Earlier this year, Days of Future Past, the fantastic seventh instalment in the X-Men franchise, became a phenomenal success critically and commercially; it’s easily the best of the series so far and the highest grossing of the year so far but those yet to see it may want to avoid the next SPOILER HEAVY paragraph.
You may well remember that Anna Paquin’s Rogue was initially set to return in the sequel/prequel/crossover as part of the 2023 team but she was completely cut bar the lineless cameo alongside James Marsden, Famke Janssen and Kelsey Grammer in the alternate future. Since then we’ve learned that the original plan was for Rogue to have been captured by the Sentinels prompting an attempted rescue by Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) whilst Wolverine is being sent back, a scene briefly glimpsed in the trailer. We’d love to see this scene in an extended cut of the film as it’d provide more screentime to the criminally underused McKellen.
Taking to Twitter for a Q&A, director Bryan Singer (X-Men 2, Valkyrie, The Usual Suspects) responded to a fan’s plea for a director’s cut with the above scene with “Yes! Coming later this year.” Hopefully out for Christmas, the director’s cut will star Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Halle Berry and Ian McKellen.
Last year, the production of Star Wars: Episode VII took to the road across the UK holding numerous auditions with thousands turning up for the chance of a part. When the main cast was unveiled only young Brit Daisy Ridley seemed to have come from the auditions but now a pair of unknowns are confirmed as part of the new ensemble. The UK’s Pip Andersen and America’s Crystal Clarke have been selected for roles yet to be revealed by the new Star Wars brain trust, the writing/directing combination of Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back), Josh Trank (Chronicle), Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla), Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), JJ Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness, Lost, Super 8) and Rian Johnson (Breaking Bad, Brick, Looper).
Episode VII will star Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Lord of the Rings), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Harrison Ford (Blade Runner), Mark Hamill (Arkham City), Carrie Fisher (The Blues Brothers), Adam Driver (Tracks), John Boyega (Imperial Dreams, Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Toast of London), Peter Mayhew (Killer Ink), Kenny Baker (Amadeus, Labyrinth), Anthony Daniels (The Lego Movie), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, The Two Faces of January), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and Max Von Sydow (The Exorcist, Minority Report, Shutter Island).
There have been countless on screen incarnations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes but three are running simultaneously right now. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law star in the blockbuster big screen adaptation, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman take the leads in BBC’s modern reinvention and Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu in the indirect US remake Elementary. Our perception of the character could well be rewritten with the new portrayal coming from two time Oscar nominee Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, X-Men, Apt Pupil).
Mr Holmes, previously titled A Slight Trick of the Mind, sees an elderly version of the detective retiring to a beekeeping home in the mid-twentieth century and recalling his one unsolvable case. Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, The Fifth Estate) also directs Laura Linney (Kinsey, The Truman Show, Mystic River. A first look at the film (above) was revealed earlier today.
The upcoming biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings is finally beginning to take shape. Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, American Gangster, Gladiator) directs the Oscar hopeful which may well be the grandest scale seen on film yet. If it’s as good as it promises there should be masses of box office interest. Get a very first glimpse at the film here and find the first poster below. Exodus will star Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley, Aaron Paul and Sigourney Weaver.
Exodus – December 26th
Mr Holmes – 2015
X-Men: Days of Future Past – The Director’s Cut – late 2014
Star Wars: Episode VII – December 18th 2015
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