Despite a huge amount of coverage every time a cast member is announced for X-Men: First Class, there isn’t a lot of buzz. Maybe it’s because of exactly that – the confusing rumours reported as fact for who’s coming and going, or maybe it’s the setting. Either way, there’s a fair amount to get excited about – Matthew Vaughn proved his superhero bona fides with Kick-Ass, and there are some exciting names definitely involved, such as the ones we’ve listed below.
Matthew Vaughn
Director
Matthew Vaughn has had a particularly successful career to date, with his filmography including Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Layer Cake, Snatch, Mean Machine, Stardust and Kick-Ass among others. This will be the third time he’s worked with Jane Goldman.
Jane Goldman
Writer
Having recently been taken on by WME, Jane Goldman is a rising talent in Hollywood with a knack for getting her films into production. Previous major credits include Stardust, Kick-Ass and The Debt. She’s also married to Jonathan Ross, for those who like trivia.
James McAvoy
Charles Xavier
One member of the cast who really doesn’t need an introduction is McAvoy, who has appeared in everything from BBC drama such as State Of Play through to glitzy blockbusters such as Wanted. Whether he can follow in Sir Patrick Stewart’s footsteps is another matter.
Michael Fassbender
Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto
Recently, Fassbender has been known for playing Lieutenant Archie Hichcox in Inglourious Basterds and Azazeal in Hex, as well as a role in 300. He also appeared in Jonah Hex recently, although the less that’s said about that film, the better.
Nicholas Hoult
Hank McCoy/Beast
Hoult is best known for his role as Tony Stonem in E4’s critically acclaimed series Skins, but has also appeared in Clash Of The Titans. His non-genre work includes the film Kidulthood, and About A Boy, and he recently lost the Rising Star Award to Kristen Stewart.
Alice Eve
Emma Frost
Eve hasn’t really had much in the way of genre work before, having appeared in Crossing Over, She’s Out Of My League and the execrable Sex In The City 2. She was, however, in the running for the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America, but lost out to Hayley Atwell.
Jennifer Lawrence
Mystique
Lawrence is another one without any particularly significant genre experience, those closest thing she’s come to it being two episodes of Medium in 2007 and 2008. She’s previously appeared in Winter’s Bone and The Bill Engvall Show.
Lucas Till
Alex Summers/Havok
Known for his roles in Disney film Hannah Montana, Till has also appeared in a wide range of other projects, such as Walk The Line and Among The Dead. He will appear in Battle: Los Angeles as well as X-Men: First Class.
Edi Gathegi
Darwin
He might not be easily recognisable without the dreadlocks, but Gathegi recently appeared as Laurent in the first two Twilight films. Don’t let that put you off, he’s actually a good actor, and also appeared in Life On Mars, Gone Baby Gone and The Fifth Patient.
Caleb Landry Jones
Sean Cassidy/Banshee
Relatively fresh to the world of acting, Jones’s previous credits aren’t as wide as his co-stars, but include The Last Exorcism, Friday Night Lights and a bit part in No Country For Old Men. He will also appear in The Social Network and Summer Song. (Picture unavailable)
