X-men4 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

This whole "will there be a fourth X-Men movie" is turning into a game. Someone really should collect all the quotes coming from everyone involved and stack them up against each other just to see who contradicts who. It can be like Civil War ... "whose side are you on?" A handful of prominent X-actors, including Patrick Stewart, are fully convinced another sequel will happen. Recent talk by Marvel bigwigs would seem to give weight to their argument, although nothing resembling a real plan has been discussed. A larger handful of prominent X-actors are fully convinced the series is finished, and talk from director Brett Ratner seems to give weight to the argument. And now, another mutant actor shares his thoughts on sequel possibilities.

So, Iceman, whose side are you on? Shawn Ashmore, the man who is Iceman, says "there are rumors about an X-Men 4 but as far as I've been told X3 was going to be the last big ensemble X-Men movie. I would love if they made another one, but I'm not sure that they will." He is under contract for another film, though, just in case. Ashmore also addressed the "new mutants" rumors, saying he's heard of the idea, but only from the internet. As far as he knows, nobody official or important has talked about it.

If this franchise dies down, and the Spider-Man franchise finishes up after a third film, what do you suppose is the future of Marvel movies? They are gearing up for a big Avengers flick, but can they continue to carry box office momentum until 2009 or 2010 without their big bread winners?

So tell me, movie-going public, are you aching for more of Marvel's biggest titles, or starting to tire of all the spandex and special effects? As yet, Marvel's main lines show no signs of slowing, as X-Men 3 did very well and Spider-Man 3 expects to fare even better. For those of us who have spent our entire lives reading comic books, this has been a truly enjoyable time -- and it seems as if the rest of you have been quite happy with it all as well. However, with the completion of X-Men: The Last Stand, we've been told the franchise is a wrap, and rumors have been suggesting the end of Spider-Man after part three since well before part two even hit theaters.

So what is the truth of the matter, then? Unsurprisingly, nobody really knows yet. However, one of the foremost sources of knowledge on the subject would likely be David Maisel, vice-president of Marvel Entertainment. On the subject, Maisel said: "obviously those films have done tremendously well and made significant amounts of profits for our partners, Sony and Fox, so I would be under the assumption that they would very much want to continue those properties in an aggressive manner." Given what's been said of various actors' contracts and desires to move on with their careers, it is distinctly possible this could mean the ever-dangerous recasting. Could Marvel films survive the replacement of key actors?

Okay, so even though X-Men: The Last Stand was supposed to mark the end of a trilogy, that doesn't mean there can't be an X-Men 4. Face it, these films are raking in a ton of money -- it would simply be a box office crime is there weren't anymore sequels. We need them. We want them. X-Men forever!

After a clip at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand left the door wide open for another installment, rumors ran wild as to when we would see a sequel and who would be in it. Well, producer Lauren Schuler Donner chimed in on the topic and, from the looks of it, they're moving ahead as planned ... sort of. Says Donner, "The newer cast members are signed, and the older cast members are not." Ah, so now the question becomes: Will they sign? If not, will they still go ahead with a fourth film or focus solely on spin-off flicks?

Donner did note that the Wolverine spin-off movie would come before any X-Men sequel, with filming to begin right after Hugh Jackman wraps his role in the next Baz Luhrmann film. Currently, the script is done and work on the film has begun. Hmm, I wonder: Do you think an X-Men 4 could be successful minus its biggest stars?

[via IGN]

Wow, the news just doesn't stop pouring in when it comes to the X-Men film franchise. Maybe that whole big national blockbuster thing they've got going on right now is behind it, eh? Anyway, it seems like we'll never put the rumors of a fourth X-Men film to rest -- or at least not anytime soon. It was beginning to look like everyone who had an official say was declaring the rumors to be absolutely, unequivocally false, but now the one man at the top of it all has thrown everything into doubt yet again. Avi Arad has been the man when it comes to Marvel on film, and although he just stepped down to start his own production company, he is still heavily involved with everything Marvel. If nothing else, his company figures to handle most of the upcoming Marvel flicks, and he's personally arranged all of the deals happening currently.

When asked about a sequel possibility Arad said the following:  "There's always a chance of an X-Men sequel. It's more of an issue of what is the next X-Men story, and when to do it ... there are so many more characters that we didn't deal with yet. I would not preclude anything."* If that's not blunt and to the point I don't know what is. Arad has basically admitted up-front the possibility for further X-Men movies is indeed wide open. I, for one, am happy to hear this said, although I don't know if I actually expect further X-Men titles; the whole spin-off thing seems far more likely. These guys really ought to get together on their stories, though ... the conflicting statements are really starting to make them all look a bit silly.

*Special Bonus Note: This seems to run directly contrary to what Arad said mere days ago. Read about it here.

Patrick Stewart has been vocally leading the way for a fourth X-Men film, loudly and repeatedly voicing his disbelief in the studio's insistence that this is indeed the final film. His fellow actors have chimed in on both sides ... but the studio remains strong in their denial. In a recent interview, Stewart admitted both that he had no actual knowledge of a sequel, and that the film people keep telling him there will be no more -- but he still doesn't seem to quite buy it. In the meantime, he said he has no plans other than his twelve month contract with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stewart again said the work he has done on the X-films was fantastically fun and he'd love to do it again: "I read piles of comic books. It was the most fun research that I've ever done. I always do a lot of research for roles and all I did was read. The studio just sent over a huge pile of comic books and my son said, 'And they're paying you?'"

So do you think the studio actually finished with X-Men, or do you, like Stewart, believe it's just a clever ploy to milk as much cash as they can from part three? Or perhaps it is somewhere in between. Might the studio be waiting to see the final box office numbers before making an official decision on a return? And don't you wish someone would pay you to read piles of comic books?