X-Men

Summer movie season has officially arrived, folks, and it looks like American audiences were ready for it. Hugh Jackman's X-Men Origins: Wolverine easily took the No. 1 spot over the weekend and grossed an estimated $87 million. This is good news for X-Men fans because the success of Wolverine is a "key victory for Fox, Marvel Entertainment and star Hugh Jackman, since it likely keeps the franchise alive." Woohoo!

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past also did solid business over the weekend and came in second place with an estimated $15.3 million. The top five was rounded out by Obsessed, 17 Again, and Monsters vs. Aliens in third, fourth, and fifth place respectively.

Were you one of the millions who saw Wolverine? Do you agree with the reviews?

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

I'm a big fan of the first couple of X-Men movies and of the comic in general. Maybe it's the ensemble cast full of cool mutant powers or the fact that the gang of superheroes includes lots of women, but I've always found this Marvel comic to be totally entertaining — not to mention great source material for movie adaptations.

Definitely one of the better parts of this franchise so far has been Hugh Jackman's take on the surly and brutishly funny Wolverine. This isn't sissy stuff — and the machismo action star gets even more extreme in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. With favorites like Storm and Rogue long gone, we zoom back in time (way back, actually: 1845) to learn how the hot-tempered Logan came to be a lot of things: a mutant with a skeletal system reinforced by adamantium, a very angry mutant, and, in the end, a hero. It's a lot of big, blockbuster fun, as long as you don't mind plot holes you could drive an 18-wheeler through. To see the rest of my thoughts, read more

I loved the first couple of movies in the X-Men series (not so much the 2006 Brett Ratner installment, but hey, we all make mistakes), and I'm a big fan of Josh Schwartz's snappy TV writing, so this seems like it could be a perfect fit: Schwartz has signed on to write X-Men: First Class, a film focusing on a younger group of X-folk. Schwartz could also direct the movie, though he so far hasn't taken Fox up on the option.

According to Variety, the idea is to focus on the younger characters — Rogue, Iceman, Kitty Pryde, etc. — from the previous films, possibly also using elements from the X-Men: First Class comic series. There's no mention of Wolverine (aka newly crowned Sexiest Man Alive High Jackman), but maybe after his X-Men Origins movie hits theaters next Spring, he'll want to stop by.

If Fox wants an X-Men that will appeal to teens while keeping its geek cred, Schwartz seems like the man for the job: Gossip Girl and The OC prove he's got a handle on teen drama, while Chuck covers the nerdy end of things. Do you think he's got the chops to lead the X-Men franchise in this new direction?

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Recently the first image from the next X-Men movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine hit the web, and now there's news of cast additions, including a Black Eyed Pea and a star of Friday Night Lights. will.i.am will make his film debut alongside Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Kitsch in Wolverine, directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition).

X-Men Origins will "reveal the origins of the Wolverine character and introduce other mutants not yet seen in the "X-Men" franchise." Hugh Jackman is back as Wolverine himself. According to Variety, Kitsch will play Gambit, a "card-throwing character" that Fox and Marvel have wanted to add to the X-Men franchise for a long time.

will.i.am has the role of John Wraith, "a mutant who has the power to teleport, and is another test subject of the Weapon X program that created Wolverine and other mercenaries."

Reynolds is cast as Deadpool, "an assassin with self-healing powers." The studios have eyed this character "for some time with the idea of spinning off [Deadpool] into his own film series should the character prove popular among moviegoers." So . . . next up: X-Men Origins: Deadpool?

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