Early Progress on X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Casting

In case you’ve been wondering what Marvel has in store as the next chapter in the X-Men movie universe, the word is that X-MEN: FIRST CLASS will be that film, taking the super-hero team of mutants back to their earlier days. The project is set to be directed by Matthew Vaughn. He’s the guy that brought us the awesome film adaptation of Mark Millar’s KICK-ASS comic book.

Two big bits of casting news hit recently… first, Showbiz411 reports that the up and coming, Juilliard-trained young sensation in New York theatre Benjamin Walker is being cast as a young Beast, the character played by Kelsey Grammer in X-MEN 3: THE LAST STAND. Walker’s biggest roles in film to date have been in 2004’s KINSEY and Clint Eastwood’s 2006 war film FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS.

Second, and this is potentially a real biggie… Deadline New York reports that Fox has officially offered Michael Fassbender (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) the role of a younger Magneto in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. This would be great, however, he’s also being sought after to play a villain in the next SPIDER-MAN film, so he wouldn’t be able to do both. Talk about tough decisions!

If Fassbender accepts Fox’s offer, he’ll join the existing cast of Aaron Johnson (KICK-ASS), Andrew Garfield (THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS), Jack Huston (OITLANDER), Eddie Redmayne (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL) and James McAvoy (WANTED) who is set to play a younger Charles Xavier. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS is scheduled to hit theaters on June 3, 2011.