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X-Men: The Last Stand

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X-Men: The Last Stand
File:Internationalx32.jpg
Directed byBrett Ratner
Written bySimon Kinberg
Zak Penn
Produced byLauren Schuler-Donner
Ralph Winter
StarringHugh Jackman
Patrick Stewart
Halle Berry
James Marsden
Famke Janssen
Kelsey Grammer
Anna Paquin
Ian McKellen
CinematographyDante Spinotti
Edited byMark Helfrich
Mark Goldblatt
Julia Wong
Music byJohn Powell
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
May 26, 2006
LanguageEnglish
Budget$150,000,000

X-Men: The Last Stand (also known as X-Men 3 or X3) is the third film adaptation of the X-Men superhero comic books. The film was directed by Brett Ratner. The previous two movies were X-Men and X2:X-men United. X-Men: The Last Stand is scheduled to be released May 26, 2006.

It was confirmed by a 20th Century Fox publicist that the film will be called X-Men: The Last Stand. It's worth noting, however, that while the studio insisted that the title of the previous film was X2: X-Men United, its director, Bryan Singer, insisted it was simply X2.

Plot summary

Template:Spoilers The X-Men have to contend with evolution itself in the form of their resurrected ex-teammate Jean Grey. Reborn as the Dark Phoenix, and with absolutely no control over her terrifying powers, she is a threat not only to herself, but to humans and mutants alike. Meanwhile, when a "cure" is found to suppress mutations permanently, the lines are drawn for a conclusive battle between Professor Xavier's X-Men, and the evil Brotherhood led by Magneto. The plot for the movie bears a strong similarity to a plotline in Joss Whedon's comic book Astonishing X-Men: the notion of a cure for mutation. Also, expect to see part of the plot reminiscent of the Dark Phoenix Saga.

Project background

File:Hugh jackman1.jpg
From left: Storm, Xavier, Wolverine, Magneto

The director of the first two movies, Bryan Singer, left the project during preproduction in order to helm the film Superman Returns. Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) was hired to direct the film; he worked on the film for some time, but family issues led him to withdraw from directing before shooting began. He was replaced by Brett Ratner who was among those originally considered to direct the first film. There are some fans who dislike the choice of Ratner, as his directorial style favors loud, garish action sequences in lieu of strong character development.

Jean Grey will return as Phoenix, as hinted by the ending of X2, and will join Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants.

X-Men: The Last Stand began shooting in August 2005 and ended in December 2005. Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn were hired to pen the script for the film. On June 13, 2005, a review of an incomplete early draft of the screenplay posted by Drew McWeeny from Ain't It Cool News sparked controversy from fans, due to certain main characters' storylines. However, that draft was the very first of over two dozens drafts the film went through, and has had numerous changes happen to the storylines.

Patrick Stewart has publicly stated some information, which was met with fan speculation. According to Stewart, "It's very intense, it's very emotional, it's very personal about the individuals that we've already got to know in the first two movies. It has some astonishing set-piece sequences. It has a number of quite significant deaths. From what I've seen so far, I think, it's likely to be extraordinary." [1]

Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman Tom Rothman said The Last Stand is the end of a trilogy, but not necessarily the end of the X-Men film series: "These three movies work as a trilogy. These characters in this relationship, it's the culmination of that saga. It's the culmination and the resolution of those relationships laid out in the first two movies." In a recent interview, Brett Ratner echoed Rothman's comments: "We wanted to make sure the audiences knew that this was a trilogy. Even though they weren't made together like Lord of the Rings, this is really closure for the X-Men series. ... This is the last stand for sure." [2]

The chances of a fourth installment have been publically stated to rest on just how well this film does at the box office.

Trailers and television spots

The official announcement teaser for the film was released in December, 2005. A theatrical trailer (direct link) was broadcast on Fox Television on March 6, 2006, during a two-hour episode of the hit series 24. The third trailer is rumoured to be screened in theaters on the opening day of Mission: Impossible III.

On April 4, 2006, Fox aired 3 new TV spots featuring new scenes of the film during the American Idol and House commercial breaks and later appeared on ESPN and Mtv. Though the TV spots have not officially gone online yet, they are available at LatinoReview. The TV spots should appear on the Apple site shortly.

A 7-minute preview of the film will be aired on May 11, 2006, on Fox from 8:30-8:37pm ET right before the series finale of That 70's Show.

Cast

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New mutants Arclight (Omahyra Mota), Callisto (Dania Ramirez) and Psylocke (Meiling Melançon).

Nearly every actor from the previous two movies returned, the major exceptions being Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) and Kelly Hu (Lady Deathstrike) from X2, both of whom had signed two-film contracts. James Marsden (Cyclops) is confirmed for the cast, despite reported scheduling conflicts with the upcoming movie, Superman Returns. Writer Kinberg confirmed that Cyclops will take part in the story, albeit in a smaller role than originally planned. Ray Park (Toad) and Tyler Mane (Sabretooth) from the first film will not return, although both have two-film contracts.

Halle Berry originally stated during interviews for X-Men 2 that she would not consider reprising her role as Storm unless the character would be portrayed more like the powerful goddess that she was in the comics. However she decided to reprise the role after Singer left the project and Brett Ratner, who also found the portrayal of Storm in the last two movies rather subpar, signed on and gave Storm more presence like her comic counterpart.

Additions to the cast include veteran TV actor Kelsey Grammer as Beast, former British footballer Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, actor/director Bill Duke as Bolivar Trask, Ben Foster as Angel, and Ellen Page as Shadowcat. New members of the Brotherhood of Mutants include Eric Dane as Multiple Man, Dania Ramirez as Callisto, Ken Leung as Quill, Meiling Melançon as Psylocke, and Omahyra Mota as Arclight. In an interview with Ratner and Page in Starlog magazine (issue #345), it was revealed that Omega Red, the Danger Room, and the Sentinels will appear in the movie, however, Penn recently stated that Ratner made a mistake and that Omega Red would not appear in the movie[3]. Dr. Kavita Rao will be included in the film, along with Dr. Moira MacTaggert. The character Gambit, one of the most popular X-Men characters, was greatly rumored to appear in the film, but writers Kinberg and Penn confirmed that he was never seriously considered for any size role in the script writing process, while rumours that the character Dazzler would have a cameo are unfounded.

Casting roles

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The cast of X-Men 3

Novelization

The novelization of the film, written by comic book writer Chris Claremont, is due to be released on Thursday, May 16, 2006.

Trivia

  • Angel's wings were too heavy for Ben Foster, having to be remade before shooting a scene.
  • For one of the scenes, a 2,500 foot replica of the Golden Gate Bridge was built.
  • This is the first film that features all of the original X-Men from the comic: Angel, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Iceman, and Beast.
  • Despite rumors to the contrary, Lost actress Maggie Grace was never considered for the role of Shadowcat.
  • Storm's hairstyle was borrowed from her counterpart in the Ultimate X-Men comic books. This will be the third time in the film series that her hairstyle is radically changed.
  • Two of the X-Men comics most famous writers, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont, will both have cameos in the films opening scene as neighbors in Jean Grey's old neighborhood.
  • Ellen Page is the third actress to play Kitty Pryde in the X-Men movies. The other two were Sumela Kay (X-Men) and Katie Stuart (X2).
  • The Beast character was always considered since the first X-Men movie, but due to budget restrains he ended up being written out of the stories, although in X2 he made a brief cameo in his human form.
  • All the actors performed their own stunts.
  • The casting of Kelsey Grammer and Vinnie Jones as Beast and Juggernaut, respectively, was one of Matthew Vaughn's main contributions to the project. Ellen Page and Ben Foster were later brought in by Brett Ratner.
  • The whirlwind stunt that Halle Berry performed in a fight scene caused her to vomit, for she suffers from motion sickness. It came to a point where the crew had to bring in a bucket for the shooting.
  • The final battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants was originally scripted to take place in Washington, D.C., but Ratner opted to change the location to San Francisco, specifically the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island.
  • The setting of a post apocalyptic battle ground that will be used in the Danger Room scene is a nod to the Days of Future Past storyline from the comics.

Videogame

Games publisher Activision is set to release X-Men: The Official Movie Game, the official video game tie-in to the film across all major videogame platforms on May 16, 2006. The various editions of the game bridge the events of the films X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand and feature many of both films' prominent characters. Most notably, it will provide an explanation to Nightcrawler's absence. Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Alan Cumming and Shawn Ashmore reprise their film roles in this game. Activision updated the page for the game on the 4th of April and confirmed that Sentinels, Lady Deathstrike, Pyro, and Sabretooth will appear in the game. Also Silver Samurai, Multiple Man and Magneto have recently been added to the roster.

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