‘X-Men: First Class’ Sequel Shoots In January, To Work Around Jennifer Lawrence And ‘The Hunger Games’ Sequel
The last real news we had on the film that will followX-Men: First Classwas that directorMatthew Vaughn, who co-authored the rewrite ofFirst Class(with Jane Goldman) and then made the film on a rather tight schedule, hadsigned to direct the sequel.
Now it looks like that nextX-Menfilm will shoot in January 2013. The reason is one that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has looked at the top-grossing movie for the last couple weeks.Jennifer Lawrenceplayed Mystique inFirst Class, but is also now the lead of the blockbuster filmThe Hunger Games, with a sequel close on the horizon. That means thatX-Menstudio Fox andHunger Gamesstudio Lionsgate both have films they want to get into production, and both involve Lawrence. (And you can bet that Fox wants to emphasize Lawrence in any way possible now, after the runaway success ofThe Hunger Games.)
The solution will likely be this: Lawrence will shootCatching Fire, theHunger Gamessequel, later this year, and then shoot the nextX-Menfilm in January.
THRsays that sources report “Fox is informing talent agencies Thursday that the studio plans to begin shooting its in-development sequel toX-Men: First Classin January.”
Originally Fox wanted to shoot theX-Menfilm this fall, which created a conflict with Lionsgate. Fox had Lawrence first, and has her contractually bound by an option to do theX-Mensequel. So Fox could potentially have exercised that option, forcing a conflict with Lionsgate. But things are worked out now, freeing upCatching Fireto shoot in August or September of this year, withX-Menrolling in January.
We can also expect actors such asMichael FassbenderandJames McAvoyto return to theX-Menfold next year. Now that the schedules have been worked out, we may start to hear some real details about Fox and Vaughn’s plans for the film, too, which is beingwritten bySimon Kinberg.
On theHunger Gamesside, there still isn’t a deal to putGary Rossback in the director’s chair, but any negotiating conflicts on that front are expected to be resolved soon.
