News first broke back in June that Fox had apparently registered the title X-Men: Days of Future Past with the MPAA, intending for it to be subtitle for the follow-up to X-Men: First Class. Thankfully for X-Men fans (and those with access to Wikipedia) that reveal inadvertently hinted at potential plot points. Now, according to a brief report on Russian news site Film Business Today, those rumours appeared to have been well founded.
That’s about all the concrete news we have regarding an official title but about those plot points I mentioned? Well, “Days of Future Past” is a two-arc issue from the comics where Kitty Pryde (the sneaky mutant who was portrayed by Ellen Page in X-Men: The Last Stand) transfers her mind to her past self in order to help alter a series of events that lead to a mass mutant round-up and subsequent mass imprisonment. It would only be safe to assume that Fox and director Mathew Vaughan plan to use at least some elements from the source material, which means we’re in for an awesome time-travelling angle.
It is also being kept a mystery as to whom in particular the film would focus on. As the former allies known as Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr have parted ways, that leaves the option for a film based upon the rise of the X-Men, the rise to prominence of Magneto’s forces or a largely duel tale. If the Kitty Pride angle remains, it’s anyone’s guess how she will fit into the universe.
X-Men: Days of Future Past will begin shooting in January 2013 for a release date currently slotted for July 18, 2014. Fox has previously pushed back their time table for the sequel to allow star Jennifer Lawrence (who plays Mystique) to complete filming on another sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Other principle cast members including Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are also set to return.