We’re starting to develop a better understanding of Marvel’s mutant prequel X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, thanks to the willingness of the cast and filmmakers to reveal details.
(Possible SPOILERS!)
IGN chatted with new master telepath James McAvoy about taking over as Charles Xavier in his early days of mutant seeking and tutoring in the 1960s. And who are the first known mutants? “I’ve met Raven [Mystique] when I was 12 in this film, but other than that we could be the only two freaks out there, you know?” McAvoy says.
“There is a love triangle between me, Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence who plays Raven. It’s not a love triangle… basically she’s my assistant in this film, and obviously by the other films she is not my assistant anymore; she is very much not my assistant. Actually that’s quite good fun to see how that relationship disintegrates as well and why she ultimately goes over to the dark side as well.”
As for how those relationships fits into the mythology: “There is a lot of — even with the other movies — there are inconsistencies. So where I took it from was the script but also First Class, the comic as well. But again, it is utterly different from the comic. So you have to go on the script. And we started working on the script when we came on board.”
McAvoy describes the tech as “dead-60s” with “lots of flashy lights and spools of films.” “I mean the Cold War plays a big part in it and the manipulation of history is quite a nice thing. So we sort of attach ourselves to history really closely in quite a strong way, but then we also mess with history quite a lot and re-write it a little bit. We don’t change the outcome of any world events, but the explanation and the kind of machine behind those world events we kind of play off the mutants, which is great.”
Meanwhile on the X-Men Facebook page, the stars and filmmakers are answering questions during the next several weeks in their “X-Perts” section.
Oliver Platt exposes some of the mysteries behind his character, the shadowy Man in Black: “The Man In Black runs a super secret division of the CIA devoted to investigating the application of mental telepathy and paranormal power in military defense. He has long been a laughing stock of the Agency because of this. His department is known as ‘Division X’. When Charles and Mystique become ensnared with the Agency, the Man in Black diverts them to his division with a deft bureaucratic sleight of hand. Erik soon joins them and The X-Men flourish under MIB’s protection.”
Not everyone has taken part in X-Perts yet, but the site does give some additional information about how the movie is approaching some of the comic characters.
For example, in the movie’s time period, the pre-Magneto Erik is hunting Nazis and getting payback for their atrocities in WWII. And this must be how the filmmakers are tying in the villainous Hellfire Club, as this is their description of the FIRST CLASS version of baddie leader Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon): “Shaw, a force of incalculable evil, was a Nazi collaborator whose early research forever altered the life of a young Erik Lensherr. Shaw can absorb energy and re-channel it, and he will stop at nothing to start a war to ensure that mutants inherit the earth.”
We’re not getting the handsome feather-winged Angel this time, but instead a variation of Grant Morrison’s insect-powered comic character (played by Zoe Kravitz), described as such: “The beautiful ex-dancer possesses a stunning tattoo of insect-like wings, which become actual wings growing from her back, giving her the gift of flight. Her arsenal is a deadly acid, which she projectile vomits in combat.”
You can learn more HERE. And here’s a nice pic from Empire‘s print mag: