Fox Fishing That X-Men Lake Dry

This feels like a fallback plan because The Wolverine hitting the skids or maybe it isn't and this is a part of an epic strategy to further whore out a once-prosperous film-series. In this month's Empire (via Obsessed with Film), producer Lauren Shuler Donner reveals a treatment for X-Men 4's been written and submitted to 20^th Century Fox.

Add to that an X-Men 5 (4 leads into it), any First Class sequels (I have a feeling deep down that, quality notwithstanding, there won't have any conversations about X-Men: Second Semester or X-Men: Cramming for the GED after that prequel drops in June) and the afore-mentioned Wolverine sequel-to-a-prequel. Whenever Fox makes their move on that one.

Oh yeah, and there's that Deadpool solo-flick which, in a case of having your cake and eating it too, will retcon the Merc with a Mouth's appearance in the first Wolverine movie. Basically, taking people's money (and damn well knowing it before hand – remember when the story leaked of how Wade Wilson was being portrayed and they denied it?) and then claiming ignorance. Assuming that goes forward. I don't care what Ryan Reynolds says; he very-well knows doing another comic-book tentpole with a rival studio won't sit well with Warner Brothers when they spending a hot-wad of cash pimping him hard as Green Lantern.

The X-Men 4 thing, though, makes me wonder if they've gone as far to start talks with varying cast-members from the 2000-2006 films. Having Bryan Singer aboard again might be entice some (like Ian McKellen) to come back while others (like Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry) will show up if the price is right.