Bryan Singer Spills Details On X-Men: First Class

Though he isn't directing the film, Bryan Singer is still very much involved with the production of X-Men: First Class. In addition to serving as producer for the Matthew Vaughn superhero film, he also holds a story credit. With all of the casting news in recent weeks (I would link to them but, frankly there are just too many), speculation about the project has been running wild, but Singer has now taken a moment to clear some things up

AICN had a chance to speak with Singer and the X2 director spilled the following information:

• The story is a period piece that takes place during the early 1960s, when John F. Kennedy was president.
• The film will cover how Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr (played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) first met while in their late 20s.
• McAvoy will not start the film in a wheelchair, but we will see how he is paralyzed. He will also have a full head of hair
• They are not trying to adapt the X-Men: First Class comic, rather seeing the film as "a new beginning for X-Men"
• The technology is inspired by the James Bond tech of the time and the costumes "will be far more comic bookish than we've seen before"
• Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Jean Grey aren't in the film, but Alex Summers (a.k.a. Havoc, a.k.a. Scott's brother) will be there and played by Lucas Till
• The Hellfire Club will be present in the film with Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and Emma Frost (January Jones) as members. The costumes will be similar to what they were in the original comics and Bacon may sport a ponytail with a ribbon
• The film will have a much more international feel, picking up with Xavier attending school at Oxford University. Shooting will take place in England and the US. Because this is the 60s, Russia will be represented.

It's a lot to take in, but also a lot to be excited about. They appear to be going for a more classic view of comics, which we have yet to see in film adaptations. I suspect that the one thing people will be upset about is that Xavier will have hair, but let's face facts here: you shave McAvoy's head and he's going to look like a cancer patient. Not everybody can pull off the Patrick Stewart.