Tuesday, September 14, 2004

X3: X-Men 3 (2006)
Release Date: May 5th, 2006 (wide)

Release Date Note: (6/2/03) The tentative release date of May 5th, 2006 is the same relative weekend, three years later, as the May 2nd, 2003 release date Fox gave X2: X-Men United. (4/9/04) That date is confirmed.

Title Note: (6/2/03) The title of 'X3: X-Men 3' that I'm currently listing this movie under is not official, as there is currently no official title for this movie.

MPAA Rating Note: (6/2/03) Nothing's official until the MPAA sees the final cut, but it is extremely likely that Fox will be shooting for a PG-13 rating like the first two movies received.

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Production Company: Ames Entertainment, Bad Hat Harry Productions (Bryan Singer), Frantic Films, Marvel Studios (Iron Man, Fantastic Four), The Donners Company (Timeline, Constantine)

Cast: Hugh Jackman (in talks) (Logan, AKA Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (in talks) (Professor Charles Xavier), Shawn Ashmore (Bobby Drake, AKA Iceman), Daniel Cudmore (Piotr Rasputin, AKA Colossus), Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner, AKA Nightcrawler), Famke Janssen (Dr. Jean Grey), James Marsden (Scott Summers, AKA Cyclops), Sir Ian McKellen (in talks) (Erik Lensherr, AKA Magneto), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique); other cast not announced or confirmed as signed yet.

Wolverine Note: (6/1/03) Officially, Hugh Jackman has not yet signed on for 'X3.' However, he is a bit of a Catch-22, because there have been several remarks made to the effect that Fox will never do an 'X-Men' movie without Wolverine. In other words... if he doesn't sign on, the movie probably won't happen. So, I suspect that Fox will do what they need to do to get Jackman to sign on (ie, I think finding a new actor for Wolverine at this point is probably not what they will pursue).

Cast Unlikely to Return: (6/1/03) The cast member from the first two movies most likely to not return for the third movie is Halle Berry (Ororo Munroe, AKA Storm), due to her rising profile as an A-list star, and the script difficulties of keeping Storm's role in each of these ensemble movies large enough to do her status justice. There are rumors that Fox may someday develop a 'Storm' movie for her to star in, however. (11/18/03) According to USA Today, Halle Berry is still considering returning for this third film. According to her costar Shawn Ashmore (via X-Men Hype!), besides budgetary concerns, the biggest requirement for Berry to return might be for her hours to be shortened, and her role lengthened. Although that sounds contrary, what he *means* is that she doesn't want to have to stay in Vancouver for six months during the entire shoot like most other cast members have to.

Possible Returning Cast: (6/1/03) Several actors/characters who were in the second movie might return for this third one. First off, Kelly Hu revealed recently that she is signed on for a sequel, but there is no word yet about whether that would be 'X3' (or 'X4' or 'X5,' etc.). Other possibilities from the first two movies who might return are: Steve Bacic (Dr. Hank McCoy, AKA Beast), Bruce Davison (Senator Kelly), Bryce Hodgson (Arthur "Artie" Maddicks), Shauna Kain (Theresa Cassidy, AKA Siryn), Tyler Mane (Sabretooth), Ray Park (Toad), Cotter Smith (President McKenna), Aaron Stanford (John Allerdyce, AKA Pyro), Katie Stuart (Kitty Pryde) and Kea Wong (Jubilee).

New Mutant Notes: (6/2/03) In a special screening of X-Men in Los Angeles the week before the release of X2, screenwriter David Hayter revealed that the character most likely to be introduced in this third movie is original X-Man Dr. Hank McCoy, AKA The Beast. What is unclear is whether the same actor who had a small cameo as McCoy, Steve Bacic, would return in the role, or if Fox would seek someone a bit more famous. Of course, if Dr. McCoy has already evolved into the blue-furred version of Beast by the time of this movie, that problem may solve itself. Other likely candidates that have been mentioned or rumored for either 'X2' or 'X3' in recent years are original X-Man Warren Worthington III (AKA 'Angel') and Remy LeBeau (AKA 'Gambit'). In that same talk, Hayter said that he doubted Gambit would ever have more than a small role because he's too similar to both Cyclops (powers-wise) and Wolverine (personality-wise).

(12/23/03) Talking recently to Dark Horizons, producer Lauren Shuler-Donner confirmed that Beast is a strong possibility for this third movie, and threatened that she might also push to include Gambit. I say threaten, because I am among that vocal portion of the fanbase that is rabidly anti-Gambit. Whereas most of the X-Men characters thus far adapted for the movies are cool, Gambit is "kewl" and "kewlness" sucks. He's a relic of a dark time in comic book history when style was valued over substance, and probably the character that most singularly divides fans into two camps: the Gambit fans and those Gambit bugs. I would pity any actor who ends up playing Gambit; the down side is potentially huge... even if you please the Gambit fans, you still have to deal with all of the people who think the character just plain sucks.

Director: Currently seeking one.

Director Notes: (6/1/03) Officially, Bryan Singer has not signed on to return as director of this third movie, but he has been quoted as saying there is a strong chance that he will do so. Even if he doesn't, Singer is likely to be very active as producer and story contributor. (12/10/03) "Variety" confirmed this week that Bryan Singer is indeed in talks to return for this third movie. (7/19/04) Bryan Singer has signed on instead to direct 'Superman', and since both movies are aiming for the summer of 2006... this series loses the man who got the ball rolling. Alas... but can comics fans really complain?

Screenwriter: Not announced yet.

Screenwriter Note: (6/1/03) Officially, no screenwriter has been hired yet to work on this third movie. The top contender is David Hayter, who wrote the first movie and cowrote the second, and the team of Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty who also cowrote the second.

Based Upon: (6/1/03) This will, of course, be the third movie based on the popular 'X-Men' comics that have been published by Marvel Comics since the early 1960s. The previous films were 2000's X-Men, which grossed $157 million in the U.S. after opening to $54.5 million (on a budget of $75 million), and X2: X-Men United, which currently has grossed $199 million in the U.S. after opening to $85.6 million (on a $110 million budget).

Franchise Note: (3/12/04) Bryan Singer and 20th Century Fox are reported to be considering filming both 'X3' and 'X4' back-to-back, with those movies potentially closing the book on the 'X-Men' movies as a team, but opening the door to myriad spin-off movies (with the first one confirmed to be 'Wolverine').

Premise: (6/1/03) There is much that is currently unknown about this movie's premise, but here's what is known. This movie will follow the continuing adventures of the superpowered group, the X-Men, led by Professor Xavier, and based at his school for gifted students, as they try to foster good will for mutants like themselves, in a world where some people are born with extraordinary powers, and many ordinary humans fear them for it. One likely subplot to be addressed in this movie is the status of Dr. Jean Grey, who experienced something strange in the second movie, something to do with something called Phoenix... (I know a lot more about Phoenix than that, but I'm trying not to spoil the second movie.) Another possible element that may be introduced in this third movie is the idea of the Sentinels, giant mutant-hunting robots constructed to capture and control the "mutant menace" forever.

Filming: (6/1/03) There is currently no production start date, but if Fox is aiming for a May, 2006 release date, filming will probably start sometime in early 2005 or so. The location is likely to be Vancouver, Canada, and the budget will probably be north of $110 million.

Genre: Action, Based on a Book, Eye Candy, Science Fiction, Sequel, Superhero

Unofficial Rumor Controls: Comics2Film, CountingDown.com, IGN FilmForce, X-Men Hype!

Production Designer Interview: CountingDown.com (this great, detailed piece reveals plenty of what was not used in X2, which may therefore show up in 'X3')

Official Site of the Previous Movie: X2-Movie.com

Official Comic Books Site: Marvel.com

Unofficial Fan Site: X3Movie.net

Message Board: Share your thoughts on our "X3: X-Men 3" Message Board

Input about my Previews of upcoming Movies, or any movie covered here, is encouraged. Just e-mail Greg Dean Schmitz using our feedback form. Please note that all release dates are subject to change.
Comments (0)