Beaks here...

I'll admit it: I watched THE O.C. All four seasons of it. So I'm not gonna go all high falutin' on Fox for hiring the show's creator, Josh Schwartz, to "inject a next-gen sensibility" into the X-MEN franchise.

It's just too bad that he's being forced to stick with established characters from the previous movies - e.g. Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat - rather than getting a shot at THE NEW MUTANTS. Then again, it's probably a good thing that Fox doesn't have access to those characters, 'cuz Rothman and his minions would just fuck them up, too (he says as he tries his damndest to remain upbeat about WOLVERINE).

I'd like to think Schwartz, who's enjoying a good deal of very well-deserved success with GOSSIP GIRL and CHUCK, will be given some degree of autonomy in the writing, but even if he decides to direct (and Variety claims he has that option), there's no way he'll get anything approaching final cut on his first feature outing. In other words, it'll be up to producers Lauren Shuler-Donner and Simon Kinberg to watch his back, and while I've plenty of respect for those two, The Rothman is a very formidable foe.

As with every other Marvel movie hitting theaters over the next five years, this one's got a clunky subtitle: X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. There's no word on a release date, but I imagine it will get in line behind MAGNETO. I'm sorry, X-MEN ORIGINS: MAGNETO. Did you know that Fox thinks you're a fucking moron?

Hit up Variety for the rest of the details. Good luck, Mr. Schwartz. I'm looking forward to a particularly sassy experience.

I am – Hercules!!

Just wanted to point out that The Hollywood Reporter's story on the matter suggests "First Class" could, like the "First Class" funnybook , deal with the early Xavier Institute days of Scott "Cyclops" Summers, Hank "Beast" McCoy and Jean "Marvel Girl" Grey (though perhaps not Angel and Iceman, since in movie continuity they came along later).