X-Men: First Class Gets Director

Marvel intends to return to the roots of the X-Men folklore with X-Men: First Class slated for June 3, 2011. Now the franchise gets its intended reboot with a new director in the helm.

X-Men: First Class has been always about the original fivesome of the X-Men namely Cyclops, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Iceman, Angel (Archangel) and Beast. But the movie will delve into the complicated friendship of Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (Magneto).

Bryan Singer will be heavily involved in its production while Ashley Miller and Jack Stentz will be in charge of the script.

Says Singer: “This is the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where their relationship took a wrong turn… There is a romantic element, and some of the mutants from ‘X-Men’ will figure into the plot, though I don’t want to say which ones. There will be a lot of new mutants and a great villain.”

It is encouraging to see these high-powered comic characters get a movie treatment that is not larger than life. For fans of the X-Men mythology, the love story of Cyclops and Jean Grey has always been well-chronicled and it will be interesting for fans to see how their puppy love develops.

For their part, Professor X and Magneto have always been portrayed as old men who are on the separate ends of the spectrum. But a movie exploring their youth together may help fans understand the complexity of their friendship.

In any case, Wolverine won’t be of much exposure here, owing to the fact that he had his own spin-off. Marvel is really hauling in the goodies for all their licensing properties. But with all the hard work they’ve put in, Marvel seems to deserve all this.