Now that we’ve moved past the speculation and disappointment about the director of the next X-Men movie, it’s time to speculate and be disappointed about the plot of X-Men 3.

As we’ve previously reported, it looks pretty good for the return of Ian McKellan (Magneto), Patrick Stewart (Professor Xavier), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman), James Marsden (Cyclops), and Famke Jannsen (Jean Grey). With the ending of X2 and the almost definite return of Famke most fans have been speculating that X-Men 3 would go into the Phoenix Saga storyline, featuring the return of Jean Grey as the carrier of the Phoenix Force, a universal power that has the potential to grow out of control, become the “Dark Phoenix”, and destroy planets (yes geekdom - I know that’s not completely accurate, but lets leave some plot points unmentioned for people who might not be familiar with the Phoenix Saga).

Recent comments by Marvel Studios exec Avi Arad have left fandom in confusion. Despite the return of Jean Grey to the film, Arad claims the Phoenix Saga won’t be a big part of X3: “"It should never be this one story. The main characters are more important than Jean Grey”. Of course they are. That’s why you’re bringing back a character you killed off in a Spock-like manner in the last film. If the “main characters” (which Jean Grey used to be a part of) are more important, why bother bringing her back at all?

However, IGN Filmforce is claiming to have the final word on the matter. They’re claiming, after investigating the matter, that the Phoenix Saga will be part of the next movie, with the Dark Phoenix indeed being the big bad for the film. They were cautioned though, that keeping with what Arad said, this does not make her the main story. Huh? Are they really going to take on an epic storyline of the X-Men and leave it as a secondary story?

Unfortunately IGN has proven they have some contacts when it comes to the X-Men franchise. They were the ones who reported the character of Angel would indeed be male, which has since been confirmed. Stating the Phoenix Saga will be a smaller story also goes hand in hand with their earlier reports that James Marsden’s Cyclops would have a reduced part in the movie.

The problem with this is most likely X-Men 3 will become a predominant Wolverine movie. Much like they increased his interaction with the X-Men in the second film, the third will probably center directly around him, setting the stage for his upcoming self-titled solo film. That’s a real disappointment, because the X-Men work best as a team, and one of my complaints about the comics has always been when the focus goes too much on breakout characters like Wolverine. Like in the comics, if he’s going to have his own franchise, why make him the center of this one?

Again, a lot of this is unconfirmed, but seems to fit perfectly with earlier news that’s been reported. Stay tuned for confirmation, as well as a lot of whining and complaining about the direction the Bryan Singer-less franchise is going. Be sure to check out our X-Men 3 Preview for a comprehensive look as the film develops.