Joss Whedon

9.7.04

Contributing sources: Production Weekly, Jason B.

About a month ago, Buffy the Vampire Slayer mastermind Joss Whedon publicly declared an interest in taking on the next X-Men movie now that Bryan Singer has traded mutants for a cape and a big "S". Was someone at Fox listening?

If the industry newscatcher Production Weekly is to be believed (and I’m told they’re rarely wrong, if ever), ears were indeed open, and wise decisions were made. According to them, Whedon is onboard to direct X3, with the production gearing up in Vancouver next June.

Of course, there’s currently no script, and to the best of my knowledge no major talent has actually signed for the movie (and we know Halle Berry has little interest in returning unless she’s in the spotlight). But Whedon certainly has a handle on the characters judging by his excellent run on Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men series, and we know from his remarkable television work that he can juggle multiple characters, so it probably wouldn’t be too difficult for him to whip up a fine screenplay (especially considering he worked on the first film’s script).

As a massive Whedon fan I know I’d be first in line to see it, but he’s currently putting the finishing touches on Serenity, the feature follow-up to his space western series Firefly, so we’ll see if he’s got time for mutant mayhem.

Another interesting superhero note: Production Weekly also lists (as rumored) Jim Caviezel as starring in Singer’s Superman movie (subtitled Unbelievable).

Only time will reveal thier prognostication skills, and if Millar or Knowles wins their bet.