrillers such as Snabba Cash and Safe House, his next film Child 44 starring Tom Hardy is a Soviet Union era serial killer mystery. This wouldn't be the first time Daniel Espinosa was on the radar at Fox for a genre project, he was once in the running to direct both X-Men First Class and The Wolverine.

SOURCE: TWITCHFILM

Simon Kinberg To Rewrite And Produce Fox's FANTASTIC FOUR Reboot

THR reports that Simon Kinberg is doing major rewrites to The Fantastic Four script and will produce. Kinberg is best known for his work within the X-Men franchise. Helping write scripts for X-Men: The Last Stand and the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. He also produced Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, Vaughn is producing Fantastic Four with Josh Trank still set to direct. Apparently, Fox isn't happy with where the script currently is and Simon will be overhauling it. Simon is also helping produce and write Star Wars films for Lucasfilm. The script problems (four writers already working on it) are likely why production and casting haven't been announced by Fox.

Ashley Miller And Zack Stentz In Talks To Write STAR TREK 3 For Paramount

BadassDigest reports that Paramount is currently in early talks with screenwriters Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz to write a draft for Star Trek 3. Apparently, the studio wants production to begin in 2014 and aren't willing to wait for the previous writers who are currently busy with other projects. Miller and Stentz are best known for contributing to Thor and X-Men First Class. Along with writing for J.J. Abrams' Fringe and Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Seth Grahame-Smith Hired To Polish FANTASTIC FOUR Script, Will The Kree And Skrulls Be Involved?

THR reports that author turned screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dark Shadows) will polish Jeremy Slater's Fantastic Four script. It sounds like Fox is really putting the project in high-gear as Matthew Vaughn (X-Men First Class, Kick-Ass) was recently hired to produce the reboot with Josh Trank (Chronicle) set to direct.

Oddly, enough they also mention that it's possible that aliens such as the Kree, Skrulls and even characters from the Negative Zone (Blastaar and Annihilus) could be apart of the new franchise. The first two might not even be allowed to be featured in the film because Fox might not own the rights to them. While it was revealed that Fox owns the Super Skrull it was never mentioned they also owned the Kree or could use the entire Skrull race. It will be interesting to see if Marvel has agreed to share the rights with Fox or if the studio has bought them. You might remember that Marvel and Fox also share characters such as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

Matthew Vaughn Will Produce Josh Trank's FANTASTIC FOUR Reboot

Mark Millar has tweeted confirmation that Fox has landed Matthew Vaughn as a producer for Josh Trank's (Chronicle) Fantastic Four reboot. It's the first real update on the project in a very longtime since the hiring of screenwriter Jeremy Slater. This could mean that Vaughn will be apart of the casting process, helping to wrangle major talent to the reboot. The film has a set release date of March 6th 2015. While nothing is confirmed it's expected that Fantastic Four could be the next film to go into production after X-Men Days of Future Past is done shooting.

There had been some questions about Vaughn's relationship with Fox when he exited X-Men Days of Future Past to focus on The Secret Service. Matthew had also pitched his vision for Star Wars Episode VII to LucasFilm before J.J. Abrams ultimately landed the gig. Kick-Ass 2 which is another project Matthew has produced will be released later this year.

Hugh Jackman Confirmed For X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Director Bryan Singer has tweeted that Hugh Jackman has officially joined the X-Men Days of Future Past production. It remains to be seen if Wolverine's scenes will take place in both the past and future scenes. Jackman will have double duty as The Wolverine will be released this Summer with the First Class sequel heading to theaters the following summer. The rest of the returning cast includes Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult. Along with cameos from Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart.

Lawrence Kasdan And Simon Kinberg To Script STAR WARS EPISODE VIII And EPISODE IX

Deadline reports that screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are in talks with Disney/LucasFilm to tackle Episode VIII and Episode IX. Kasdan is best known for writing Empire Strikes Back, Return of The Jedi and Radiers of The Lost Ark. Kinberg known for Sherlock Holmes along with X-Men Days of Future Past. It sounds like the studio is really aiming to put the two sequels into production very soon with this news. We already know that Michael Arndt (Oblivion, All You Need Is Kill) is currently working on Episode VII while a director has yet to be named.

UPDATE: HeatVision has word the deals are done and the pair of writers will also be producers. 

Matthew Vaughn In Talks With LucasFilm To Direct STAR WARS EPISODE VII?

Collider is reporting what they are claiming is a rumor but have a source that says Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust, X-Men Fist Class, Kick-Ass) could direct Star Wars Episode VII. They state that Vaughn is currently in talks with LucasFilm to direct the first installment in the new trilogy. Apparently, it's the real reason he exited X-Men Days of Future Past as it's director. Nothing is official here but considering Matthew is also a writer he could really be the visionary the franchise needs. It should be noted he was included on that directors-list from MarketSaw.

Her name isn't mentioned with this rumor but when you hire Matthew Vaughn, screenwriter Jane Goldman get's involved. Goldman has been working closely with Vaughn since Stardust and has also written scripts for Kick-Ass, The Secret Service, Woman In Black, X-Men First Class and X-Men Days of Future Past. It would make a lot sense to see Goldman adding her own touches to the franchise if Vaughn is hired.

Bryan Cranston Could Have Played The Villain In 'X-MEN FIRST CLASS'

While you may think that Bryan Cranston (John Carter, Total Recall, Drive, ) aims to be in every big film during an interview with Collider he reveals he turned down a rather big film. Bryan says he had been offered the role of Sebastian Shaw the leader of the Hellfire Club and villain of X-Men First Class while looking at another project. He weighed the two roles by how much he liked the characters and went with Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive instead. He mentions there was another role offered which I'd have assume was Stryker.

I read for the Kevin Bacon role in X-Men: First Class. And it was like, “Ah, there’s a possibility. ” Then there was this thing happening over here. It’s kind of like things coming up like materials and projects that are coming in and out. Quite often, it’s almost like a wave. “Here it comes, here it comes. . . oh no, that wave didn’t break. ” Why? Funding went this way, the lead dropped out, any number of things can happen. Or the studio says it’s too much money. Projects ebb and flow all the time, and the same thing in an actor’s career. There’s interest, and there’s ebbing and flowing all the time. “You have the offer! Oh, no you don’t. ” So, that was happening. They offered it to Kevin, and they offered me a different role in it.


At the same time, I read Drive, and I thought, “Oh, this is what I’d rather do. ” I turned down X-Men for the role in Drive because I liked the character better. Much better. The experience with Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman and Carey [Mulligan]—it was terrific. We had a great time. What was so much fun about it is that we’d go over to Nicolas Refn’s, the director’s, house in the canyons, and we’d all get together with the writer, and we would pitch out ideas and thoughts. “What about this? What about that? ” There’s nothing more satisfying than to have your thoughts and comments welcomed and incorporated in the script. So, we really feel ownership and part of that. You’re not just a hired hand, coming in, doing your job, and leaving. And Nicolas took a real kind of film noir, European feel to it, and it’s really hip and cool.


SOURCE: Collider

Cranston has a massive following thanks to Breaking Bad which is going into it's last season. I'm sure he'll be pursued again by Fox for the First Class sequel. If the sequel is taking cues from Days of Future Past we could see humans becoming the villains creating the Sentinels. Scientists Bolivar Trask and Stephen Lang are some of the people involved with the creation of the Sentinels.

Trask had appeared in X3 played by Bill Duke (Predator, Commando) and his character is credited for building Magneto's prison and the mutant prisoner transport which held Raven, Juggernaut and Multiple Man. First Class is a reboot of sorts so I wouldn't be shocked to see Trask retooled.

Jennifer Lawrence Confirmed For First Class Sequel

HeatVision ups the original announcement of Matthew Vaughn directing the sequel to X-Men First Class. They confirm the entire cast of the original film are returning, even high profiled actors Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence. Fassbender will be shooting the indie period drama 12 Years A Slave with director Steve McQueen (Shame, Hunger) this summer. Jennifer Lawrence who leads the Hunger Games franchise is expected to start production on the sequel Catching Fire sometime soon as well. It's really the first time we've heard that Lawrence is indeed coming back to play Raven/Mystique.

Matthew Vaughn Confirmed For X-Men First Class Sequel

Deadline confirms that Matthew Vaughn has signed to direct the sequel to X-Men First Class. I assume that with news that the sequel could end up shooting sometime this year. Simon Kinberg has written a script but it's expected Vaughn and his writing partner Jane Goldman will do their own rewrites. The cast including James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender will return as it was apart of their original contracts. Also, Bryan Singer is returning as the film's producer. I just hope that Fox doesn't rush the production and post-production. Giving the sequel a longer shoot and bigger effects budget.

CAST EM": X-Men First Class Sequel

20th Century Fox seems eager to start production on a sequel to X-Men First Class. They already have a writer working on draft while they still have to resign Matthew Vaughn to direct. We know that the original cast is likely returning as they signed a three picture deal which is common with these type of films.

One of my biggest pet peeves with First Class was that most of the supporting mutants were beyond obscure even for me as an X-Men fan. Mutants like Darwin, Riptide and Angel Salvadore could have been replaced with ones fans recognize. I understand having Havok and Azazel in there to plant seeds for future films. If this is indeed a reboot of the franchise we need to see wronged characters retooled and reintroduced similar to what they plan to do for Deadpool.

A few characters that deserve redemption include Juggernaut, Psylocke and Gambit. Two unused characters that have been rumored for a while include Cable and the villain Mister Sinister. Throw in another decent sized cameo for Wolverine and we're in business. I feel like this is still very much the story of Erik and Charles now that they've chosen their sides. We need to see them fully explore that new relationship. Jean and Scott no matter how popular they are, really should be saved for the third film.


MY CASTING THOUGHTS

AARON JOHNSON AS REMY LEBAEU (GAMBIT)

STEPHEN LANG AS NATHAN SUMMERS (CABLE)

RICHARD MADDEN AS CAIN MARKO (JUGGERNAUT)

MICHELLE RYAN AS BETSY BRADDOCK (PSYLOCKE)

CLIVE OWEN AS MISTER SINISTER

Jane Goldman Talks X-Men First Class Sequel

The wheels are in motion for the sequel to X-Men First Class. Fox's Tom Rothman has confirmed the progress and screenwriter Simon Kenberg (Sherlock Holmes) has been hired to write a draft for the second film. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are expected to return as the conflicted best friends along with other supporting cast members. Writer/director Matthew Vaughn's involvement has been mentioned but hasn't been announced by the studio. However, Vaughn has shared ideas of an opening scene featuring Magneto for the sequel.

First Class co-writer Jane Goldman told MTV that she would be 100% on board for the sequel. That's of course if Matthew Vaughn returns and asks for her help. The story goes Vaughn and Goldman completely re-wrote the previous drafts of the first installment. It would make sense that if Vaughn returns to direct he'd rely on his writing partner to help put together another solid script. It's unknown when we could see First Class 2 hit theaters but I assume Fox is eager to move quickly. Fox currently has The Wolverine and Deadpool currently in development as well.

"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. 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. If he decides he wants to direct the next one and if he wants me on board, I'm 100 percent there."

Starship Troopers Is Being Remade

Producer Neal H. Moritz is known for taking on rather large projects and reboots. He currently has Total Recall and Bryan Singer's Jack The Giant Killer to be released this summer. Along with a slew of other projects that include 21 Jump Street, R.I.P.D. (Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges), RED 2, Highlander and Escape From New York. Neal is about to develop a remake of yet another film from director Paul Verhoeven this time according to Vulture it will be Starship Troopers. The 90's cult classic was a massive misstep for Sony when the $100 million film didn't make a splash at the box office when it first came out but then later made a killing in the home video market. It spawned two direct-to-DVD sequels which neither had the scale or action of the first film. However, it might be in good hands as Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz will tackle the remake's script. The pair are credited for writing both Thor and X-Men First Class which were some of the biggest success stories of the year.



As a big fan of the original I'm unsure which angle they'll be going for here. I was shocked how much they would exclude in Total Recall from the original film going as far as getting rid of the violence for a PG-13 rating along with Mars. To see a PG-13 Starship Troopers film would be an odd thing considering this a science fiction war film. Films like Saving Private Ryan and Platoon showed the realistic side to war but had to be R for this to happen. Even in science fiction the rules still apply just look at Aliens (which channeled Vietnam) for example if we didn't see the marines taken out so harshly I don't think the film would have had the same impact. Avatar for all it's stunning special effects didn't have the same urgency Aliens had because the realism was lost in it's fantasy world of CGI.

My faith in the project will also come down to casting and the director. I feel like Sony could be working the Hunger Games/Ender's Game angle here and looking to hire very young actors for the leads. Not unlike the original which had a fresh faced group of young actors put into combat. I would hope that the studio went for talent rather flavors of the month. Since I believe this reboot is likely a new franchise in the making. I don't have a lot of directors coming to mind who could do this justice but newcomer Rupert Sanders is among them. Sanders who I hope will make a name for himself with Snow White And The Huntsman also did a great job on the some of the Halo live-action commercials.

Simon Kinberg Writing Sequel To X-Men First Class

It didn't take long for the name of screenwriter of the X-Men First Class sequel to be revealed. Jason Flemyng had just stated 20th Century Fox was developing a script for the sequel. However, there was no official word from the studio or Matthew Vaughn.

SuperHeroHype now reports that Simon Kinberg is currently writing First Class 2. Kinberg's writing credits includes X3, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, This Means War and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. He's also producing Neill Blomkamp's next science fiction epic Elysium. There is no word if original screenwriters Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz will be contributing. It's assumed if director Matthew Vaughn returns he and writing partner Jane Goldman would do their own re-writes.

Jason Flemyng Confirms Script For First Class Sequel In Development

While Jason Flemyng might be just one of the many cast members of X-Men First Class he is also a very good friend of writer/director Matthew Vaughn. Jason has starred in every single film that Vaughn has made [Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass] including films he's produced [Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch]. The actor who plays Russian mutant Azazel [father of Nightcrawler] gave an update to DigitalSpy. Jason states the box office success of First Class is the main reason the studio is moving forward with a script. Adding that it's DVD/BluRay sales will ultimately decide if the sequel will be made. It ended up making $353 million worldwide and another $30 million during the first week of the DVD/BluRay being released.

"There was a benchmark that they had to hit box office-wise before they could start writing the next one, which they've started. We'll just see how the DVD goes and then fingers crossed I'll be bright red again by next summer."

Actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender have stated they're on board for more films. There have been ideas tossed around for the sequel like Magneto guiding the magic bullet that killed JFK for an intro sequence. It's expected Azazel (Flemyng) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) could explore their characters' relation that leads to Nightcrawler being born. Along with the formation of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. Jason also threw out the statement of production possibly starting in the summer.

"Me and Jen Lawrence have a kid, don't we? The world is a wide place and if my son turns out to be Alan Cumming then good for him, that's great. I love Alan Cumming."

"I am so in his gang [for the sequel]. There's one shot at the end of the film [with Magneto] and I was like, 'Please let me be in the shot!' And there I was. If there is a sequel, I have to be there."