Things are going according to plan for the future of the X-Men film universe… at least according to my thoughts on what we’d see from Fox Studios going forward. As expected, Bryan Singer is back in the fold and will be directing the prequel X-Men: First Class, and X-Men Origins: Magneto is seemingly even less likely to happen than before.
While some X-Men fans were hopeful of the second X-Men Origins film following the history of the master of magnetism, to me it was the least likely of the projects in development to happen. Not only would such a project require a re-cast of the title character, which would never please the full fanbase, but it would therefore be less bankable since the actors would be new to the franchise. Magneto was cool for the X-Men trilogy but would moviegoers buy into him as the lead with Sir Ian McKellen not playing him?
A Magneto origins feature would have been about a his younger self meeting a young Professor X (also re-cast) and their developing relationship before the formulation of the X-Men. While it may have been a great story on paper, we know that there would of course be an infusion of mutant characters who don’t belong into the film to make it a flashy blockbuster affair and we don’t need that.
David Goyer was signed last summer to write and possibly direct the Magneto spinoff but since then, plans for said film have been put on hold. Goyer’s original idea for the story of the Magneto film was as follows:
“The storyline will heavily involve Professor X, the wheelchair-using X-Men leader. That character was a soldier in the allied force that liberated the concentration camps. The professor meets Magneto after the war and while they bond over the realization that they are alike in their special powers, their differences soon turn them into enemies.”
Since X-Men Origins: Wolverine debuted to big box office numbers (though we can’t say the same for its critical reception), a growing number of X-Men films have been pushed into development. Skip forward to the Blu-ray release of the Wolverine origin movie, and producer Lauren Shuler Donner discussed the main four X-projects in development: Wolverine 2, X-Men: First Class, X-Men Origins: Magneto and Deadpool. First Class and Magneto were already being written by Josh Schwartz and Goyer respectively and a Deadpool spinoff was dependent on the reception of Ryan Reynolds’ cameo in the Wolverine movie.
At the time, Donner said that Magneto was low on the priority list:
“David Goyer has written a brilliant script. It starts in the concentration camps and has Magneto coming out of there. But you know, I’m not sure that film is going to be made. The studio has a wealth of potential stories, and they have to stand back and decide which ones to make. And Magneto, I think, is at the back of the queue. Maybe it’ll get made in five years – who knows? I can tell you that Ian McKellen won’t be playing the character the whole way through. We used Lola technology in X-Men 3 to de-age Ian and Patrick for one scene, but it’s very expensive. To do that for a two-hour movie would be prohibitive financially. And to find a younger actor to fill Ian’s shoes, that’s pretty daunting. It’s not easy.”
As we know, Deadpool was greenlit and they’re bringing in writers (possibly the writers behind Zombieland) to handle that film; Wolverine 2 was pushed ahead and is being written by Oscar-winner Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), and the most recent development of course was the confirmation of Bryan Singer taking the helm of First Class and writer Jamie Moss brought on board to pen the script. Add to that the fact that Donner is in the early stages of also planning a possible X-Men 4 and New Mutants movies and there’s no room for Magneto anytime soon with all of these fresh new projects introducing new characters, large casts and plenty of cross-over opportunity.
There’s only so many resources to go around and from Fox’s perspective, which have more potential to not only bank the most coin, but spawn new franchises?
Ryan Reynolds Drops Out of 'Highlander' Reboot 
James Gandolfini Dead at 51 
No Loki in 'Avengers 2' 
'Man of Steel' Director & Writer on What Has to Happen in 'Man of Steel 2' 
I can’t quite see the logic of your argument about recasting to create a young Magneto being the issue with the X-Men Origins film, as X-Men: First Class will also require a younger Magneto and thus also require recasting.
In fact, it will also require recasting Xavier, Storm, etc.
I have the Magneto screenplay and it’s excellent, bar a few odd parts here and there. While you believe it would also have required lots of cameos (which aren’t in the screenplay, in fact), X-Men: First Class will be the exact same thing you seem to have been fearing: recasting, lots of characters!
The issue with a Magneto movie has nothing to do with cameos or recasting, it is whether Magneto is a marketable character to the masses ie can he carry a film on his own? Likewise, could Xavier, Storm, Rogue, Mystique, etc, carry a film on their own. Possibly not, as Wolverine has been the dominant character.
Just another abomination of the storyline. Just tired of seeing a name and a character being sold and rewritten. If the original characters and stories weren’t any good they would not be making money now.
I agree that the franchise has other property to sell, which will give them the greatest “bang for their buck”. I could see the story of Magneto being another holocaust war movie, but with mutant powers, when already many powerful holocaust movies have been made. If anyone has read the comic X-Men: Magneto Testament, which is basically what the Magneto movie would be about, it is much more about holocaust horrors than him and his powers.
Definitely wouldn’t be a movie for the kids, and it shouldn’t. I don’t want to see any more travesties like Terminator 3 and Live Free or Die Hard, where you needed to buy the “unrated” version!
I’m glad they are putting it on the back burner, but not too thrilled for a teeny bopper X-Men movie…but I’ll still watch it :p
I really don’t see the point of a Magneto film. Some origins just don’t need to be told in full detail to be understood. We know from the films that he was in a concetration camp, that he and Xavier built Cerebro together as friends, and that a difference in idealogies split their friendship apart. What else is there to know? It’s all been laid out for all to see already.
I don’t truly believe that we need X-Men: First Class either. Just make X4, bring Scott and Xavier back to life and bring in a proper villain along the lines of the Hellfire Club or Mr. Sinister. Move the film universe forward, not backwards.
@ David,
I don’t fear recasting of the X-Men members if they’re teenagers. It’s already been done as we saw in Wolverine…
The X-Men characters as a team are more bankable than Magneto on his own and that’s what I explained in the post. I also explain that the other projects they have in development are not only more marketable, but have potential to become franchises – something that wouldn’t happen with Magneto on his own.
X-Men First Class may include flashbacks to when Magneto was young and first met Xavier but the entire movie won’t be about him – he’s a supporting character and not the title character so recasting him for that isn’t the same as an entire feature film with a non-McKellen Magneto. In First Class, he could still be played by McKellen alongside Stewart in the scenes involving the school or training the mutants. That’s not too long before the first X-Men.
damn, the one character that I wanted an origins-movie for.
Ah well, maybe…someday.
You are correct. Fox is about money and not about giving us proper movies for our favorite characters.
that just the movie industry in general they only like to give us what they want not what we want. case in point battleship, candyland, monopoly, and any other movie based on board games that are coming out.
stupid idea from the very beginning, magneto is known for being the villian not the main character (whether he’s good or bad). honestly i think they should just leave xmen alone and continue on with other marvel movies, the fact that producers and marvel are continuously making sequels to their movies is just ruining the character and sooner or later no one will want to go and see ironman 6 or spiderman 8… get it ?
anyone who wants to a 3d tim pocock, the new guy whoplays cyclops i believe, raise your hand
By the time these next few Mutant films come down the pipeline I have to say I may be getting mutant movie fatigue!! Bring on the X-Force team too…what the hell..
I was honestly looking forward to a Magneto movie, but I honestly think that it would be better to mix the magneto movie into First Class. A Magneto movie would be great, but it would be more of a dramatic story rather than the action packed stuff we expect from the X-Men franchise.
heres what they do. The opening sequence of the film shows Magneto in the concentration camps as a teenager (this could give Wolverine a little cameo since he fought in WWII) From there have the opening credits show the early relationship between Magneto and the Professor. Then the real story begins with the Professor and Magneto founding the institute. as the story goes along theyre driven apart by their differing views of humanity and the final sequence of the film shows Magneto leaving the Institute. theres plenty of room for action and a good story.
I’d like a dark story with the Hell Fire Club.
Great story and characters. And how about the next one actually have the costumes, not black leather suits.
I don’t think FOX studios are making the XMEN movies all that well. I’m only young and have only a few XMEN comics and so far I like them better than the movies. I’ve seen some older ones of the first XMEN in a comic book shop and wonder if they will make a movie some day.
I just hope they don’t destroy the character of Cyclops again. The treatment of him was, IMHO, the worst thing about the first three X-Men movies.
Anti aging technology ?
They could use the new CGI technology from Cameron,render them young and make the whole movie with them playing in front of this new cameron technology ! would be a solution !
Anti aging technology ?
They could use the new CGI technology from Cameron,render them young and make the whole movie with them playing in front of this new cameron technology ! would be a solution !
Anti aging technology ?
They could use the new CGI technology from Cameron,render them young and make the whole movie with them playing in front of this new cameron technology ! would be a solution !
Only the shallowest amongst the X-Men’s audience can’t see the potential for a compelling Magneto origin film, and even those would soon find their feeble minds won over once it graced the screen.