Singer said that actors from the original "X-Men" movies and the recent reboot "X-Men: First Class" will appear in the next adaptation based on Marvel Comics' "X-Men", including Anna Paquin ("True Blood") as 'Rogue', Ellen Page as 'Kitty Pryde' and Shawn Ashmore as 'Iceman'. Also returning are Michael Fassbender, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and Hugh Jackman as 'Wolverine'.
Adapting Marvel Comics' "Uncanny X-Men" (1981) issues #141 and #142, written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by John Byrne, premise of the story alternates between present day, in which the 'X-Men' fight the 'Brotherhood of Evil Mutants' led by mutant shape-shifter 'Mystique' and a future timeline caused by the X-Men's failure to prevent the Brotherhood from assassinating 'Senator Robert Kelly'.
"It's epic," said Singer about his vision for the new film. "We get to bring both casts together. We've cracked it in a way that it makes sense. I had a two-hour conversation with James Cameron about time travel, string theory, multiverses and all that. You have to create your rules and stick with them. That's why 'Terminator' and 'Back To The Future' work so well. And there are certain mechanisms in 'X-Men', certain powers, perceptions and characters, that make this possible."
"It has a lot of aspects of the comic. The actual comic of 'Days Of Future Past' had a whole ton of stuff going on, so it’s like any of these things; you have to distill it. But I think the fans will be pleased that some of the most exciting parts of 'Days Of Future Past' are going to be connected to this movie."
In Marvel's "Days of Future Past" :
" ...the story begins 30 years in the future. In the 'present', the year is 1980, and 'Kitty Pryde' has just joined the 'X-Men', while in the 'future' 'Kate Pryde' is a middle-aged women running for her life, trying to meet up with an elderly 'Wolverine' in a now-destroyed New York City.
"The future is bleak; an assassination of a presidential hopeful senator in 1980 led to a series of events that allowed the robotic 'Sentinels' into taking over North America. The Sentinels are ready to move overseas to spread their control world-wide, with the rest of the world on nuclear alert to prevent that from happening..."
"The Days of Future Past' storyline was also adapted for the "X-Men" Animated TV series, with another alternative future story, focusing on bounty hunter 'Bishop' and the idea of a traitor within the ranks of the team.
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