Graphic By: Tim Tuley

Seriously now, X-Men is one of my favorite comics, and I am a huge fan boy of the movies as well. However, I am scared to death that this third installment is going to equally suck and blow. Several issues in the X-Universe have been brought to my attention that need to be addressed before this movie comes out. So let us begin our discussion.

First off, Bryan Singer did a fantastic job with the first two. So, if I am a big time production company and I am planning a third movie, obviously I am not going to offer this man a deal to do it, I'm just going to assume that he is doing it. Fox decided this would be their plan as they held out on his contract. I am not blind to the entertainment industry; I know everyone there is most likely out for money. So it didn't shock me to find Bryan Singer signing to do Superman Returns, probably set to be next summer's box office smash. It did surprise me, however, that Fox did not try any negotiations with Singer and instead decided to have X-Men 3 go toe to toe with this movie in theaters. Perhaps not the smartest move.

Keep in mind my comment about Singer. He left the project. A person that is signed on to a project usually has the rapport to deal with most of the actors. Once again, it hurts me deeply to see this happen. James Marsden (Cyclops) decided to jump ship and join the Superman cast as Lois Lane's love interest. Really, to go from being the leader of the X-Men to the love interest of someone that crushes on Superman just doesn't make sense. Sadly, contrary to IMDb, we will probably not see Cyclops have a starring role in this movie as he'll likely be involved with the storyline in a very minor role.

Fox had to replace their director because, well, they found themselves without a director. First up on their list was Joss Whedon who is best known for his Buffy/Angel series. Whedon is a huge X-Men fan and even writes Astonishing X-Men, the top-selling comic for 2005. He would have been a great replacement since he is familiar with the product and had amazing ideas of where to take the story. Fox dropped the ball though, as Whedon was never offered a true contract and decided the project wasn't for him because they had no interest in him. Now people may be thinking he wasn't the right choice; however, for the casting of most of the actors in this third installment, the script they read from was none other than an Astonishing X-Men comic. Obviously his work was appreciated, just not him as a person.

I have a huge problem with the lack of a cast. Alan Cumming did a fantastic job as Nightcrawler so naturally it was decided that Nightcrawler wouldn't be in this movie. Halle Berry threatened to walk and may or may not be a part of this movie, in which case thank goodness, as she did not exactly do quality work in the last film. The girl who played Kitty Pryde was replaced by an older actress, screwing with continuity. No good film enthusiast likes to see a change of cast in the middle of a trilogy. Again the issue with Cyclops arises, as this story is based on the Phoenix Saga, and yes, Cyclops is heavily involved in that one. About Kelsey Grammer as the Beast: Kelsey Grammer voicing the Beast would have been a good idea, but the Beast is a large character with muscles and fur and, well, have you ever seen Frasier? Poor choice indeed.

Now, X-Men 3 sounded great on paper. I am still excited for it, but I have my doubts. Brett Ratner's best work has been the Rush Hour movies, which were not the same kind of movie as X-Men. Casting has really crippled this movie because people have been absent. Fox has just not put the amount of time and effort into this film as they did previous films. This is evidenced by the fact that the movie is set to open on May 26, 2006, while, sadly, the filming began in the beginning of September. You simply cannot rush good movies. As an X-men enthusiast, I have the highest hopes for this movie, but it seems bit by bit Fox is determined to tear it down.

Adam Frazier

X-Men and X2: X-Men United are arguably the most authentic and entertaining of Marvel's string of comic book-based films. Unlike Spider-Man and Marvel's other blockbuster successes, the X-Men series attempts a more serious approach to the comic book design, examining psychological issues under the facade of super powers and nice special effects.

The third installment, which is slated for release on May 26, 2006, has the potential to be the best of the series with more new characters making appearances than X2. Written by Zak Penn (X2, Elektra, Fantastic Four) and Simon Kinberg (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), the tentatively titled X-Men 3 will not be directed by mutant-experienced Bryan Singer who directed the first two films.

Singer, who is busy filming Superman Returns, left the project wide-open for several directors to jump at the chance to take the helm. Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn was going to direct it but departed from it nine weeks before principal photography, leaving Bret Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon, After The Sunset) as "the chosen one."

Ironically enough, Ratner was originally considered to direct 2000's X-men and was also initially attached to Superman Returns, leaving the project because he and Warner Bros. couldn't agree on who to cast for the role. So essentially the two directors just swapped places.

While no one really knows the storyline for the third film, the The Internet Movie Database has put up a cast list that shows some pretty surprising characters making an appearance. The main cast from the first two films return, even Halle Berry who was threatening to walk if she didn't get a more active role. Who isn't returning, however, is Nightcrawler, played terrifically by Alan Cumming in X2.

Colossus (Daniel Cudmore), Siryn (Shauna Kain), Jubilee (Kea Wong) and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) all reprise their roles as maturing students at the X-Academy. I think it's safe to say that these characters, along with Rogue (Anna Paquin) will join the older members as real X-Men. Aaron Stanford will also return to play John Allerdyce, better known as Pyro to fans, who has defected to The Brotherhood of Mutants.

Joining the cast is Vinnie Jones (Snatch, Gone in Sixty Seconds) as Juggernaut, Kelsey Grammar (Frasier) as Beast, Ben Foster (The Punisher, Hostage) as Angel, Richard Hoggard (Summerland) as Avalanche and Ellen Page (Hard Candy) as Kitty Pryde, known to fans as Shadowcat.

Rumors are running rampant about who else may be included in X-Men 3. Zak Penn confirmed that Gambit would not be included in the film, which will leave some fanboys seething. IGN has confirmed that Jamie Madrox, known as Multiple Man to X-fans, will be in the film. One X-men fan site, xmenfilms.net, exclusively revealed that Eric Dane (Charmed) would be playing the role.

Who else might show up? Sentinels, Omega Red, Legion, Gauntlet – the list goes on and on. Aside from X-Men 3, a Wolverine spin-off has been slated for 2007 – yet more possibilities for mutant cameos. We'll just have to wait until May 26 to find out who is and who isn't included in the film.

The film's official website is set to enter the online world sometime in October. Until then, you can check out the teaser poster here.