SPOILER SPECULATION: What We Know So Far About X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Production won't begin until the Spring/Summer but a few details concerning Bryan Singer's X-Men Days of Future Past have been leaking out. I've put together a bit of rundown of known aspects and my own speculation.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES: So who is behind the production of the new film? Longtime producer Lauren Shuler Donner (producing all X-Men films) of course is back with co-producers Bryan Singer and Simon Kinberg. Bryan (Usual Suspects) directed the first two X-Men films and produced X-Men First Class along with the upcoming The Wolverine. Kinberg wrote X3, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. And Mrs. Smith and Days of Future Past. Simon was recently hired by LucasFilm to write an unnamed Star Wars spin-off. He'll also consult and produce Episode VII working with Larry Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, Kathy Kennedy and screenwriter Michael Arndt. Another high profile science fiction project Simon will be producing is Neill Blomkamp's (District 9) epic Baja Dunes/Elysium.

Matthew Vaughn (who was originally set to direct) and Jane Goldman were also involved in script rewrites but it's unknown if their revises will be even be used. Mark Millar who is also friendly with the two had been hired by Fox to be their Marvel creative consultant. Millar is best known for creating the Ultimates (which inspired the Marvel Studios cinematic universe) along with his original material Kick-Ass, Nemesis, Supercrooks, Secret Service, Superior and Wanted. He'll be involved with the X-Men films including Deadpool and Wolverine,  and Fantastic Four.

RETURNING CAST MEMBERS FROM FIRST CLASS: At this point the four main cast members James McAvoy (Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Raven) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast) are the only ones officially confirmed. However, actor Jason Flemyng has revealed he was called back for the role of Azazel which does make sense. As Raven and Azazel end up being the parents of Nightcrawler, so he needs to stick around. It will be interesting to see if Havoc or Banshee will be back as well. While the film will blend both franchises into one giant epic it's likely it will focus more on the First Class characters.

RETURNING CAST MEMBERS FROM ORIGINAL TRILOGY: Confirmed returning cast members include Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Ellen Page (Shadowcat), Anna Paquin (Rogue) and Shawn Ashmore (Iceman). It's possible that Storm, Jean Grey and Nightcrawler could also have roles but it might be getting overloaded with the amount of returners. It's expected that Kitty and Logan will have rather large roles in the film while the other trilogy actors could only have cameos.

VILLAINS OF THE FILM: While it's possible there could be more than one villain in the film at the moment it's looking like Peter Dinklage is playing Bolivar Trask. The creator of the Sentinels which are giant robots built to capture or kill high powered mutant threats. This angle may lead to mutant prison/work camps or the insurrection of the entire mutant population. It's unknown which timeline Trask will be introduced as the character is likely being rebooted. As Bill Duke played the character in X3 but is being replaced by Dinklage. I assume that Trask could be setting up shop in the 70's rather than the future. I wouldn't rule out Mister Sinister or Apocalypse being involved as well. Since the two mutant villains are known for cleansing the mutant population for their benefit and could exploit the Sentinels.

NIXON WILL BE PRESIDENT: Keeping the real-world setting of First Class which had President Kennedy and the Cold-War being the backdrop. It's looking like the Vietnam War and President Nixon will be the timeline for our First Class characters. While the future timeline is unknown, it could be set post-The Wolverine which takes place after the events of X3. It's possible that Nixon might endorse the Sentinel program. Perhaps, after an assassination of a President by a mutant (Bishop or Magneto?). There was already a tease by Matthew Vaughn about an opening scene involving Magneto causing the death of President Kennedy.

TIME-TRAVEL: One element that has been confirmed is time-travel director Bryan Singer mentioned speaking with James Cameron on the subject. Likely, picking his brain about how he was able to make the Terminator franchise so believable. As the film takes story elements from Days of Future Past we could see Kitty Pryde (Shadow Cat) being sent back in time to warn/assist the old X-Men team to either stop or create an important event to change the future. Which may or may not involve killing/saving Nixon from being assassinated by a mutant or the creator of the Sentinel program. This could lead to finally introducing X-Men characters Cable and or Bishop into the franchise.

Storm And Nightcrawler Returning For X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST?

Director Bryan Singer has been seemingly trying to blend both X-Men franchises into one single film likely to allow more present time films. After the horrible handing of X3 which saw the death of major characters and led to a stalemate for moving forward. The studio painted themselves into a corner and with the help of Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Simon Kinberg and Singer they're trying to fix things. Bryan was recently asked if he would be willing to bring back both Halle Berry as Storm and Alan Cummings as the highly popular Nightcrawler. He's unsure about Storm and Nightcrawler but isn't ruling it out. The latter character's parents have already been setup in X-Men First Class with Mystique and Azazel now working together in the Brotherhood of Mutants.

One major human character that will likely have to return is Bolivar Trask played by Bill Duke (Predator, Commando). As his character does invent and unleash the Sentinels on the mutant population which is funded by the government. It's possible we could be seeing a lot of these characters being killed off/captured in the beginning of the film putting into motion the element of time-travel to fix things. No word if Kitty will be the only character thrown back into time to stop the events that lead to the Sentinels being built. Singer already has a major chunk of returning X-Men such as Xavier (Stewart), Magneto (McKellan), Wolverine (Jackman), Rouge (Paquin), Kitty (Page) and Iceman (Ashmore). There isn't word if Kelsey Grammer (modern Beast), Ben Foster (Angel) or Daniel Crudmore (Colossus) will be coming back either.

Ellen Page And Anna Paquin Return For X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Bryan Singer is seemingly tweeting every casting addition to X-Men Days of Future Past. He's just announced the return of Ellen Page, Anna Paquin and Shawn Ashmore who play Kitty Pryde, Rogue and Iceman. It's safe to assume the rest of the surviving X-Men from X3 will be returning too.

UK Poster For WELCOME TO THE PUNCH

Jason Flemyng Confirms Azazel Will Return In X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

During a brief interview with HeyUGuys British actor Jason Flemyng confirms that he's been contacted and will likely return for X-Men: Days of Future Past. Jason played Russian mutant Azazel who in the comics is the father of Nightcrawler. He also looks to be a founding member of the Brotherhood of Mutants alongside Magneto and Mystique in the sequel.

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."

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." 

Bryan Singer Talks Possible Details Of X-Men First Class Sequel

Another film set in the world of First Class is very likely considering all the praise the first film has received. We've heard from writer/director Matthew Vaughn that we could see Magneto control the magic bullet that kills JFK in an intro for the sequel. Now there is word from producer Bryan Singer (via LATimes) how he'd like to go even further to ground the franchise. Singer made a lot of the creative choices for First Class choosing the mutants and working on the story with writers. It's likely he'll be involved the same way with the sequels since there has been talk of a trilogy if not more. Bryan wants to include the Civil Rights Movement along with the Vietnam War.

With this new information I've come up with my own theories for the sequel. The Civil Rights angle might give us anti-mutant groups like Friends of Humanity which violently targeted mutants and mutant supporters. The assassinations of JFK and MLK could also bring up the aspect of Bishop trying to kill Xavier. The only thing is that it's expected mutants existence might be kept from the public for a little longer.

The Vietnam inclusion might give hope to fans who were disappointed by X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It's possible that a young William Styker Jr. could make a solid appearance along with a bone-clawed James Howlett (Logan). Cain Marko is another service man who could also appear in the conflict. Marko's origin involves him as a solider discovering his powers during the Korean War and becoming the Juggernaut. The only issue is that they took the aspect of Cain being Charles' stepbrother and used it for Raven (Mystique). Cable, a very popular character that producers have been vocal about including in future X-Men films is a strong possibility. Stephen Lang (Avatar), who fans wanted cast in the role revealed he'd be up for it. He could fit nicely in here as a gruff new X-Men team leader along with the father of both Alex (Havoc) and Scott Summers (Cyclops).

When it comes to the newly formed Brotherhood of Mutants we could see Magneto finally make the transition to mutant terrorist. Organizing the group to better serve mutant kind throughout their actions. Along with the relationship between Mystique and Azazel which will eventually lead to the birth of Nightcrawler. I'm not sure if Emma Frost and Magneto will develop one as well but there has been talk of love interest for Erik in future films. It would be nice to explore the origins of the Russian mutant Azazel.

I would think after the events of the first film the allied governments might try to work together to develop a non-mutant tactic to combat the Brotherhood and other dangerous mutant threats. Perhaps leading to the development of the Sentinel program which has been teased in previous films. Having the large robots identifying/rounding up threatening mutants and taking them to the isolated African island of Genosha. Where the mutants would have their powers repressed with technology and imprisoned. It would be an interesting way to raise the bar from First Class.