It’s almost hard to believe that the last "X-Men" film Bryan Singer directed came out almost ten years ago. While the franchise continued to live on in spite of his absence for a number of years, an influx of other, more successful superhero films were birthed in the process, making it more difficult for the "X-Men" franchise to stand out among the pack. But Singer came back on board as a producer for the hit 2011 prequel “X-Men: First Class” and now, as the director of the upcoming “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” he hopes to continue to steer the franchise in the right direction, which means making some important decisions.
The newest "X-Men film" already boasts a stellar cast, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Hugh Jackman from the original trilogy. Alongside them, the majority of the cast from 'First Class' are returning as well, including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, to name a few. With nearly all of the characters from the trilogy and prequel coming back, one wonders just how the movie will be able to fit them all in, but Singer sounded confident when he talked about this with MTV.
“Every character has a very important function in the story. The story is designed and catered to the combined cast.” The director continues, “Our version of ‘Days of Future Past’ is geared very much toward the mass cast and all their relationships and all their foibles and their achievements.”
Considering the fact that so many notable actors from the franchise have come back for 'Days of Future Past,' Halle Berry and Alan Cumming's names still appear to be missing from the upcoming film. From what Singer says, a Storm appearance just might not be in the cards. “I can’t say,” Singer told MTV, “I don’t know yet. And it’s not necessarily a deal making aspect at all. I want to make sure it’ll make sense. But I love working with her.”
As for Nightcrawler, he more or less told Huffington Post the same thing. "I don't want to…sometimes you don't want to say "yes" or "no" to something that may not be a "yes" or a "no," or anything. I haven't decided yet, a few things. I'm still, you know — there are certain aspects of the script that I'm still toying with."
Given the success Bryan Singer has had with the X-Men franchise, I’m sure fans will trust that the director knows what he’s doing. While Storm was indeed a crucial part to the original trilogy, surely the rest of the cast in the upcoming film can make up for her absence. “X-Men: Days of Future Past” starts filming this spring for a July 18, 2014 release, and in the meantime, Bryan Singer’s “Jack the Giant Slayer” starring Nicholas Hoult will be in theaters on March 1st.