Bryan Singer Has Ideas for X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel

Moving forward with a sequel to X-Men: First Class isn't a done deal yet, but producer Bryan Singer, who directed the first two X-Men films, is at least thinking about what another '60s X-Men movie might involve.

In a Los Angeles Times piece, Singer seems to think the characters could continue weaving through the decade's history.  "I don't know if every movie has to be a history lesson, but there's a lot of history to cover.  If we sequelized this, it could inhabit a whole world of the 20th century," Singer remarked.  "When ['First Class'] happened, Kennedy had not been assassinated and the Vietnam War hadn't happened yet."

Singer also sees the obvious parallels of Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto's ideological differences on how to attain mutant rights compared against the differences of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X on how to attain racial equality.  "What's really interesting about the '60s setting is the civil rights movement," he said.  "What's fascinating about these two characters is that they're really the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King of comic mythology."

So that might mean the introduction of mutants into the mainstream public and the public's presumably general bigoted, resistant reaction to the idea of Homo Superior beings.  Magneto would be likely to show up to smash anti-mutant hate rallies or stage pro-mutant acts of violence that the character was originally known for since his first appearance in X-Men (vol.1) #1.  Perhaps in this fictional Earth where mutants exist, Magneto is responsible for the "magic bullet" that helps assassinate President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.  If the public sees or at least perceives Magneto's involvement, this would certainly set off a wave of anti-mutant hysteria that sets the tone for the original trilogy of X-Men films.

And then there's the X-Men themselves to consider, with only Beast, Havok and Banshee choosing to remain with Professor X by the end of X-Men: First Class.  Ideally, there would need to be at least 2 to 3 more team members added.  Polaris, who becomes Havok's love interest in the comics and has powers similar to Magneto, would be a logical choice for one new X-Man.  Sunfire and Thunderbird, two other characters that joined the comics team at the same time as Banshee, might be other possibilities for replacements.

Of course, all of this is moot if X-Men: First Class doesn't earn enough at the box office to justify making another movie.  Despite glowing reviews, the film had a production budget of $160 million and made only $55 million domestically during its opening weekend.  However, if you factor in the foreign markets, the film has made over $144 million worldwide as of June 8, 2011.  As long as the movie doesn't fall too badly as a result of Super 8's debut this weekend and home video sales are as strong as expected, I would imagine that 20th Century Fox will greenlight the sequel.