Class is beginning to assemble for the new Professor Xavier, James McAvoy. Sources all over the web have been pouring on the X-Men: First Class updates all of which sound promising, but none of which are official.
First up is rumors that Aaron Johnson could go superhero on us again. Filmonic‘s got a photograph of Johnson hanging out with McAvoy and director Matthew Vaughn. Considering this image surfaced right after McAvoy’s casting was announced, it was inevitable that people would connect the dots. But, of course, that in no way proves anything. For all we know Vaughn, who directed Johnson in Kick-Ass, could be courting McAvoy for a role in the sequel, however, earlier this month, The Playlist reported that Johnson is “pretty much locked into the movie,” the movie being X-Men: First Class.
Then there was buzz that Michael Fassbender could snag the role of Magneto. That’d be a fantastic casting choice, but Fassbender isn’t interested, which likely has something to do with his busy schedule and/or potential Spider-Man reboot casting. Now we’ve got Rosamund Pike who was originally reported to be taking the role of telepath Emma Frost. Seems she’s actually going for the character Moira MacTaggert, a college buddy-turned-love interest of Xavier’s.
To top it all off, we’ve got the big news of the day, Amber Heard may assume the role once played by Rebecca Romijn, that of the evil shape shifter Mystique. Ever since Pineapple Express, Heard’s been all over the place and minus The Informers, all of those places have been quite enjoyable.
If only casting news came in confirmed doses rather than heaps of maybes and gossip. X-Men: First Class is due in theaters on June 3rd, 2011, so final decisions have to be on the horizon.
By Perri Nemiroff
