With Jane Goldman re-working the script and production ready to go into overdrive, news and rumors are flying fast on Matthew Vaughn’s “X-Men: First Class.”
To add to the mix, the rumors and possibly the confusion, the latest issue of Production Weekly states that 20th Century Fox has a “strong interest” in Amber Heard for the role of a young Mystique as well as British thespian Rosamund Pike to play Professor X’s assistant Moira MacTaggert. Pike was previously rumored to play Emma Frost after being spotted with comics of that character outside the offices of the film’s casting agent, so this new report suggests she is in the mix, but not for the aforementioned character (and fans of course will note that the MacTaggert character was also played by Olivia Williams in “X-Men: The Last Stand”).
What does “strong interest” mean exactly, aside from the obvious? Are offers out yet? Have the actresses been approached? It’s nebulous and potentially very premature news to be sure, but it is something that should pique the interest of anyone who is tracking this project. Both actresses seem to be a pretty good fit for the cast that Vaughn is forming but it remains to be seen what actually will transpire from these reported interests.
Scottish actor James McAvoy has already been cast to play the aforementioned Professor Charles Xavier, and Aaron Johnson is seemingly a lock at this stage for an unnamed role (probably Cyclops), but that news is not confirmed, yet.
Oddly enough Production Weekly also notes that, despite interest in Michael Fassbender to play Magneto, the actor is apparently not interested in testing for the role. We’re not sure what that’s about, but early rumors have suggested that he was being chased by both Vaughn for ‘X-Men’ and the “Spider-Man” reboot camp but that the actor wouldn’t be able to manage both — presumably because of his potentially busy schedule (Fassbender has the lead in David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method” which is currently lensing and possibly both “Woman In Black” and “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” in the works later this year).