It is easy to forget with all the hype being focused on The Avengers and the various Avengers-connected films, that Marvel has two other major releases due soon–next year’s Spider-Man reboot, and this summer’s X-Men: First Class, which today released its first trailer.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Stardust), X-Men: First Class takes place during the early 60s, when Kennedy was President, civil rights issues were headline news and smoking was cool. Before the events that forever turned Charles Xavier and Magneto into enemies, the pair were friends and colleagues, and worked together for the betterment of all mutants. But things quickly changed, and the two began to split due to their ideology. But not before they helped train the first class of the X-Men.
X-Men: First Class is a prequel that is meant to fit into the existing continuity of the X-Men films. Xavier and Magneto are the stars this time around, with Patrick Stewart being replaced by James McAvoy (Wanted, Atonement), and Ian McKellan having been replaced by Michael Fassbender (Jonah Hex, Inglorious Basterds).
The film also stars Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Rose Byrne and Nicholas Hoult. It will be released in theaters on June 3.