When "X-Men: First Class" was initially announced, there was some confusion about the nature of the film. Would it follow the exploits of a younger X-squad? Will we see characters from the previous films, or would this follow an all-new (but hopefully comic-friendly) cast of characters?
The answer is significantly clearer today, thanks to comments from "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" producer Lauren Shuler Donner. During an interview on Fox Movie Channel's Life After Film School transcribed by Comics Continuum, the producer revealed that "First Class" will truly live up to its name by focusing on the founding days of the mutant group.
"It is the first class of Xavier's school, way back when, so it's young Scott, young Jean, young Beast and that'll be really fun," Donner said. "I think [the plan] is to follow some of the characters into their own stories, and weave them back into the X-Men world ... And hopefully 'First Class' will become its own franchise and we can follow them as they grow up."
Despite going back to the comic book roots, it's still unclear as to whether or not the full original X-Men line-up can appear in the film -- not without ignoring the continuity of "X-Men," "X2: X-Men United" and "X-Men: The Last Stand," that is. Both Iceman and Angel, original members of the X-Men in the comic books, were in the previous "X-Men" films, but their characters were clearly not founding members of the squad.
When you consider reports that Fox is taking a new approach to their superhero films -- including rebooting "Fantastic Four" and "Daredevil" -- it's hardly surprising that they're taking a hard look at the "X-Men" franchise. With Cyclops set to appear in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and rumors of a Hank McCoy cameo in the planned "X-Men Origins: Magneto" film, it looks like Fox is taking a cue from Marvel Studios' cross-pollination example.
One thing to consider, however, is how to fit Wolverine into the new "First Class" mythos, if at all. Since Hugh Jackman and Tom Pocock both appear as Logan and Scott Summers in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" respectively -- and considering Wolverine's starring role in the previous "X-Men" films -- it's hard to imagine how Jackman could appear in "First Class" without creating a continuity rift.
Another option, of course, is to not include Wolverine in "First Class" at all. That would work just fine with many diehard mutant maniacs -- but given Logan's marketability, it's hard to believe that Fox would keep the ol' Canucklehead away from the big screen for too long.
Are you "cyked" to see most of the original X-Men lineup on the big screen? Which other mutants would you like to appear in the movie? Sound off in the comments!