Matthew Vaughn has added a number of new actors to his growing cast of “X-Men: First Class” headed up by “Mad Men” star January Jones, who has landed the role of Emma Frost in the forthcoming film. What about Alice Eve? Well, while she was widely believed to have been cast in the part after negotiations were underway, no deal was ever struck leaving the part open.
Also joining the film is Zoe Kravitz playing Angel (a major game change as the character is male in the comics), Bill Milner as the young version of Magneto (being played by Michael Fassbender), and Morgan Lily as the young Mystique. Update: THR says its unknown whether Kravitz will play the same Angel that Ben Foster played in Brett Ratner’s “X-Men: The Last Stand,” and as some astute readers point out, in Grant Morrison’s “X-Men Legacy” comics there was an Latino teenage female character named Angel (sometimes that went by Tempest) and this is more likely the role Kravitz would play.
These four will join the staggering array of talent led by James McAvoy as Professor X, Caleb Landry as Banshee, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Lucas Till as Havoc, Kevin Bacon as an unknown villain (we’ve heard whispers he’s a CIA-type, rather than a mutant), Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, “Twilight” star Edi Gathegi as Darwin, Jason Flemyng as Azazel, Oliver Platt as the mysterious Man In Black and presumably Rose Byrne as Moira Taggert.
“X-Men: First Class” starts shooting in London on August 23rd and is scheduled to hit theaters June 3, 2011. BTW, Variety says casting is complete which essentially likely means what we’ve been guessing all along: No Cyclops, no Jean Grey, Iceman or (proper) Angel. Maybe we’ll see them in very young teenage form by unknown actors.