X-MEN 3 to be the final X-Movie?

[James Logan]

From that USATODAY.com story that features Johnny Depp and Ben Stiller getting covered in slime was this little piece of information from the Kids' Choice Awards...

Halle Berry's bad experience with Catwoman apparently hasn't completely soured her on super-hero films. After long separating herself from X-Men 3, Berry now says it could be her next project because her character, Storm, has been given a stronger story line. "I love Storm," Berry said. "And it would be the last one, so I'd love to be a part of the end of the trilogy."

"It would be the last one", she says. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, or if it's old news or not, but I never heard that before (I heard SPIDER-MAN 3 might be the last installment in that series), so I picked up on it.

The article can be found here (http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-04-03-kids-choice-awards_x.htm?POE=LIFISVA) and hopefully someone can shed some light on this.

[Hack]

Well, with trilogies the "it" thing in series these days, one can only hope that with the success of the franchise, you'd be stupid to shut it down. There's a lot of heroes the fans want to see, more villains as well. There are much more storylines for the future that might not get explored in the third movie. They said the dark phoenix only has a small part in the movie, and what about the Sentinels!! My guess is that there will be more than three x-man movies.

[ak]

I can only see a 'trilogy' as a marketing thing these days, there is no other point to a trilogy within this context.

If there is an obvious story arc that takes place within three films, then fine, but X-Men seems to have an open-ended kind of narrative that doesn't require a trilogy. If there's more story to tell, let it go on, I say.

It's the same with Spider-Man. There no obvious three-film-arc going on, it's kind of jumbled.

[Patrick Bateman]

Before Singer's departure, I believe he was indeed open to the idea of filming X3 and X4 back to back. He stated several times of his love for the X-Men Universe. And that he would continue to make X-films.

Of course, this was before Superman.

My feeling is that it really depends on the overall reaction, and of course, business that X3 delivers at the box office. X3 will probably end in a way that would put a nice stamp on a very successful franchise. But leave subtle hints that it could possibly go on as well.

[Nachokoolaid]

FOX would be retarded to end it here. It begs for more stories to be told. If they want to stick with the "trilogy" idea, that's fine with me. End this trilogy with this group of actors, and then a few years down the line, start a new story arc with a different group of actors, some playing familiar characters, and some playing ones that were never introduced. That might be kind of fun.

[TheAxeGrinder]

If it makes money and it doesn't suck, we'll see more. If only for Jackman and Stewart to stay on for the ride...

[Hack]

Jackman has signed on for the spinoff of Wolverine, so it's possible after x3 we might not see him in the xman movies until his wraps up.

[MisterTwister]

If this is the final X-men movie, Fine. Remember though, there is going to be Wolverine and Magneto spin-off's, So it's not over quite yet.

[king_verhoeven]

The X-Men movies are THE best Marvel flicks so I agree that Fox would be crazy to drop the ball. I mean, compare Wolverine to Peter Parker or Hugh against Toby, and you know that X is far better than Spidey. But if the third one does fail it seems to be inevitable..

But if they continu they should do a somekind of roulation system. You can't bring more and more new mutants and still have all the old. I think they should keep it to three or four key mutants (leading roles) and some 6 supporting mutants. I could care less for Storm to return or Cyclops but maybe others disagree.

Bring on Cyclops and Gambit and some Sentinels and after the Fantastic Four the whole Fireman (or whatever that mutant's name was in X2) looks to be a bit: been there, done that.

But plenty of cool mutants to choose from so bring on X3, X4 and X5:D

[soda]

I don't see HOW the xmen movies could be confined to a triology, there are SO many more cool stories to tell. The script for X2: "God loves, man kills", wasn't even one of the top seven or eight best stories ever written, and it made a killer movie. Possibilities:

- The age of apocalypse (one of my favorite arcs, if your going to have any number of x-men movies, sooner or later, but probably sooner, your going to have to do a story with en saba nur, the first of all mutants).

- sentinels, geonosis and the campaign of genocide against all mutants.

- the dark phoenix saga (which they were apparently going to do, but how do you fit the phoenix/dark phoenix saga all into one movie? It will take an entire film just to explain the Sha'ire empire, the m'crann crystal, the hellfire club, and such).

- Nathan Grey-Summers/Bishop/the four horsemen/Nimrod/and the future war against apocalypse.

that, and many more. Remember, "God loves, man kills" would not have been my first choice for a movie script, but the film makers went with it, and it was awesome, there's a lot more here.

[Hack]

Originally posted by king_verhoeven


But if they continu they should do a somekind of roulation system. You can't bring more and more new mutants and still have all the old. I think they should keep it to three or four key mutants (leading roles) and some 6 supporting mutants. I could care less for Storm to return or Cyclops but maybe others disagree.

That's probably what's going to happen in the future of this series. And also watch out for more spinoffs if the actors that play the characters are great.

[bowieee]

Originally posted by Nachokoolaid
FOX would be retarded to end it here. It begs for more stories to be told. If they want to stick with the "trilogy" idea, that's fine with me. End this trilogy with this group of actors, and then a few years down the line, start a new story arc with a different group of actors, some playing familiar characters, and some playing ones that were never introduced. That might be kind of fun.


Nice idea! I actually think that way would be better than just plowing through sequel after sequel. with the same crew. It would be hard to find a replacement for jackman though.

[APzombie]

I think she might mean that X3 is her last one, not the franchises. We all supected she wouldn't even come back for the third.

[Moviefan02000]

I think the original X-MEN is one of the best Superhero movies of all time but I think X2: X-MEN UNITED was a terrible, terrible movie. I'll see this with an open mind.

[chasingbanky]

They should clearly make an Apocolypse/Cable spin off... Bring in Bishop(Snipes?), and Forge..... That would be so kick ass.

[freakandgeek]

i wouldn't be surprised if the third was the last, but i wouldn't be happy. i love xmen!

[Patrick Bateman]

Heres an interview some of you Schmoe's might be interested in with director Matthew Vaughn about his plans for X-Men 3.

LINK (http://actionadventure.about.com/od/xmen3/p/aavaughnX3prev.htm)

Matthew Vaughn on X-Men 3 - Equal Cast Screen Time and Grittier, Realistic Tone

Matthew Vaughn on the Status of X-Men 3: “We’re trying to see if we can get it off the ground at the moment. There’s just a hell of a lot. We’re meant to be filming in August. We’re working on it at the moment.” X-Men 3 will shoot in Canada. “It’s bloody annoying. I would rather be based here [in Los Angeles].” Vaughn is working closely with X-Men 3 screenwriters and Marvel producer Avi Arad. “Avi’s a cool guy. He’s cool. Apparently, he invented air hockey. Seriously. I don't know if that’s true or not but somebody told me that, I was impressed.”

Matthew Vaughn Gives Everyone Equal Screen Time (especially Storm) in X-Men 3: “As far as I know, Halle’s doing the film. In the script, she’s got a lot to do. I’ve got a lot of experience in dealing with a lot of character in a film, so multi-character movies don’t intimidate me at all. I think I know how to get that balance.” New characters will be introduced with a bit more presence than those in X2. “It’s pretty hard to get to the forefront because there are some big guys you’re going to have to squeeze past, but they’ll have more to do.”

Matthew Vaughn's Crazy Plans to Reinvent X-Men 3: “I wouldn’t say crazy. I have plans to put my stamp on it. I mean, the studio’s been incredibly supportive. I thought when I pitched them the way I wanted to make the movie, they’d run a mile. But I think they understand. I think the X-men are pretty much movies of the ‘90s and I think it’s time for them to toughen up a bit.”

Matthew Vaughn's Stamp on X-Men 3: “I think fantasy should all be based in reality, and then it becomes believable. You have to be able to relate to the characters. X-men was pretty good because you saw the flaws and the conflict that they’re going through, but I think that conflict needs to be expanded on. I wanted the villains to be less [cartoony]. At the moment, I think a lot of moustache twirling happened in the last films. I want to get rid of that and make the villains really scary and more realistic.”

Matthew Vaughn's Gritty X-Men 3: “Gritty doesn’t mean violent. I liked how Joss Whedon dealt with everything. That’s more of my sentiment.” But it does mean as little CGI as possible. “I hate CGI. I’m trying to do everything in camera. Listen, there are times you have to use CGI, but I want to do as much in camera as possible. I’m a gamer, I like video games and when I watch movies, I feel like half the time you’re watching an extended sequence on a game. You just switch off.”

Matthew Vaughn Dodges Inquiries on X-Men 3's Plot: “I could but I can’t.” Come on, Vaughn, at least tell us if Dark Phoenix will play a role. “Maybe.” Vaughn wouldn’t even say if Wolverine will take his shirt off again. “Would you like him to? You’ll have to ask Hugh. I don't know if he’s been to the gym lately.”

Matthew Vaughn's Biggest Worries About X-Men 3: “For me, it’s just the time we’ve got a real problem about. They want us to come out next May and that’s a problem. That’s a hell of a lot to get done in 12 months. That’s the only difficulty I foresee. Making a movie is making a movie. It doesn’t matter what the budget is.”

Matthew Vaughn on Comic Book Fans' Critique of X-Men 3: “Fine, let them hate it. As long as I don’t have to sit down in a room with them, it doesn’t bother me. You can’t please everyone. If you start making a movie thinking, ‘Well, I’ve got to please this…’ If you make a good movie, that’s all that matters. The comic book fans can read the comics and be happy with the comics. If they don’t like it, don’t go watch it. Veto the movie. But if you like it, support it.”

How Matthew Vaughn Landed X-Men 3: “What happened on X-Men was I just read on IMDB they didn’t have a director and I was looking for something to do. I just got in touch and they watched the movie and they liked it.” Vaughn is only signed for the one sequel, X-Men 3, no more. “I will never sign anything which makes me have to do more than one film.”

Matthew Vaughn on The Pitfalls of Comic Book Movies: In thinking about X-Men 3, Matthew Vaughn recalled all the comic book movies he’s disliked over the years. “They fall between two stalls. They either ignore the comic book and make a great movie, or they’re very close to the comic book. But I think a lot of times they ignore the comic book and they don’t make good films, so they’re stuck in this no man’s land.”

Vaughn did have some favorite comic book movies. “I did like the Spider-Mans. I thought they were very, very, very good. I liked Hulk. Everybody hated Hulk but I thought it was a good film. Admittedly, I saw it after everyone nailed it to the floor and I saw it on a digital projection which probably made the Hulk look better. But other comic book movies that I really liked? Well, I like the X-Men otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it. They’re the obvious ones. I remember there was an old comic book movie I loved and I can’t remember what it was. Matrix, I’d call that a comic book movie and I thought that was good. 1, Matrix 1”.

Vaughn is well-versed in comic books himself. “I used to be a big comic fan. Not as much anymore. I’m still fan, I just haven’t got time to read them. I like comic books.”

[Arjan20]

They should make a film with X-Men and Spiderman united. Alas that Spiderman is with Columbia and X-men with Fox. Don't see why fox is making X3 the last movie though. There are enough story's that could make blockbuster films.

[DestructioN]

Would be foolish to end X-men or Spiderman on 3...clearly the fanbase to each of these movies knows a great deal about the numerous comics and cartoons that have been created over the years and there are a ton of directions either story could go in.

Especially Spiderman, if they are going to make a 3rd, might as well continue else they should have left it at 2 (Seeing as Spidey got the girl, saved the world; a nice and neat finish)

[free]

The thing that really scared and saddened me was this line:

Berry now says it could be her next project because her character, Storm, has been given a stronger story line.

;)

[HM Murdock]

Originally posted by free
The thing that really scared and saddened me was this line:

Berry now says it could be her next project because her character, Storm, has been given a stronger story line.

;)

Oh god, no! I guess the title will now be "Storm and the X-Men". Why is Berry insitant of being superheroes. Before Catwoman she said she would not do another X-Men but after it flopped she quickly said she would do another X-Men. We won't forget Catwoman Halle, trust me, we've tried.

[Jason Vorhees]

You still need Gambit and Juggernaut and sinister and a bunch of other characters we grew up with. I'm surprised that Gambit wasn't in the first 2.

[zeppelin]

Originally posted by Jason Vorhees
You still need Gambit and Juggernaut and sinister and a bunch of other characters we grew up with. I'm surprised that Gambit wasn't in the first 2.

Gambit and Juggernaut have both been confirmed for X3. So has Beast, and I think Archangel as well. But still, I hope they don't end it at 3, because there's still more...Cable, Bishop, Jubilee, Omega Red, Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister, the Sentinels...the list of characters goes on and on. They could probably take the franchise up to 6 or 7 movies if they wanted to. But personally, I think 4 or 5 would be enough. After that, it's just overkill.

[Cronos]

im still not sure what to think about X3, mainly because of the change of directors....and from Vaughns comments it'll be a very different kind of film to the previous 2 (both of which i enjoyed a lot)

as for them finishing with X3, that would be a mistake (as long as the film does well)

i really want to see Apocalypse and some Sentinels smashing shit up

[Zep]

Looks like there may be one less layer on this superhero cake. (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20349)

:D

[Nachokoolaid]

Originally posted by Zep
Looks like there may be one less layer on this superhero cake. (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20349)

:D

Damn. That certainly throws a kink in things. I wonder who they're going to get to direct now? Fox needs to move the date back to at least late summer 06. There's not a director alive that would WANT to work on that tight of a schedule. Possibly even move it to summer 07. Is David Fincher working on a project? I don't think so. Mmm. Someone else mentioned Kurt Wimmer, and I don't have a problem with that idea either.

[bdubprod]

damn....i was looking forward to Vaughn directing this. He did a great job on Layer Cake.