It’s not a lot but here’s your first look at X-Men: First Class via three high-res screen shots which leaked overnight. Pretty banal at this point but despite the skepticism that invariably follows “origin stories”, Director Matthew Vaughn, the man behind 2010’s cult adaptation of Kick-Ass, has proven more than capable at translating superhero stories for the big screen. And what a compelling story it is. Before they looked like Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen, before the lycra costumes and before they took opposing views on human/mutant relations, Professor X and Magneto were just Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), two friends who discovered and fine-tuned their powers at the exact same time. Set during the 60’s, First Class details the duo’s transformation, the early formation of Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor Xavier’s X-Men and the rift that eventually formed between the former best friends.
Mad Men’s January Jones also stars as Emma Frost while Kevin Bacon takes on antagonist Sebastian Shaw, Nicholas Hoult plays Hank McCoy aka Beast and Rose Byrne plays non-mutant and Xavier love interest Moira MacTaggert. Pretty intriguing right? To my mind, the Professor X/Magneto rivalry is compelling because it’s steeped not in hate but conviction in their own beliefs and a begrudging respect for the others’. It stands as the most interesting relationship in X-Men, all of the Marvel universe even, and we’re keen to see how Vaughn justifies their wildly divergent ideologies and details their rise to the opposing figureheads of the mutant revolution. Look out for a trailer in the coming months…
