Star Wars adds two cast members, Singer confirms X-Men director’s cut, first look at McKellen’s Holmes and first trailer for Exodus

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

The Best Films of 2014 – the Half-Way Point

Looking at any annual film schedule, its evident that the first half of the year can never quite live up to the second and 2014 is no exception. This year really did get off to a rotten start with 47 Ronin, The Legend of Hercules and I Frankenstein dragging their heals at the box-office but this did pave a way for others; The Wolf of Wall Street and Ride Along both enjoyed three consecutive weeks at the top of the UK and US box-office respectively. Following that came some genuine surprises. Wes Anderson’s ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel reached 1st and 3rd in the UK and US against all odds and The Lego Movie, one of the most poorly marketed films in recent years, was an unexpected treat and certainly and future cult classic.

The biblical format seemed to increase in popularity around Easter with the low-key Christian dramas Heaven is For Real, Son of God and God’s Not Dead taking nearly thirty times their micro-budgets but these religious flicks aren’t proving successful outside of America, besides Aronofsky’s star-driven epic Noah. The “Katniss-effect” of The Hunger Games has evidently given studios the faith to put stronger female characters into the fray of action and adventure with Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent and Shailene Woodley’s Divergent winning out over Johnny Depp’s Transcendence or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Sabotage financially. Edge of Tomorrow even managed it to the extent of Tom Cruise needing saving from Emily Blunt’s ultimate warrior.

In the last six months, certain individuals are lighting up the box-office left, right and centre. Former comedian Kevin Hart has lead a trio of success, Ride Along, About Last Night and Think Like a Man Too, while the Jump Street quartet (director Phil Lord and Chris Miller/stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) have a cinematic Midas-touch. It’s evident that Lego’s Chris Pratt can do no wrong and, with Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy coming soon, he’s well on his way to man-of-the-year status. The biggest winners of the year have to be Marvel. Even though their heroes are divided across Sony, Fox and Disney, Stan Lee’s creations of Spider-Man, Captain America (kind-of) and the X-Men are currently the three biggest films of the year so far and they’ll only continue to grow bigger.

Below you can find the international box-office top ten followed by our own personal picks of the year so far as well as the ten to look for in the rest of 2014:

International Box-office Top 10:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Director: Anthony and Joe Russo – Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones – Box-office: $710.8 million
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper – $703.3 million
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till – $700 million
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville – $531.8 million
5. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche – $478.7 million
6. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Bruno Mars, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am – $469.4 million
7. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders – $467.2 million
8. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins – $356.2 million
9. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton, Lena Headey, Jack O’Connell, Rodrigo Santoro, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham – $331.1 million
10. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong – $298.8 million

Tuorhoth’s Top 10:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche
3. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones
5. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong
6. The Two Faces of January – Hossein Amini – Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst
7. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Justin Chadwick – Idris Elba, Naomi Harris
8. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Nonso Anozie, Gemma Chan
9. RoboCop – Jose Padilha – Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley, Aimee Garcia, Michael K Williams, Samuel L Jackson
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper

Top 10 Anticipated:

1. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Casey Affleck, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow, Matt Damon
2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy, Lee Pace, Manu Bennett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee
3. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, John C Reilly
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Jason Clarke, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Judy Greer, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit McPhee
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jena Malone, Sam Clafin, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Natalie Dormer, Philip Seymour, Hoffman
8. Fury – David Ayer – Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Jason Isaacs, Michael Pena, Shia LeBeouf
9. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott – Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley
10. The Judge – David Dobkin – Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, Vera Farmiga

Kelsey Grammer talks reprising Beast role, Daniel Radcliffe hints at Batman and new images from Guardians

There were worries that, post-Deathly Hallows, the Harry Potter franchise’s titular star Daniel Radcliffe would never by able to become a credible actor in the shadow of his famous role. He’s yet to star in any blockbuster action but he’s building himself up as a genuine star with roles in indie films such as Horns, What If and Kill Your Darlings. He is set to be returning to the land of mainstream with Victor Frankenstein and Tokyo Vice but he’s now hinting at a far bigger gig.

“If they reboot that again, I’ll do that too,” said Radcliffe of the Batman series. “It’s happening, isn’t it? With Ben Affleck. I could be Robin! I’m perfect.” It’s quite likely that the Brit is teasing the media who so often inflate any loose statement from him into a full blown confirmation. Even if this is reliable, Robin is no longer a credible character so an appearance from Nightwing would be more probable. Zack Snyder’s (300, Watchmen, Man of Steel) sequel Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will star Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Ray Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons and Laurence Fishburne.

Looking into the future, only certain projects have been confirmed to be expanding (or X-panding) the X-Men universe. They are Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse (focussing on the First Class graduates of Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Channing Tatum and Hugh Jackman) and James Mangold’s Wolverine 3 as well as the in-development X-Force (Jeff Wadlow), Mystique, Gambit and Deadpool (Tim Miller/Ryan Reynolds). One instalment that fans are beginning to cry out for is a follow up for stars of the original trilogy (Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Shawn Ashmore, Ellen Page, Daniel Cudmore, Anna Paquin, Ben Foster and Ian McKellen). Golden Globe winner Kelsey Grammer, who brilliantly portrayed Beast/Hank McCoy in the disappointing The Last Stand, has expressed interest in returning. “I hope to do another,” confirms the star. “I hope they find some way to come up with a new story that involves Beast in my timeline.”

Well X-Men, Godzilla, Lego and Cap have been and gone and it’ll be another few months before Interstellar and Hobbit get to fill our screens so right now Guardians of the Galaxy and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes have our attention for this summer. Today, we’re talking about the former as our buddies from the ever-brilliant Empire have unveiled the very first look at Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Lincoln) flanked by fellow villains Nebula (Karen Gillan – Doctor Who, Oculus) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou – Gladiator, Blood Diamond). James Gunn (Slither, Super) commands the cast of Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, John C Reilly, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin.

X-Men: Days of Future Past review

Director: Bryan Singer

Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Omar Sy, Josh Helman, Lucas Till, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Daniel Cudmore, Evan Jonigkeit, Mark Camacho

Across fourteen years and seven movies, the X-Men have always been far behind their other Marvel counterparts, such as the multi billion Avengers or Spider-Man, at the box office and in recent years have slipped back from their critical credibility; the series only three three instalments to really be proud of, namely 1, 2 and First Class. Fox’s masterplan to return X-Men to its status as the superhero monopoly is to bring back Bryan Singer (the man who made the mutants into a success), take one the most famous X-Men storylines (Phoenix and Hellfire Club are already taken), unite two very different casts and ramp up the budget to $200 million, risky business for a franchise yet to individually surpass the $500 million mark.

The year is 2023 and The Sentinels, adapting robots programmed to kill all mutants and humans carrying the X-Gene, have ravaged the world into an apocalyptic wasteland. The remaining X-Men, Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (McKellen), Storm (Berry), Colossus (Cudmore) and Iceman (Ashmore), opt to use the powers of Kitty Pryde (Page) to project Wolverine’s (Jackman) consciousness into his body fifty years ago in order to prevent Mystique (Lawrence) from inadvertently instigating The Sentinels’ creation. To do this, Logan must unite the younger Charles (McAvoy) and Erik (Fassbender) at a time that they couldn’t be further apart.

Days of Future Past has divided opinion but it’s indisputable that its increase in scale confirms it as the first truly epic mutant adventure. It’s immensely exciting for X-Men comic fans to, at last, see the series finally reaching The Avengers’ heights. It may well be overshadowed by the recent Godzilla but, painstakingly trying to not give too much away, Magneto’s stadium sequence is one of the great set pieces of the year.

While arguably scattershot and rough in its plot, the film’s script, constructed in chief by Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, is the first to have genuine power in its dialogue – fans may get teary. The decision to make Mystique the villain who has to be stopped philosophically rather than physically is inspired. The Dark Knight can sleep easy and its still the best superhero film of all time but DOFP is by far the most emotional.

Across the giant ensemble, the majority of that emotional power comes from a masterful performance from James McAvoy. His Xavier is a broken one since his crippling incident eleven years before, regularly taking a serum that gives his legs life but crucially takes away his telepathic powers. Logan was once a recluse reformed by Xavier and, although the Canadian is infamously intolerant, he must now return the favour. This leads to the most electrifying discussion there’s been in an action movie in a meeting of minds between McAvoy and the equally admirable Patrick Stewart.

Hugh Jackman meanwhile is channelling his usual action steeliness but thankfully this is the first time that he’s really owned the role since X2. Wolverine’s action in this instalment is excellently wince inducing, at last ridding the artificial feel of the other films’ violence. The rebar sequence is exactly how to genuinely horrify within the 12A region

She may not have a scratch on Katniss (The Hunger Games) or Tiffany (Silver Linings Playbook) but Mystique is fastly becoming an icon of Jennifer Lawrence’s career and the X-Men franchise in general. Here, she finally has a role pivotal to the plot and Lawrence portrays the shapeshifter with a perfect mix of angst and mysterious allure.

Despite the mega cast, all the buzz seems to be around Evan Peters’ scene-stealingly charismatic portrayal of Quicksilver and deservedly so. Pietro Maximoff’s super speed antics during the Pentagon raid are undoubtedly the funniest action scenes there have ever been. I’ve now got serious doubts in Aaron Taylor Johnson’s performance in the upcoming Avengers sequel Age of Ultron.

Nick Hoult’s Beast (who subscribes to the same serum as Xavier) and Ellen Page’s Kitty (who’d be killed should the dormant Logan lash out at any given moment) are as lovable as ever while I admire the extension of continuity with the inclusion of minor roles such as Toad (Jonigkeit), Styker (Helman)and Havok (Till) but many classic characters are undernourished in a Xavier-centric storyline, most obviously Magneto. The series’ most formidable actor Ian McKellen is given frustratingly little to do while it seems that his younger counterpart Michael Fassbender never quite has the full on menace that he had in First Class.

Also criminally underused is fan favourite Storm, the only mutant who actually needs an origin story. While Berry herself brilliantly kicks off the most devastating scene in the film, she hardly gets a line in within the sprawling action and the same goes for Shawn Ashmore’s (now) bearded Iceman. Less surprisingly, Colossus is again deprived of the development he gets in the comics; casting Magik for future films could bring him to the forefront of the narrative. Maybe we shoud just feel lucky that they made it; we all know what happened to Anna Paquin’s Rogue

Alongside the traditional X-Men, DOFP introduces a new roster of mutants, Bishop, Warpath, Sunspot and Blink, about 50% of which are awesome. Blink, played by China’s Fan Bingbing, can essentially play Valve’s Portal in real life (the dream of every gamer) without the device while time traveller Bishop (French star Omar Sy), as well as giving the team some much needed ethnic diversity, just has a boss blaster. They both accelerate the mayhem of the frantic but ingenious opening set piece. Sadly, the addition of Sunspot (Adan Canto) and Warpath (Booboo Stewart) may excite the fans but their lack of contribution to anything but the spectacle only increased frustration that so many got so little.

The spectacle is something that Days of Future Past gets bang on. Singer doesn’t formulaically stream the CG into our eyes but uses to terrifying effect with the mutant targeting robots known as the Sentinels, the creation of falsely martyred monster Bolivar Trask (impeccably played by Peter Dinklage). They do begin as a bit of a standard giant robot in the ’70s setting but, in the future, they become truly demonic beasts.

Singer’s return to X-Men isn’t as dark as Watchmen, as smart as The Dark Knight or as plainly fun as The Avengers yet it has read a page of all of their books and is easily the most emotional superhero film of all time. It ramps the scale up to 11 and still retains its human drama. Way too many major stars get stuck in tiny roles but arguably that allows leads McAvoy, Stewart, Lawrence, Hoult, Jackman, Page and Peters to excel and it finally has a narrative that revolutionizes what we thought we knew about X-Men.

9/10

“The past: a place of potential promise, and possibility. We are the sum of our choices, as what we do now defines what we will do. Infinite decisions mean infinite consequences, for the future is never truly set.”

Cuaron retreats from Fantastic Beasts and Kinberg teases original mutants for X-Men: Apoclypse

The spin off of the most successful film franchise of all time (Harry Potter) has a confirmed writer (JK Rowling), release date (November 2016) and title (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them). The fantasy adventure will depict legendary wizard Newt Scamander travelling the world in search of its most fearsome creatures, seventy years before Harry and co read the textbook based on his notes. The next logical step is the appointment of a director and the only one of those to be mentioned in contention for the job was Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Gravity). However, the Mexican has confirmed that it’s not in his plans. He’s taking a quick break from directing but has expressed interest in making a back to roots horror with fewer time-consuming visual effects. He’s still yet to offer comment on the rumour of his part in The Shining prequel The Overlook Hotel.

Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, X2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Apt Pupil, Valkyrie) is set to bring sci-fi disaster epic X-Men: Apocalypse (the eight in the series) to us in 2016 with the First Class graduates Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and James McAvoy as well as Channing Tatum and Hugh Jackman (still waiting for word on Evan Peters, Lucas Till and Rose Byrne). We weren’t sure if the main cast would expand beyond this until writer Simon Kinberg announced that “It will focus primarily on the First Class cast but it will certainly have some of the original cast involved, too.”

The return of the original X-Men (James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Ben Foster, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn) cast has long been rumoured but this is the first real confirmation. Many of them (Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Daniel Cudmore, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Ellen Page, Ian McKellen) do reappear in this month’s DOFP, which is making a huge impact on the box office.

Also today, the ever excellent Empire Magazine are celebrating their 301st issue and their 25th birthday with a poll of the 301 greatest films of all time, voted for by the fans. So, to find out if Rocky knocked out Raging Bull, if Lord of the Rings (You Shall Not) passed Avatar, if The Dark Knight rised over Avengers or if Star Wars shrieked “Noooooo!” as Shawshank, Pulp Fiction, Inception, Fight Club or Godfather beat it to the top spot, click here. You can find the full list as well as Empire’s monthly goodness in their next issue this Thursday.

X-Men: Apocalypse – May 19th 2016

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – November 18th 2016

First posters for Agent Carter, Gotham and more plus future X-Men to shoot back to back

There’s little over a week until the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past, a time travel sequel predicted to become the biggest film of 2014 so far. Its two settings, 1974 and 2024, are setting up two story threads that the series is attempting to follow with future instalments. The only two that we can firmly say are coming soon are Bryan Singer’s (The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, Valkyrie, X-Men 2) X-Men: Apocalypse and James Mangold (3:10, Walk the Line, Girl Interrupted, The Wolverine) Wolverine 3. Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman, a star busy working on Les Mis 2: Dream a Dream Harder!!!, and his iconic anti-hero Wolverine has been in every X-Men film so far and yet his involvement in Apocalypse hasn’t been confirmed.

He managed to let that slip today when he announced his intentions to film Apocalypse and Wolverine 3 back-to-back, confirming his participation in the sci-fi epic. The two projects are likely to be Jackman’s final in the role. He joins James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast) while its rumoured that younger versions of Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey and Gambit (traditionally played by James Marsden, Halle Berry, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen and Taylor Kitsch) will feature. Other X-Men projects we still want to get out there are Jeff Wadlow’s X-Force, Tim Miller’s Deadpool, Lauren Shuler Donner’s Gambit and Mystique.

We recently gained the confirmation that a 13 episode first (potentially of many) season of SHIELD origin story Agent Carter will be filling in the mid-season gap between the two parts Agents of SHIELD season 2. Just to prove that the show is definite, Marvel have revealed an awesome new poster for the show which we hope will star Hayley Atwell, Dominic Cooper and Toby Jones. However, Carter isn’t the only comic book TV show to debut a new teaser image. DC and Danny Cannon’s Batman prequel Gotham (starring Ben McKenzie, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donal Logue and Sea Pertwee), which we can confirm will feature villains such as Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy and Catwoman, and Arrow spin off The Flash (starring Grant Gustin) also disclosed as few new sneak peeks. Note – for Gotham look out for the cat, the penguin poster, the plants running up the side of the building and the graffiti “?” hinting at what’s to come for the supporting cast.

Agent Carter – late 2014

The Flash – late 2014

Gotham – late 2014

X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 22nd

X-Men: Apocalypse – May 19th 2016

Wolverine 3 – March 2nd 2017

Ejiofor rumoured as Bond villain, new X-Men posters and Star Wars 7 already shooting

X-Men returns in a big way with Fox’s tentpole release of Days of Future Past and their publicity campaign took a huge step with the unveiling of ten new posters, which you can admire here. Bryan Singer (Valkyrie, The Usual Suspects, X-Men 2) directs the story of our mutants being hunted down by machines and so they plot to send Wolverine back in time to change events and prevent their apocalyptic world from happening. The action sci-fi stars Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Shawn Ashmore, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Halle Berry, Daniel Cudmore, Lucas Till, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.

British star Chiwetel Ejiofor was a highly respected supporting actor in the likes of Children of Men, American Gangster and Serenity but his career took flight with the lead role of Solomon Northup in Oscar Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave, a film which got him an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA win. He’s now being seriously considered for a villainous role in the next James Bond film.

According to The Wrap, Ejiofor is the studio’s favourite to join the likes of Christopher Walken, Mads Mikkelson, Javier Bardem and Christopher Lee on the prestigious list of Bond villains. He could be joining Daniel Craig, Naomi Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear as well as director Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition, American Beauty, Revolutionary Road, Skyfall) for the so far untitled 24th instalment of the James Bond series.

It’ll probably be the highest grossing film of 2015 and yet we don’t know one cast member of Star Wars: Episode VII. As well as the original’s Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford there’s Michael B Jordan, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Flemyng, Sullivan Stapleton, Adam Driver, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving, Michael Fassbender, Jack O’Connell, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jack Reynor, Matt Smith, Jesse Plemons, Ed Speelers, Ray Fisher, John Boyega, Matthew James Thomas and Gary Oldman.

It’s director, JJ Abrams (Super 8, Star Trek Into Darkness, Lost, Felicity), had originally announced that filming would kick off this May but he’s just dropped the bombshell that the film is already shooting. We’re not sure if they were just minor scenes or if the scheduled production date was just a ruse to send the press of the spoiler-scent. Abrams also had this to say about the casting development. “We have a lot of them. We’re just not completely done yet.” Surely then we can only be weeks away from an official casting.

Star Wars: Episode VII – December 18th 2015

Bond 24 – October 23rd 2015

X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 22nd

Alan Partridge confirms sequel, Holly Hunter and Tao Akamoto join Batman vs Superman and new X-Men Days of Future Past posters

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa was undoubtedly the most surprising British comedy hit of 2013, although, on paper, it sounded terrible. It sees TV’s beloved hapless presenter (brilliantly played by Philomena’s Steve Coogan) reduced to being a washed up North Norfolk Digital broadcaster who takes advantage of being in the limelight when fired-presenter Pat (Colm Meaney) takes the radio station hostage. A sequel now has been confirmed with Patridge and The Thick of It veteran Armando Ianucci working on the script. As long as they can keep up the same kind of comedy, less of the slapstick window-escaping and toilet-entering ventures that slightly dragged down the otherwise brilliant original.

300 and Watchmen’s Zack Snyder has already appointed an incredible ensemble for his Man of Steel sequel Batman vs Superman, although it hasn’t been titled yet. Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane reprise their roles while the film introduces Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Irons. As if this wasn’t enough, another trio has been added but we’re not sure if they’ll be taking on the parts of Justice League members or classic DC villains.

The Wolverine’s Tao Okomato has been confirmed to star alongside four time Oscar nominee Holly Hunter (Broadcast News, The Piano, Raising Arizona, The Incredibles) and New Zealand’s rising star Callan Mulvey (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 300: Rise of an Empire, Zero Dark Thirty).

This year’s riskiest blockbuster X-Men: Days of Future Past is attempting to further penetrate its place in the summer release status by planting the words “Hugh Jackman” onto each poster. Bryan Singer (X-Men 2, The Usual Suspects, Valkyries) directs the ensemble cast of Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Halle Berry, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Lucas Till, Daniel Cudmore, Fan Bingbing, Booboo Stewart, Morgan Lily, Omar Sy, Adan Canto, Gregg Lowe, Josh Helman, Evan Jonigkeit, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.

X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 22nd

Batman vs. Superman – May 6th 2016

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa 2 – 2016

New X-Men Days of Future Past poster and Fox schedules sequels to Fantastic Four and Wolverine plus mystery Marvel project

Fox is overseeing the release of its tentpole X-Men sequel Days of Future Past but it’s going further to launch new Marvel projects into the future. Following DOFP is X-Men: Apocalypse (May 29th 2016), you can find more about that here, and then a reboot of The Fantastic Four, directed by Josh Trank, the man behind chilling superhero horror Chronicle, and was recently confirmed to be starring Michael B Jordan, Miles Teller, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell. The latter is over a year away from release but Fox are confident enough to put in a rudimentary July 2017 release date for a potential sequel.

But that’s not all; we can pencil in the return of Hugh Jackman and James Mangold for March of that year as well as a mystery superhero outing in 2018. We’ve no lead on this so we can timidly speculate these three options First, there’s X-Force, an potential spin off for Days of Future Past’s Bishop directed by Kick Ass 2 and Never Back Down’s Jeff Wadlow. The other obvious choice is Tim Miller and Ryan Reynolds’ oddball fantasy Deadpool. Perhaps it’s the long awaited Gambit spin off, starring Channing Tatum and produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, that we’ve heard so much about.

We finish today with another bit of exciting X-Men news. An awesome new poster has been launched. The time travelling thriller stars Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Ellen Page, Lucas Till, Evan Peters, Anna Paquin, Booboo Stewart, Omar Sy, Adan Canto, Josh Helman, Fan Bingbing, Evan Jonigkeit, Daniel Cudmore and Halle Berry. It’s the biggest X-Men movie in terms of scale so far and will hopefully be the best.

X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 22nd

X-Men: Apocalypse – May 19th 2016

Deadpool – July 3rd 2018?

Gambit – July 3rd 2018?

X-Force – July 3rd 2018?

The Fantastic Four – June 18th 2014

The Fantastic Four 2 – June 14th 2017

The Wolverine 2 – March 3rd 2017

Fassbender and McKellen in Days of Future Past posters and peek at Guardians of the Galaxy merchandise

The Irish-Germanic Michael Fassbender is one of the most talked about stars of the moment having just picked up a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his acclaimed portrayal of slave trader Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave. However, his best known role is as X-Men’s Magneto, a role he reprises in this year’s hotly tipped sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past. Sir Ian McKellen, aka The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit’s Gandalf, will also revive his part the older version of Magneto, fifty years on. In official new posters that look pretty cool, they’ve been showcased. I hope this is the first in a new series of X-Men character bannerss. Bryan Singer’s superhero thriller also stars Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Shawn Ashmore, Peter Dinklage, Evan Peters, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Lucas Till, Josh Helman, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart and Evan Jonigkeit.

Another hugely anticipated superhero release of this year is Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Glimpses of the Guardians, played by Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and Vin Diesel, have only been seen in concept art and one official still but the intergalactic vigilantes have now been immortalised in toy form in these new pics.

Additionally, the Guardians have been confirmed to soon be in LEGO form as this set is announced:

This intricate design will hopefully not only shows a first look at new villain Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) but proves that the film can’t be far from releasing a trailer – which we’ll look forward to immensely. Karen Gillan, John C Reilly, Benicio Del Toro, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Rooker and Glenn Close also star while James Gunn (Super, Slither) directs.

Guardians of the Galaxy – August 1st

X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 22nd