"X-Men: The Last Stand" was regrettably dopey and artless, so it came as a great relief this summer when they managed to salvage the franchise with "X-Men: First Class." So it seems odd to bring back the guy who penned "X3" to write the next X-men film. And yet..
Simon Kinberg has been hired to write the sequel to "X-Men: First Class," reported Super Hero Hype. It's assumed, but unconfirmed at this point, that Matthew Vaughn, who directed "First Class" will helm the sequel.
Kinberg has previously written "XXX: State of the Union," " Mr. & Mars. Smith," and "Sherlock Holmes," so he's shown an ability to entertain the masses. But "X3" left a bad taste in almost everyone's mouth, so why bring back the guy who's already shown that he can't successfully work with these characters? Blame Brett Ratner all you want for what went wrong with "X3," but surely Kinberg is partly to blame, no?
We'll take solace in the fact that the script for "First Class" was a collaborative effort, with Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, Vaughn, Sheldon Turner and Bryan Vaughn all pitching in. Maybe they'll end up crowdsourcing this one, too--though that's rarely a good idea.