When it comes
to "X-Men: Days of Future Past," there just might be too many mutants
... and at least one of them has ended up on the cutting room floor (or in the
recycle bin — however it works with editing movies these days).
This will come as sobering news to Sookie
Stackhouse fans, as it's Anna Paquin's Rogue who apparently won't be appearing
in the overstuffed superhero mashup, which combines the cast of the original
"X-Men" trilogy with the young'uns of "X-Men: First Class"
(2011). Director Bryan Singer has revealed that he's cut an early rescue
sequence that features Rogue and fellow "X"-alums Patrick Stewart
(Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), and Shawn Ashmore (Iceman).
"It's a really good sequence and it will
probably end up on the DVD so people can see it," Singer said toEW.com. "But like many things in the
editing process, it was an embarrassment of riches and it was just one of the
things that had to go. Even though she's in the materials and part of the
process of making the film, she won't appear in it."
Singer also
assured that the decision had nothing to do with the acting skills of the
Oscar-winning Paquin, whom he worked with in "X-Men" (2000) and
"X2" (2003).
"She did a fantastic job," said the
Singer, adding that Paquin "completely understood" about the change and
that, like some "X-Men" characters, "films evolve."
There's a chance that Paquin will still
appear in "Days of Future Past" via the film's upcoming reshoots, but for now, don't
expect to see Marie D'Ancato amongst the many, many faces of the mutant lineup.
Actually, there are other superhero
flicks from the days of both the future and past that could've benefited from
following Singer's lead. The comic book movie genre has been struggling with
overloaded ensembles for quite some time. More than one Batman movie being
criticized for having "too many villains," from Joel Schumacher's
reviled "Batman & Robin" (Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and that thing
that was supposed to be Bane) to Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight
Rises" (Catwoman, Scarecrow, Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, and Bane).
The ultra-ensemble approach to superhero
movies is only getting ... well, bigger. Based on the trailer, it looks like
Andrew Garfield's wall-crawler will be facing off against thetriple threat of the Green Goblin, Electro,
and Rhino in next summer's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" as Sony paves the
way for the mega-villain mashup, "The Sinister Six" — and seems to be
favoring the bad guys over the good, as Shailene Woodley's Mary Jane Watson was cut from the filmearlier this year.
Meanwhile, "Batman vs. Superman" has already
made Gotham and Metropolis overcrowded with the addition of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and whoever "Game of Thrones" alum
Jason Momoa might be playing (fans are speculating either Martian Manhunter or
even Aquaman).
oss Whedon
proved that he knew how to make a superhero ensemble work in "Marvel's The
Avengers" (2012), but he arguably has a more challenging task ahead of him
with the 2015 sequel, "Avengers: Age of Ultron," which will include
the addition of at least two extra good guys (Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch)
... and maybe even a second bad guy to go along with James Spader's Ultron, per
the recent rumors that H.Y.D.R.A. bigwig Baron von
Strucker will be
making an appearance.
We'll have to see if any of these upcoming
superhero movies will suffer any "Days of Future Past" kinds of
character casualties in an attempt to slim down the ensemble and streamline the
action. It wouldn't necessarily be an act of villainy.
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" will
hit theaters on May 23, 2014.
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