While we’ve had a virtual avalanche of casting info for Matthew Vaughn’s latest outing, the prequel story X-Men: First Class, one element has always been noticeably absent: solid details on the film’s true setting and plot. But now producer Bryan Singer has called up Ain’t It Cool News to deliver some fresh intelligence.
From this point on, we’d warn anyone reading that there may be mild spoilers ahead.
According to Singer, this version of First Class will not be a direct adaptation of the comic book that bears the name. Instead, this will aim to foster the origin of Singer’s own first two X-Men films (and, to a lesser extent, Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand). The story will be set in the 1960s, at a time when civil rights were a big issue and revolution was in the air.
We’ll meet Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) as a student at Oxford, and this younger take on the character will be neither bald nor in his customary wheelchair, though we will likely see how he comes to be in the chair. When Xavier meets Erik Lensherr, (Michael Fassbender), the first inklings of the X-Men will be seen.
The setting will allow for a much more retro look, with Connery-era James Bond a big influence (X-Men meets Mad Men, anyone?) and mutant hero outfits much more out of the comic books than the movies’ leather-styled versions.
Oh, and X-history buffs will be glad that Singer confirmed that January Jones’ Emma Frost and Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw means we’ll get to meet the Hellfire Club. Yup, it’s apparently Silver Age Marvel all the way.
Can it work on screen when everyone is so used to the Singer-styled movies? He seems to think it can, and we’ll start getting a look at the world soon enough…