Superhero specialist David S. Goyer, who directed Blade: Trinity and scripted Batman Begins and Ghost Rider, has signed on to direct the X-Men spin-off Magneto, according to Daily Variety. The film from Marvel Studios will center on the often villainous character played by Ian McKellen in all three of the X-Men films, which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. Magneto will be released by 20th Century Fox, falling in line behind a Wolverine solo effort starring Hugh Jackman.
Originally scripted by Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning), Magneto will be an origin story, which means a younger actor will be cast to play the title character in most scenes. For the sake of continuity and to capitalize on McKellen’s popularity among series fans, the accomplished thesbian is likely to be involved at some level.
In the film, Magneto hones his mutant ability to manipulate metal objects as he and his parents cope with the horrors of Auschwitz. He then meets a 20-something Professor Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart in previous films), who is a soldier involved in liberating the concentration camp. The friends eventually become enemies when Magneto seeks vengeance by hunting down Nazi war criminals.
Marvel, which is now fully funding its own movies, is currently in production on Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow, which will be released by Paramount on May 2, 2008. The studio has also hired Edward Norton to star as Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, slated for a June 13, 2008 release by Universal. These other planned projects will no doubt benefit from the windfall that is sure to follow Columbia Pictures’ May 4 release of Spider-Man 3 and 20th Century Fox’s June 15 bow of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Goyer’s latest directorial effort, the supernatural thriller The Invisible, get s a wide release from Buena Vista this weekend. He is also writing a big-screen adaptation of the DC Comics superhero property The Flash.
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