Mark Millar is certainly a busy man these days, what with his various comic book duties – several of which are currently in development as movie adaptations, including this year’s Kick-Ass 2 – along with his position as creative consultant on 20th Century Fox’s various Marvel properties; however, he’s still found the time to take part in an interview with SFX, during which he discusses Bryan Singer’s forthcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, as well as confirming that plans are underway for a third and final Kick-Ass movie.
“[Bryan] Singer is excellent at working with ensemble casts,” states Millar. “So with this one I feel it is all fine. I have read the screenplay and it doesn’t feel rushed and it doesn’t feel like it is too many characters… I think the best comparison I can give is to Star Trek – that is an ensemble but it never feels as if there is not enough time with any one character. Or maybe Lost – that is an ensemble but every character gets their own moment to shine. So as long as everyone is there for a reason there doesn’t need to be a problem with so many characters. This is a beautifully structured film, and it is a time travel story so the structure has to be especially strong.”
So far confirmed as appearing in X-Men: Days of Future Past are X-Men: First Class stars James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast), along with original X-Men trilogy veterans Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and Ian McKellen (Magneto). Last weekend it was also revealed that Anna Paquin (Rogue), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) and Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde) had all joined the cast, and Millar went on to suggest that Ellen Page could play an imporant role in the movie, just as her character does in the original source material, by teasing that “Kitty Pryde fans will not be disappointed.”
Millar also went on to briefly discuss the Sentinels, who will make their long-awaited debut in the 2014 sequel: “I don’t really want to give too much away but the Sentinels are a big feature of this story. They will be cool and this will deliver on all of the teasers. We’ve all been waiting for this ever since X-Men: The Last Stand showed us one of their heads. Now it is finally coming, and we only have to pay ten quid to see it in the cinema.”
As well as his Marvel duties for Fox, Millar also has the Jeff Wadlow-directed Kick-Ass 2 arriving in cinemas this summer, with a cast that includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), Chloe Grace Moretz (Hit-Girl), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (The Red Mist) and Jim Carrey (Colonel Stars and Stripes), and it seems there could be one more Kick-Ass movie in the tank:
“Kick-Ass 3 is going to be the last one though. I told Universal this and they asked me, ‘What does that mean?’ I said, ‘It means that this is where it all ends.’ They said, ‘Do they all die at the end?’ I said, ‘Maybe’ – because this is a realistic superhero story. And if someone doesn’t have a bullet proof vest like Superman and doesn’t have Batman’s millions then eventually he is going turn around the wrong corner and get his head kicked in or get shot in the face [laughs]. So Kick-Ass needs to reflect that. There has to be something dramatic at the end, he cannot do this for the rest of his life.”
Originally published February 1, 2013. Updated December 13, 2019.
