Jane Goldman Talks X-Men First Class Sequel

The wheels are in motion for the sequel to X-Men First Class. Fox's Tom Rothman has confirmed the progress and screenwriter Simon Kenberg (Sherlock Holmes) has been hired to write a draft for the second film. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are expected to return as the conflicted best friends along with other supporting cast members. Writer/director Matthew Vaughn's involvement has been mentioned but hasn't been announced by the studio. However, Vaughn has shared ideas of an opening scene featuring Magneto for the sequel.

First Class co-writer Jane Goldman told MTV that she would be 100% on board for the sequel. That's of course if Matthew Vaughn returns and asks for her help. The story goes Vaughn and Goldman completely re-wrote the previous drafts of the first installment. It would make sense that if Vaughn returns to direct he'd rely on his writing partner to help put together another solid script. It's unknown when we could see First Class 2 hit theaters but I assume Fox is eager to move quickly. Fox currently has The Wolverine and Deadpool currently in development as well.

"James and Michael brought so much to them that I think it's entirely natural to be talking about where those characters would go next. It was inherent in their stories and their arcs. There are so many interesting places to go."


 "In terms of what's going on with that, again from my point of view, it's down to what Matthew [Vaughn] decides to do. If he decides he wants to direct the next one and if he wants me on board, I'm 100 percent there."

Jason Flemyng Confirms Script For First Class Sequel In Development

While Jason Flemyng might be just one of the many cast members of X-Men First Class he is also a very good friend of writer/director Matthew Vaughn. Jason has starred in every single film that Vaughn has made [Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass] including films he's produced [Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch]. The actor who plays Russian mutant Azazel [father of Nightcrawler] gave an update to DigitalSpy. Jason states the box office success of First Class is the main reason the studio is moving forward with a script. Adding that it's DVD/BluRay sales will ultimately decide if the sequel will be made. It ended up making $353 million worldwide and another $30 million during the first week of the DVD/BluRay being released.

"There was a benchmark that they had to hit box office-wise before they could start writing the next one, which they've started. We'll just see how the DVD goes and then fingers crossed I'll be bright red again by next summer."

Actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender have stated they're on board for more films. There have been ideas tossed around for the sequel like Magneto guiding the magic bullet that killed JFK for an intro sequence. It's expected Azazel (Flemyng) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) could explore their characters' relation that leads to Nightcrawler being born. Along with the formation of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. Jason also threw out the statement of production possibly starting in the summer.

"Me and Jen Lawrence have a kid, don't we? The world is a wide place and if my son turns out to be Alan Cumming then good for him, that's great. I love Alan Cumming."

"I am so in his gang [for the sequel]. There's one shot at the end of the film [with Magneto] and I was like, 'Please let me be in the shot!' And there I was. If there is a sequel, I have to be there." 

Bryan Singer Talks Possible Details Of X-Men First Class Sequel

Another film set in the world of First Class is very likely considering all the praise the first film has received. We've heard from writer/director Matthew Vaughn that we could see Magneto control the magic bullet that kills JFK in an intro for the sequel. Now there is word from producer Bryan Singer (via LATimes) how he'd like to go even further to ground the franchise. Singer made a lot of the creative choices for First Class choosing the mutants and working on the story with writers. It's likely he'll be involved the same way with the sequels since there has been talk of a trilogy if not more. Bryan wants to include the Civil Rights Movement along with the Vietnam War.

With this new information I've come up with my own theories for the sequel. The Civil Rights angle might give us anti-mutant groups like Friends of Humanity which violently targeted mutants and mutant supporters. The assassinations of JFK and MLK could also bring up the aspect of Bishop trying to kill Xavier. The only thing is that it's expected mutants existence might be kept from the public for a little longer.

The Vietnam inclusion might give hope to fans who were disappointed by X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It's possible that a young William Styker Jr. could make a solid appearance along with a bone-clawed James Howlett (Logan). Cain Marko is another service man who could also appear in the conflict. Marko's origin involves him as a solider discovering his powers during the Korean War and becoming the Juggernaut. The only issue is that they took the aspect of Cain being Charles' stepbrother and used it for Raven (Mystique). Cable, a very popular character that producers have been vocal about including in future X-Men films is a strong possibility. Stephen Lang (Avatar), who fans wanted cast in the role revealed he'd be up for it. He could fit nicely in here as a gruff new X-Men team leader along with the father of both Alex (Havoc) and Scott Summers (Cyclops).

When it comes to the newly formed Brotherhood of Mutants we could see Magneto finally make the transition to mutant terrorist. Organizing the group to better serve mutant kind throughout their actions. Along with the relationship between Mystique and Azazel which will eventually lead to the birth of Nightcrawler. I'm not sure if Emma Frost and Magneto will develop one as well but there has been talk of love interest for Erik in future films. It would be nice to explore the origins of the Russian mutant Azazel.

I would think after the events of the first film the allied governments might try to work together to develop a non-mutant tactic to combat the Brotherhood and other dangerous mutant threats. Perhaps leading to the development of the Sentinel program which has been teased in previous films. Having the large robots identifying/rounding up threatening mutants and taking them to the isolated African island of Genosha. Where the mutants would have their powers repressed with technology and imprisoned. It would be an interesting way to raise the bar from First Class.