A chance to shatter a glass ceiling: Fox should hire Jane Goldman to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past.

I'm going to make this as brief as I can.  As most of you know, the industry was somewhat stunned this afternoon when it was announced that Matthew Vaughn was stepping down from directing X-Men: Days of Future Past (IE - X-Men: First Class 2).  The film is set to roll in early 2013 which means Fox will be scrambling for a replacement director.  The rumor mill suggests that none other than Bryan Singer is being lured back to the director's chair for the franchise that he started twelve years ago.  Jack and the Giant Slayer feels like a dud and Superman Returns nearly killed an iconic franchise.  You know my thoughts on directors returning to franchises they walked away from long ago after a string of disappointments and you can know admit that I was right about Ridley Scott and Prometheus.  I have another idea for who should helm the sequel.  She is the co-writer of the last X-Men First Class and this upcoming sequel and she is a frequent collaborator with Mr. Vaughn having co-written nearly all of his projects since Stardust back in 2007 while also writing The Woman In Black just this year.  If you want someone who is comfortable in the world established by Bryan Singer while also arguably offering a fresh perspective to a now-12 year old series, she's an obvious bet.  That Jane Goldman is a "she" is a bonus.

Marc Webb will helm Spectacular Spider-Man after all! Thoughts and speculation on his somewhat surprising return.

It's a telling sign of behind-the-scenes tumult when it's actually surprising to hear that the director of a franchise-kick off is indeed returning to helm the sequel.  But after a summer filled with innuendo and rumors, followed by a final product that was clearly cut to ribbons at the last minute, and I am not a little surprised to see Marc Webb signing up for another go at Spider-Man 2.0.  But The Hollywood Reporter uh, reports that Webb will indeed helm The Spectacular Spider-Man, set for release on May 4th, 2014.  Andrew Garfield is back too, which is obviously less of a surprise, but at this point Emma Stone is still negotiating.  Expect Stone to get a massive raise, perhaps higher than Garfield, as her massive charisma and general attractiveness caused audiences and critics worldwide to convince themselves that the paper-thin romantic subplot was some kind of classic genre romance.  Webb is angling for a raise above the $1 million he got last time.  Purely speculating, but I imagine Sony offered him enough money to stick around under what will likely be rigorous studio control so they could save face for at least one more installment.  Losing the director after two installments is par for the course (Batman Forever, Iron Man 3, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, X-Men: The Last Stand, Shrek the Third, Chronicle of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, etc.) but losing the director after one film generally causes raised eyebrows.  In this case it would be an admission of error.

Press Release: Disney announces release date for Captain America 2.

The Walt Disney Studios has announced a release date for Marvel Studios’ sequel to the blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger on April 4, 2014.  The second installment will pick-up where the highly anticipated Marvel’s The Avengers (May 4, 2012) leaves off, as Steve Rogers continues his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world.

So now it appears that the studios are attempting to begin the unofficial summer season as early as April, thanks to the huge late-March business generated by The Hunger Games, along with the last two Fast/Furious entries, which pulled in blockbuster numbers in early-April 2009 and late-April 2011 respectively.  The last sentence seems to dispel any hope that a sequel would somehow primarily take place in the 1940s/World War II-era, although I wouldn't be surprised to see a story that blended flashbacks to Rogers's war efforts with a present-day story (it might be too soon to play the 'Winter Soldier' card, but I imagine that will pop up eventually).  Anyway, nothing more to report here.  I suppose the next step is to find a director, as Joe Johnston will apparently not be returning (which is a damn shame, but I digress).  Among those 'on the list' are F. Gary Gray (yay!), The Adjustment Bureau's George Nolfi (boo!), and Community directors Anthony and Joseph Russo (Sure, why not?).

Scott Mendelson