Casting For 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Adds Characters!
by Shannon Keirnan
While January Jones, Rose Byre and Famke Janssen might have been overlooked, plenty of cast members will be returning to film “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”
Newly on board? Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, and Ellen Page…
That is, Rogue, Iceman and Kitty Pryde, of course.
Director Bryan Singer, who directed the first two “X-Men” films, welcomed them via his Twitter account, announcing:
"Very excited to welcome #annapaquin, @ellenpage & @shawnrashmore to #XMen #DaysofFuturePast - thank you @BrettRatner for letting them live!"
The tweet pokes some fun at Ratner, who upset many fans by killing off characters after he took over for Singer. Singer left the series to direct “Superman Returns.”
Also confirmed to be returning are Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, and Michael Fassbender.
The story will be based upon a 1981 comic, Uncanny X-Men, wherein the assassination of a senator sparks a terrifically bad alternate future where mutants are constantly attacked and persecuted by robots called Sentinels.
In the comic, Kitty Pryde travels back in time to prevent the murder.
The story occurs in both the future and the past, a trick Singer seems to be embracing by casting both the younger and older versions of his characters.
The movie is rumored to begin shooting in April, and will be released in July of 2014. For those of you who can’t quite wait that long, Hugh Jackman will be reprising his angry, clawed character in “The Wolverine,” which will be hitting theaters in July of this year.