SciFi.com is reporting that the third X Men film has received the official green light and is currently slated to begin filming in June 2005, aiming for a May 2006 release. It looks as though Bryan Singer will be returning to direct despite earlier word that he would be stepping into a writer / producer role only with someone else assuming the helm. Beyond that things get fuzzy …
Producer Lauren Shuler Donner says she’s “pretty sure” that Wolverine will return – though the talk of a Wolverine spin off film may change those plans – that she’s hoping to include Gambit and Beast on the mutant roster, that Storm will need to have a much larger part if they’re to entice Halle Berry to return, and that they’re planning to follow through with the Dark Phoenix storyline that was set up in X2 though Bryan Singer was earlier quoted as saying he didn’t expect to touch any of the Dark Phoenix material until at least the fourth film.
Hey, guess what? They greenlit this thing before writing a word of it. Can you tell?
On an unrelated but very relevant note the Star’s Peter Howell just wrote this excellent article outlining how the blockbuster phenomenon has resulted in increased pressure on studios to generate marketing franchises rather than just worrying about making films. It’s a good read.
