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Variety is reporting that Oscar Isaac (Sucker Punch) will play Apocalypse, a powerful ancient mutant and X-Men villain, in FOX's upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse. There are a lot of rumors about the follow up to the critically acclaimed X-Men: Days of Future Past (such casting younger versions of Cyclops, Storm, and Jean Grey), but little has been confirmed. Director Brian Singer (Superman Returns) was quoted recently as saying "'Apocalypse' will have more of the mass destruction that ‘X-Men’ films, to date, have not relied upon. There’s definitely now a character and a story that allow room for that kind of spectacle." Sure sounds likeApocalypse will be raising the stakes for the X-Men-verse. What do you think of Isaac as Apocalypse? Sound off in the comments. X-Men: Apocalypse opens May 27th, 2016.
Oscar Isaac is on a roll. First he nabs a role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and now he is Apocalypse. It's always a treat to see a great actor like Isaac who has spent years working his way up the food chain get some awesome opportunities in franchise films. With his resume I have no doubt he will give us a fantastic rendition of En Sabah Nur.
It has been a bit quiet on the X-Men front since the success of Days of Future Past earlier this year. Well no longer! The X-Men will be heading for the Great White French North in April of next year to begin shooting for X-Men: Apocalypse. I am of course referring to Montreal, Canada when I throw the terms great, white, french and north around. The expected release date of the movie is set for sometime in 2016, but still exciting to see the wheels moving. Is this where we are going to get our first glimpse at Channing Tatum Gambit? Could this be one of the last times, if not THE last time we bear witness to Hugh the Wolverine Jackman? Tune in two years from now to find out!
In an interview with The Daily Beast, X-Men: Days of Future Past writer Simon Kinberg confirmed that some of the original X-Men trilogy cast will return for X-Men: Apocalypse."It will focus primarily on the First Class cast, but it will certainly have some of the original cast involved, too." Kinberg told the interviewer. So that pretty much confirms some more good old fashioned time travel. This next film seems like the perfect time for the franchise to cast it's younger versions of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm. Hell if there is enough room bring in Gambit and Cable. The more the merrier. Can't wait for 2016 to see what happens to Wolverine and the rest of the gang in the 70's. #TeamBoneClaws. X-Men: Apocalypse is expected in 2016.
For this week's poll I asked "After Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Leaves in 2017, Who should be the face of the X-Men Franchise?" The winner by a large margin was everyone's favorite X-villain Magneto. He took in 36% of the votes.
The results went as follows:
Magneto (Fassbender): 36%
Prof. X (McAvoy): 18%
Cyclops (New Actor): 15%
Mystique (Lawrence): 10%
Gambit (Tatum): 8%
Nightcrawler (New Actor): 5%
Deadpool (New Actor): 5%
Beast (Hoult): 3%
Analysis: Since I posted this poll, Hugh Jackman has stated that he would like to continue playing Wolverine past 2017. This is great news, but at the same time make my poll a little invalid. So I will just interpret our results as possibilities to fill Jackman's shoes eventually once he hangs up his claws.
Magneto: No surprise here. I expected Magneto or Prof. X to win this poll. Fassbender is a hot actor in Hollywood and Magneto is defintly a popular enough character to anchor the franchise. The question remains though "How long will Fassbender play Magneto?" Jackman has played Wolverine for the last 15 years. I do not see a scenario with FOX retaining Michael's services for that long. His massive junk is in high demand. Although he does seem to enjoy playing the character. I believe that Michael will be around for one more X-Men film after X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016. Hopefully we get a few more bar murders from him before he leaves.
Cyclops: I recently re-watched X-Men and X2. Cyclops is barely in either of those films. That poor bastard James Marsden (Enchanted) never caught a break. He was only around to be part of a love triangle between himself, Wolvie, and Jean. It is about time Prof. X's favorite student got his due. FOX should cast a young up-n-comer to play Scott. If Fassbender or McAvoy were to leave, this new Cyclops could be the future focus of the franchise.
Deadpool: He is perhaps not the character to anchor the franchise, but goodamnit does he deserve his own spin off film. An R-rated Deadpool film would redefine the genre of superhero films. R- rated action-comedies like 21 Jump St. make millions of dollars at the box office. Imagine what an R-rated action-comedy-superhero film led by the Merc with the Mouth could make? BILLIONS. Not really, but definitely a cool 500 mill.
Short and sweet this week due to Mr. Jackman's flip-flopping. Who do you think should be the anchor of the X-Franchise? Who should play Deadpool? Sound off in the comments.
A few weeks back, Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street) expressed interest in playing Gambit in a future X-Men movie and now it's seems he will get his wish. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner confirmed Tatum will be Gambit in an upcoming X-Men flick. So now the question becomes what movie will he be introduced? I would guess the upcoming X-Men: Apolcalypse in 2016, then perhaps a part in an X-Force film down the road. Director Brian Singer had stated that he wished to bring Gambit and Nightcrawler into the next X-Men movie. Hopefully that means we hear some news about the blue elf soon too. What do you think of Tatum as Gambit? Sound off in the comments.
This week on the poll, I asked "What X-Men Spinoff Do You Want?" The surprise winner of the poll was Mystique. She took in 41% of the votes cast.
The results went as follows:
Mystique: 41%
Gambit: 25%
Magneto: 25%
Beast: 8%
Cyclops: 0%
Analysis: Wow. What I really found surprising was that Scott Summers received no love whatsoever. Cyclops from the comics is perhaps the most popular mutant, but according to our poll that poor sun-glassed bastard will continue to be obscure within the X-Men movie universe. Brian Singer made the decision back in 2001 to focus in on Wolverine rather than Cyclops. And because of that Hugh Jackman has become a superstar for playing Wolvie, while most people cannot even recall who played Cyclops in the original trilogy. That actor's name is James Marsden. Have you heard that name lately? Probably not. He is not in much. I just like to wonder sometimes if Cyclops was given a more proper and prominent treatment in the original X-Men films, could his popularity have been rivaled that of Wolverine's within the general audience. I think it was possible.
Now to talk about something not so depressing. Mystique won our poll, which means people on this site are reacting positively to the rumors of her potential spinoff. Last week, FOX producer Lauren Shuler Donner spoke about how the studio is mulling over spinoff films featuring X-Men. The character she mentioned in particular was Mystique. Now the internet had mixed reactions over the news. Some were delighted to see the shapeshifting mutant get a chance for her own story. Others were angered by the rumor. They claimed Mystique does not have the popularity to warrant a spinoff and that this film is only a possibility because the studio is looking to capitalize off their casting of mega-star Jennifer Lawrence in the role.
While I do agree that Mystique's popularity alone should not earn her a film, I disagree that it is a bad idea entirely. Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique can find an audience in a movie landscape that has begun to embrace strong heroines in titular roles. Her Katniss Everdeen led Catching Fire to commercial and critical success. Earlier this year Shailene Woodley emerged as a fan favorite as Tris in Divergent. Audiences have clearly connected with these female heroes and you can bet your ass Lawrence's has the chops to carry her own X-Men film into the public's good graces.
Lawrence's Mystique could be the first female lead character in the new wave of villain-centric comic book movies. Sony has started this new wave by setting up their Sinister Six and Venom films. Mystique could be FOX's first villain-centric spinoff. Then maybe a Magneto film or Sabretooth film could be made. Everyone loves a good villain. Hell, I hope that villains take over the comic book genre and 6 years from now I am sitting in the theater watching Joker vs. Lex rather than Batman vs. Superman. Well anyway, I believe if the story is right and Jen is ready to blue up, this spinoff could be a critical and commercial success. Check out Mystique and all the other X-Men in X-men:Days of Future Past in theaters May 23rd.
Thanks for reading and make sure to vote in our polls each week. Make your voice heard. What do you think of a potential Mystique spinoff? Sound off in the comments.
On our 12th podcast, Christian, Karl, and Ryan discuss the future spinoffs of major superhero franchises. The gangs touches upon the Sinister Six, Venom, and even Mystique. So strap in for some Spinoff action!
Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street) told MTV that he has spoken with X-Men: Days of Future Past producer Lauren Shuler Donner about a possible Gambit spinoff film. Donner had talked last week about FOX experimenting with the possibility of X-Men spinoffs, in particular Mystique and Gambit. So it seems she is laying some initial groundwork for these films. Tatum had expressed interest in the role a few weeks back and he continued his praise of the character in his MTV interview. "Gambit is really the only X-Man I’ve ever loved. I mean I’ve loved them all, they’re all great, but I guess from being down south – my dad’s from Louisiana, I’m from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida – I don’t know. I just related to him. He’s just kind of suave… He’s the most un X-Men X-Man that’s ever been in X-Men. Other than maybe Wolverine, who’s like the anti-hero. He’s a thief. He’s not even a hero. He’s kind of walking the line of grey…He loves women and drinking and smoking and stuff so he’s just a cool guy who happens to have a moral center….I hope it [comes together]. You never know it’s a weird industry. If the stars align, I would die to play it. I’m already working on the accent. It’s crappy at the moment." I would much prefer Taylor Kitsch (Lone Survivor) to come back as Gambit over Tatum. Kitsch had the character down cold, but he was just given limited material in a terrible movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. As a dramatic actor I find Tatum very lackluster. His recent turn in 21 Jump Street has led me to believe he is much better suited for comedy. What do you think? You want Channing as Gambit? You want a Gambit spinoff in general? Let us know in the comments. Read more: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/MarvelFreshman/news/?a=98158#Hvv7RIKpUPG1qcmf.99
Entertainment Weekly recently interviewed X-Men: Days of Future Past's producer Lauren Shuler Donner and writer Simon Kinberg for a cover story about the film. Given the success of Marvel's Cinematic Universe and Spiderman's recently announced spinoffs, EW asked if FOX is considering any mutant spinoffs besides Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Prodcuer Donner responded with “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,”. Donner would go on to say she would like to see a Gambit film, a Deadpool one, and lastly Mystique. Kinberg added when asked about Mystique's pivotal role in Days of Future Past“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.” Sounds like FOX really is considering spinoffs for their X-men properties. I am a big of fan of Jennifer Lawrence and Mystique, but this seems to be a move that would try to capitalize on Lawrence's name recognition rather than the character's popularity. But hey, if they have a good story go for it. I personally can never get enough X-Men or Jennifer Lawrence's acting. So if this movie does happen, what role are they gonna cast Bradley Cooper in? Gotta be Sabertooth, right? What mutant spinoffs should FOX try? Beast? Magneto? Gambit? Doop? Tell us your thoughts in the comments. X-Men: Days of Future Past will be in theaters May 23rd. Read the article: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/04/10/x-men-mystique-spinoff-jennifer-lawrence/
