Over at IESB, producer Laura Schuler-Donner has revealed here that a new X-Men movie will be heading into production in 2010, presumably with an eye on a summer 2011 release slot (we refer you once more to the incredibly crowded summer 2011 schedule, which you can find here). However, she refused to be drawn on just which of the proposed X-Men projects would be going before the camera.

The clues, as Filmonic has noted, seem to be pointing towards X-Men: First Class, the film that's set during the first year of Professor Xavier's school. Its script is being penned by Josh Schwartz, one of the brains behind The O.C., Gossip Girl and Den Of Geek favourite Chuck, but it's a fair assumption that it's all but finished now. And Filmonic has dug up a Twitter post from Tim Pocock (who played Cyclops in the Wolverine movie) that says "currently shooting Australian TV series till February 2010...then X-men first class ;)". Furthermore, Patrick Stewart hinted that Professor X was likely to return to the big screen. He told audiences at the recent Dragon Con that, from what he'd heard, audiences hadn't seen the last of the character. That points some fairly sizeable clues in the direction of X-Men: First Class as the next X-Men project for the big screen.

There's still a chance, albeit a slimmer one, that the long-mooted X-Men Origins: Magneto might be next, though. We can't be alone in suspecting that this is a film that we feel we might never get to see, yet writer David Goyer declared a few weeks ago that he expects the project to be moving ahead at some point in 2010. What exactly that means, sadly, is up to interpretation. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are reportedly keen to do battle on the big screen again in an X-Men movie, though.

The two we'd write off for production in 2010 are the Deadpool movie, and Wolverine 2. Deadpool, set to star Ryan Reynolds, is the planned spin-off from the Wolverine movie, yet at best it's in early development right now. And with Reynolds signed up to play The Green Lantern, it's unlikely that any studio would be keen to release two comic book movies headlined by the same actor within a year of one another. Deadpool, we'd reckon, is looking more likely for 2012 or 2013.

Then there's Wolverine 2. Director Gavin Hood revealed this week that he wasn't attached to the sequel, which given the rumoured production problems that the film suffered (which, obviously, nobody has confirmed), is hardly surprising. Our guess is that there's more chance of Nora Ephron directing Wolverine 2 than there is Hood returning behind the camera.

Meanwhile, Christopher McQuarrie (who penned, of course, The Usual Suspects, as well as sharing co-writing duties on Valkyrie) has signed up to write Wolverine 2 (which is following Wolverine's adventures in Japan), but it's a fair bet that the film is also in its early stages.

It's feasible, should schedules fall into place, that Wolverine 2 could get moving next year, and if X-Men: First Class doesn't get the nod, this is the one we expect to be up and running next. Still, Gavin Hood did note in the promotional junkets for Wolverine's DVD release that "They're developing a script and we'll see where everybody is. I'm hoping to be shooting something next year and I don't think that 'Wolverine' will be ready for next year." (source: AceShowbiz)

The left-field choice would be an X-Men 4, following on from the rubble left behind in The Last Stand, but given that that's a project that's not been announced in any form, we can safely write than one off.

We'll keep you posted as to which film gets the nod...

Filmonic

AceShowbiz