X-MEN 3: THE LAST STAND - PREVIEW 

X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006)

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Shawn Ashmore, Daniel Cudmore, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Sir Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Kelsey Grammer, Vinnie Jones, Ben Foster, Ellen Page, Olivia Williams, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Bill Duke, Michael Murphy
Director: Brett Ratner
Rated: Unrated
U.S. Opening Date: 26 May 2006

We say

The good news is that most of the old X-Men cast have returned for this second sequel plus there are some, well, interesting new faces such as Kelsey Grammer (!) and Vinnie Jones (!).

Also, that trailer looks like it's going to follow directly on the X-2 storyline, which is cool.

The bad news is that director Bryan Singer (of Usual Suspects fame, who also did the previous two films in the franchise) won't be returning. Instead he is doing the new Superman Returns movie. Unfortunately he has also taken a lot of the creative personnel who worked with him on the previous two X-Men movies with him.

Even worse news is that Brett Ratner, whose sole claim to fame is having directed the two rather mediocre Rush Hour movies, is at the helm of things.

However, judging from the trailer it still looks like business as usual and like Ratner hasn't changed the tone set by Singer in the previous films. It could have been worse I suppose: director Joel Schumacher could have given this franchise the Batman & Robin treatment . . .
 

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Trivia

• Bryan Singer was supposed to direct and co-write the film's script, but when he was given the offer to take over the problematic Superman Returns from Brett Ratner, he left the project, taking with him most of the production staff, including composer and editor John Ottman, cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, writers Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris, and production designer Guy Dyas. (Singer has maintained in interviews that he would have loved to have gladly done this movie after completing the "Superman" project, but 20th Century Fox chose to continue without him.) Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn then stepped into the director's chair, overseeing the script and production, only to leave nine weeks before filming, unable to commit to the year-long production schedule which would keep him away from his family in England. In an odd twist of fate, Brett Ratner filled the vacated position. Ironically, Ratner was also a contender to direct X-Men before Singer got the job.

• Maggie Grace was originally in talks to play Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, but it was reported that she could not because the scheduling conflicted with Lost and producers threatened to kill off her character if she took the role.

• Mike Vogel was up for the role of Angel, but could not take the part because scheduling conflicted with Poseidon.

• After Maggie Grace left the project, the producers issued an emergency casting notice for Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat. And since they were short on time, instead of using sides from the film, they used scenes from the Astonishing X-Men comic series, written by Joss Whedon. He didn't find out until Summer Glau, a friend of his who has also appeared in multiple projects of his, called to ask for background on the character, because she was auditioning. After the audition, she called him to tell him how it went, and as she described the scene, he realized it was one he had written.

• Jed Bernard auditioned for the role of Angel.

• Nick Stahl was considered for the part of Warren Worthington/Angel.

• For one of the scenes, a 2,500 foot replica of the Golden Gate Bridge was built.

— Some sources: Amazon.com

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