Wednesday, June 9, 2010

X-men First Class Movie News - Emma Frost Casted?

So every now and then I take a peak into the workings of the X-men movie business. To me, it's like going in for rectal surgery on the same day I have root canals. It's not my fault that X3 hurt so damn much and that any mention of X-men movies evokes an anger that would make the Hulk squeamish. But I'm trying to be optimistic about X-men First Class. It still isn't clear if this is a reboot or something different, but with Bryan Singer on board there's enough promise to risk another soul-crushing disappointment again.

This week more casting rumors have been flying around like herpes at Flava Flav's house. Rumors of Magneto being casted have been popping up. Professor Xavier is already in the fold with James McAvoy. Now it appears Michael Fassbender may be up for the Magneto role.

Screenrant: Is Michael Fassbender the new Magneto?

It wouldn't be new territory for him. He's done comic movies before such as 300 and Jonah Hex. But he's a little on the young side to be playing a holocaust survivor. Even if this goes back to the early days when Xavier and Magneto were working together, it may only work if it's a flashback. I know makeup artists can do all sorts of amazing things with age, but depending on which time frame the movie will be in it's going to be a factor.

But while the Magneto casting is typical fodder, more are probably excited about the news regarding Emma Frost. Because seriously, what guy wouldn't be more intrigued by the X-men's hot blonde vixen who flaunts her sexuality more than a pre-Karballa Madonna? Whoever plays her role will have to have with her a very special kind of hotness that will send fanboys everywhere into boner-inducing seizures. It seems they may have that in Rosamund Pike.

Screenrant: Rosemund Pike as Emma Frost in X-men First Class?

Now she's not going to be the first one to play Emma. In the last craptastic X-flick, Wolverine Origins, Emma did make a brief appearance in the final moments of the movie. She appeared to be just a teenager at the time. If Pike is going to take the role, that may be a bit trickier because in real life she's 31. I know it's taboo to talk about a woman's age, but when she's smoking hot age is just a gauge between the youthful free spirit stage and the full blown cougar stage. Pike seems to be a bit in between.

This brings up another issue. If Emma is older in this then it won't be nearly as believable as a direct continuation from Wolverine Origins. If this is supposed to be the X-men as teenagers, then an older Emma could mean her role is different. Perhaps she's the X-men's official sex ed teacher? Or maybe she plays the role of teacher for the Academy of Tomorrow (a rival for the institute and possibly a source of inspiration)? Or they could just do what they're doing with Magneto and make her look like a teenager.

My only problem with this is if Emma is going to be a teenager and Cyclops and Jean Grey are already confirmed as being in the movie, then it's almost a certainty that the Scott/Jean/Emma love triangle from the comics will be utilized. While this isn't a bad plot point, it's worth pointing out that it's been fucking done already! Seriously, the first three X-men movies went out of their way to flesh out a ridiculously lame incarnation of the Scott/Jean/Logan triangle. It was one of the worst parts of the film due to sheer logistics. Logan had the hots for Jean in X1, but left at the end of the movie. He arrived in X2 and still had the hots, but only got to flirt a little before she died. Then in X3 somehow she's the love of his life? Bullshit! They barely knew each other for a few days at the most! Yet somehow that's supposed to be deeper than the relationship she's had with Scott, which almost certainly spanned more than just a few days? If that's how the movies handle love triangles, I have no hope for the Scott/Jean/Emma triangle. Seriously, how hard would it be to just let Scott/Jean develop without the need of a fucking love triangle? Hasn't that been brought enough shame to the world of X-men movies?

Whatever they choose as a plot, Emma's presence can only add more sex appeal. That's never a bad thing, but if it leads them down that same road of cliched plots it could be. At the very least it looks like Pike is on the fast track to making X-men First Class more appealing. It'll all depend on how other characters are cast. There's only a year left to put this movie together and if they start rushing it then the X-men movie franchise is in even deeper shit than before.

But movies aside, doesn't Pike have a good Emma Frost feel to her? You be the judge.


On a less serious note, I just added some new pics to my X-men Supreme website. Don't worry, it's the good kind of pics. Specifically, they're sexy pics for the Jean Grey section. For anyone who despised the movies or what happened to her in the comics, this should ease the pain. Nuff said.

6 comments:

  1. God, I wouldn't be able to bear watching another movie with that love triangle. Emma is fine for me as far as she stands out of Scott/Jean relationships. There's enough disappointment already! Oh, at least I still can find some consolation watching the pictures of Jean..

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  2. I hear you, my friend. Emma has her own thing going on in the comics. I would rather see her distinguish herself in the movie if she's going to play a major role. I think Logan's character suffered a great deal towards the latter part of the X-men trilogy because so much of his actions were predicated on the Scott/Jean/Logan triangle. Emma doesn't need that kind of baggage. She deserves to stand on her own.

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  3. Really,isn't it ironic that Marvel have been striving for the last two years to promote their female characters and yet they insist that Emma can be existent in the X-books only on condition that she's Scott Summers' girlfriend?It's not the triangle itself that annoys me,it's the fact that Marvel are not aware that they end up damaging the characters when they're trying to "hype" them for marketing reasons.Given that the company consider that Emma's climactic moment was when she assumed Jean's place in Morrison's run,one can easily(and understandably)jump to the conclusion that she's Marvel most famous "home-wrecker"(outclassing even bloody Crystal),whilst she's a *lot* deeper than that.Marvel had done similar mistakes with Emma repeatedly.They were desperate to contaminate her with the "Wolvie-syndrome" and she started appearing everywhere,having past connections to everyone.But instead of sharing old friendships with half the Marvel universe,she apparently had sexual intercourses with half the Marvel universe...

    Bottom line,the point of my speech is:if you want to increase Emma's popularity,then fine.Just make sure that you do it in a reasonable way that respects the character.Morrison LITTERALLY shoved Emma down our throats,instead of redeeming her in the same way Claremont and,more recently,Carey rehabilitated Rogue)and the spiteful hate that the fans developped for her was only a consequence of what he did.And now,because of this,Emma is slowly trivialized into a blonde Jean Grey.Luvly.

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  4. While I agree with you, Selene, that Emma's current role leaves much to be desired, I think it comes back to subjective tastes. I don't doubt that Marvel believes they're doing the right thing with her. But even they have to sense that Emma is being somewhat forced into the spotlight because Jean is dead and she's the one who has to take her place. For what it's worth, she's been good at that role in some areas. But not in others.

    I liked her in Whedon's run, but recently she's just been relegated to being Scott's arm candy. And before that, she was just the anti-Jean. I liked her best in her Gen-X days when she wasn't so much a villain, but she was an opponent of Xavier. For a movie I would like her to take on that role, possibly as a teacher who doesn't see eye-to-eye with Xavier or Magneto's methods. That could make her go either the villain or the hero route, which would be a MUCH more interesting story than just another love triangle. Seriously, after the bullshit that was X3, this movie should stay as far away from love triangles as possible.

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  5. Personally, I'd rather they left Emma out of a First Class film. I'd rather they focused on the original five members (irregardless of the characters defined in the previous films).

    Now from the completely-shallow-guy department, Rosemund Pike is really hot and would make a great Emma Frost. Sure the age is an issue, but did I mention she's really hot? Hey, you can't blame me, I did warn you it was a shallow thought.

    The Irredeemable Shag
    http://firestormfan.com
    http://onceuponageek.com

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  6. I hear your, Shag. Pike is hot and would make a great Emma Frost. I too would rather just see a movie with the Original Five, but if they're going to try and make this a prequel that's not going to be possible. Even if they don't, they're probably still going to want to use as many characters as possible to draw an audience and characters like Emma Frost are great at roping in the male audience. Can you really blame them?

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