In a recent interview Lauren Shuler Donner, producer for X-Men 1 through 3 and wife of that other famous producer Richard Donner, says that she hopes that the title of this soon to be released 3rd edition of the franchise does not signal the end of more to come. “X-Men: The Last Stand” premieres on May 26, 2006.
“Our original goal was to have like Star Wars, X-Men 7, 8, 9 and 10,” exclaimed Donner, “because there are certainly enough comics out there.”
Speaking further on the possibility of more X-Men in the future Donner went on to say, “And of course to have spin-offs. It would be nice as we incorporated new characters into each movie if they could continue to move on.”
One of those characters to move on will of course be Logan (Wolverine) played by Hugh Jackman. He will have his own movie soon, a prequel to the current running series of features. Another X-Men spin-off and prequel about “Magneto” has officially been announced and will star Ian McKellen with Donner producing and the legendary Stan Lee will be executive producer. “Magneto” is set to film in 2007.
But, the desire for more X-Men is just that, a desire of Donner’s and not quite a definite fact, or, at least not yet. However, she did talk about a project she is trying to develop and it too is based upon another comic book. When asked what she is currently looking into Donner quipped, “It’s a D.C. comic. It’s for Warner. It’s “Metal Men”….. It’s lighter and it’s fun. A lot of CGI. That would be fun for me to try a whole different kind of comic.”
So, while X-Men may or may not be over after number 3, Donner will be around for a lot longer still creating and developing what she hopes fans will enjoy and have fun watching.