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Will 'X-Men' Fans Accept a 'Gossip Girl' Script?

Professor X and Magneto. Wolverine and Sabretooh. Serena and Blair?

It was announced on Wednesday that Josh Schwartz, the creator of the TV teen dramas "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl," will be writing "X-Men: First Class," another installment of the superhero franchise. Variety reports that the new film will focus on the students at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, rather than the adults like Wolverine and Storm.
On paper the deal seems to make sense: Schwartz is a writer with a proven track record for soapy high school angst; the comic book was originally envisioned by Stan Lee to be focused on mutant teenagers and their issues; and assembling the actors from the first three films has likely become too complicated and expensive to do again. But will the younger-skewing take alienate the true fans?
The previous movie, 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand," was the most financially successful of the series, bringing in over $234 million in the U.S. Some fans of the comic book, however, weren't happy with the liberties the script took with the source material. Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News spoke out on how the "Dark Phoenix" story from the book was shortchanged in the movie, writing, "I truly truly truly hate how they treated it." Others took exception to how major characters were killed off without much fanfare. David Cornelius at efilmcritic.com went so far as to call it "one of the very worst comic book films ever made."
So will Josh Schwartz's "First Class" franchise reboot push the core fanbase further away? It's difficult to say just yet. While he gained more notoriety for his shows about the rich and spoiled, Schwartz also co-created the geek-turned-spy series "Chuck," which is peppered with allusions to comics and sci-fi movies. And even if the fans reject this particular title, the franchise is branching out into other directions that might please them more.
Opening next year's summer movie season is "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," a prequel with Hugh Jackman returning to his breakout role. It will tell the story of how the mutant Logan was transformed into the metal-clawed superhero, with Liev Schreiber stepping into the role of his nemesis, Sabretooth. A brief montage of footage was shown at the San Diego Comic Con this past July to great applause. There was also a quick shot of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, another Marvel Comics character that may get his own spin-off movie.
Also in development is "Magneto," another "X-Men Origins" film about the early days of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr before the two friends became enemies. David S. Goyer, the co-writer of "Batman Begins," is on board to direct, but no cast has been announced. Ian McKellen, who so memorably played the villain in the first three "X-Men" movies, said he is unlikely to return for that movie, joking with Empire Online that, "I don't think I could get away with playing a 19-year-old."
Still, as a big fan of director Bryan Singer's first two "X-Men" movies, I personally hold out hope that a teen-oriented "First Class" flick will still deliver. Some of the most affecting moments in those movies were centered on the younger characters. The scene where Rogue (Anna Paquin) nearly kills her first kiss with her mutation or when Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) shows his parents his abilities got to the heart of the dilemma that's been a part of the X-Men stories from the beginning. With any luck, Josh Schwartz will turn in a script that's more "X" than "CW."

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/xmen-future-blog.html

so this is not gonna feature the original x-men as teenagers?

Seems like these are just the initial reports.

'X-Men: First Class' Casting Call: We See Rihanna And Others As The Junior Heroes'Gossip Girl' stars Leighton Meester and Penn Badgley would also fit — plus, they have an in with the writer.

There are two ways "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz can go with his just-announced film featuring younger versions of the X-Men: stick with the world the film franchise has already created or modify it to draw from the Marvel comic series of the same title, "X-Men: First Class."

A third (but trickier) possibility would be to combine the two directions, using the characters as established in the films but adapting them to the story from the comics.

All this back-and-forth isn't just fanboy/girl talk; it becomes necessary for casting "X-Men: First Class." If the film just focuses on the adventures of junior X-Men as established in the last film, "X-Men: The Last Stand," they have a team ready to go. But should the filmmakers want to steer closer to the comics, then those parts need to be recast, because Iceman and Angel would become contemporaries of Cyclops, Jean Grey and Beast — and all of them would need to be younger. Sorry, Kelsey.

"You couldn't use Kelsey Grammer as Beast," "First Class" writer Jeff Parker said. "He's supposed to be, like, 20."

Even though Parker would be thrilled if the film focused on the characters as established by his comic, he said they shouldn't feel beholden to his work. "To me, the heart of it is that young people who were different found others like themselves and for once, they didn't feel like freaks," Parker said.

Which means the characters could be anyone. It could be Kitty Pryde, Angel, Iceman and Colossus from "X-Men: The Last Stand" (and you could keep Ellen Page, Ben Foster, Shawn Ashmore and Daniel Cudmore). It could be all twentysomething versions of Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman and Angel. Or it could be a combo of characters from the "First Class" comic and the movies — so you could drop Angel and make room for Storm.

Here are our suggestions for whichever way the filmmakers decide to go:

Jean Grey

Famke Janssen is too old; Haley Ramm (who played a teen Jean) is too young. They need someone in between, and that someone is right under Josh Schwartz's nose on "Gossip Girl": Leighton Meester, otherwise known as Blair Waldorf. She'd be believable as someone who could use a little help handling her extraordinary position, which sometimes gets her into trouble.

Runners-Up: Kristen Stewart, Natalia Tena, Ashley Greene, Mischa Barton

Cyclops

Tim Pocock is already playing a young Cyclops in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (though how he fits in that story, which is supposed to take place 17 years before they meet, we have no clue). So for continuity's sake, let's keep him. Besides, with that protective visor, no one would recognize him anyway.

Runners-Up: Cam Gigandet (who Schwartz knows from his "O.C." days), Bryan Greenberg

Beast

Beast doesn't always have to be blue — earlier in life, his mutation allowed him to be a little more human-looking. Michael C. Hall ("Dexter" may not be as young as needed, or as bulky, but he's got the simian-like cranium and the voice for the job.

Runners-Up: Nick Frost (has the bulk), Emile Hirsch (even if he is a bit short)

Iceman

If Schwartz wants to continue raiding his "Gossip Girl" cast, Penn Badgley already has the nice-but-boring act down pat. Let's just not go to Iceman's home and see his dysfunctional family on this outing, though, OK?

Runners-Up: Matthew Bomer (who Schwartz knows from "Chuck", Sean Faris

Angel

Ben Foster really didn't get enough screen time in his turn as Angel, but since he's shown to be part of the team only after everyone else, it wouldn't make sense to keep him. Aaron Staton ("Mad Men" is a good look-alike.

Runners-Up: Jamie Bell, Rupert Friend, Adam Gregory

Storm

She has to be beautiful, kind, but in possession of deadly powers. If Rihanna decides she's ready to act, this is the breakout role for her. Who else could compete with Halle Berry?

Runner-Up: Rutina Wesley ("True Blood" would stir up a Storm with extra depth.

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1599796/20081119/story.jhtml?rsspartner=unknown

‘X-Men: First Class’ Movie Moving Forward

It looks like 20th Century Fox will be continuing the X-Men franchise not just with solo spin-offs. The studio signed Josh Schwartz this week to write X-Men: First Class to bring the franchise to a younger generation.

Josh Schwartz is the creator, writer and producer of the television shows The OC, Gossip Girl and Chuck and this will be his first shot at developing a project for the big screen. You can probably guess who the target audience will be.

The film will undoubtedly follow (at least in some way, shape or form) the general idea and story from the X-Men: First Class comic book which Marvel debuted in 2006 as a mini-series, later continued as an ongoing series. The book follows the original five X-Men (for the most part) in their teens working for Professor X as it was when the X-Men comic began back in the 60’s.




That being said, the comic may have no bearing at all on the film… in fact it probably won’t – we all saw what Fox did with X-Men 3 and pretty much all the other Marvel properties they own rights to. They don’t seem to pay homage to the continuity of the source material at all -so I would not be surprised to see the First Class team feature characters that definitely do not belong. Just look at X-Men Origins: Wolverine; it has Gambit as part of Weapon X, which makes no sense at all to anyone familiar with the comics.

My fear is that Fox will just randomly pluck any X-characters who they think are popular and throw them on the same team without regard to who they are and where or when they are from. And it’ll be a shame if they do that since the X-Men are badass in their own right and they don’t need to be screwed with to sell.



I’m a big X-Men fan myself and I’m always up for seeing more feature films about them. However I wish they could just turn some of the millions of stories already written (and illustrated) for them and adapt them for film, rather than just using the brand and character names for whatever they want. There’s a reason the X-Men comic has been around so long and has spawned so many books, games, merchandise and television programming – you don’t need to make up stuff to substitute for that.

I have no idea what to expect from Schwartz, other than the project obviously being targeted as a teen drama for teens. Apparently there’s also a possibility of him directing which makes it even more unpredictable.

http://screenrant.com/x-men-first-class-movie-writer-rob-4311/

‘Gossip Girl’ Creator Josh Schwartz To Write ‘X-Men: First Class’ Movie, Featuring Younger X-Men

Really, it was just a matter of time before studios chose someone like Josh Schwartz, the creator of several wildly popular, teen-skewed TV series like “Gossip Girl,” “The OC” and “Chuck,” to focus some attention on Marvel’s favorite team of mutants. According to Variety, 20th Century Fox has tapped the teen-savvy creator to write “X-Men: First Class,” an upcoming film that focuses on younger versions of Marvel’s X-Men and, the studio hopes, bring audiences back to a franchise that earned more than $1.2 billion worldwide.

The deal also leaves open the possibility of Schwartz directing the film, though he hasn’t opted to do so at this point. Lauren Shuler Donner, who produced all of the previous “X-Men” films, as well as the upcoming “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” will produce “First Class.”

What isn’t clear at this point, however, is what sort of story — or characters — the studio is envisioning for the film. Previous X-Men films and a Marvel Comics series of the same name do provide some room for speculation, though.

While the article notes that Fox has been leaning toward using some of the younger characters introduced in the earlier X-Men films — noting the prominent roles of Iceman, Rogue, Colossus and Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) in “X-Men: The Last Stand” — and focusing on the students instead of the teachers at the Xavier Institute, Marvel’s “X-Men: First Class” comic book has a slightly different focus.

Debuting in 2006, Marvel’s “X-Men: First Class” began as an all-ages series that focused on the first years of the original X-Men members: Cyclops, Jean Grey (Marvel Girl), Iceman, Beast and Angel. The series was an unexpected success and has since spawned several volumes.

Whether the studio’s plans for an “X-Men: First Class” film involve some of the younger mutants already introduced in previous films or a look at younger versions of the existing team leaders in the film has yet to be announced, but that’s likely to be the topic of much debate between now and when the decision goes public.

http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/11/19/gossip-girl-creator-josh-schwartz-to-write-x-men-first-class-movie-featuring-younger-x-men/?rsspartner=rssYahooNewscrawler

Eww please don't mess up Bobby this time?

so is this like a new beginning for the x-men franchise, if so that was pretty fast to start off new again, only been like 2 years since the last one.

they better not skrew up