X-Men: Days of Future Past is a highly anticipated sequel and has a cast that rivals a dozen normal films, which may be the reason it’s now the second-most expensive film ever produced by 20th Century Fox, behind only Avatar.
In an interview with The Calgary Herald, the Quebec film commissioner Hans Fraikin discussed X-Men: Days of Future Past and revealed this very interesting detail concerning the film’s budget.
It may be due to the massively talented cast which includes The Hunger Games: Catching Fire actress Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman and a dozen others.
This could be the case, or it could be that the film’s budget has ballooned due to massive amounts of VFX work and the recently announced reshoots which are happening in Montreal over the next few weeks. Fraikin says that “A couple of weeks is a big reshoot,” when he was in L.A. for the American Film Market attempting to get more films headed to the commissioner’s home town of Montreal.
In case fans are curious, Avatar (2009) cost a reported $237 million to shoot, which doesn’t include promotion for the film. Avatar would of course go on to become the highest grossing film of all time, pulling in a worldwide total of $2.78 billion.
Avatar’s director, James Cameron, recently announced that the actor Stephen Lang would be involved in all three sequels and says, “Stephen was so memorable in the first film, we’re privileged to have him back. I’m not going to say exactly HOW we’re bringing him back, but it’s a science fiction story, after all.” We’re all a bit curious how those three films will play out.
X-Men: Days of Future Past has a reported budget of around $225 million right now, and with reshoots we may see it jump over Avatar’s budget at some point. Considering that would be pretty impressive, as it’s been four years since Avatar exploded in theaters, reintroducing 3D to moviegoers.
Of course, a big budget doesn’t mean X-Men: First Class’ sequel is guaranteed to be a hit. This has been proven time and time again by many movies that have pushed the $200-300 million dollar boundary and ended up barely breaking even (we’re looking at you John Carter).
It’s certainly interesting to see that 20th Century Fox has so much faith in director Bryan Singer and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Although, fans do seem incredibly excited about the film, especially when the film’s first trailer landed online recently to everyone’s enjoyment.
While Avatar’s three sequels’ budget will most likely dwarf X-Men: Days of Future Past’s, we’re excited to see a studio have faith in a franchise with some fresh faces, as well as those returning X-Men cast members.
X-Men: First Class was well received by critics and fans of the previous X-Men films, and we have to imagine with director Bryan Singer back on set that this sequel will go over quite well with audiences. He recently stated that while there is a “great deal of humor, the overall tone is a bit darker than previous films, particularly because of the stakes.”
X-Men: Days of Future Past’s release date is set for May 23, 2014. The film stars returning actors Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy, and Michael Fassbender. Also rejoining the X-Men franchise are Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, James Marsden, Ellen Page, and Hugh Jackman. Fan Favorite Peter Dinklage will be playing a major villain.