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Posted 5/10:

There's new movement on Magneto in the form of director rumors circling James McTeigue

THE roaring debut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been the launchpad for several other spin-offs getting the green light.

We've heard about a second Wolverine film, a Deadpool movie and a Gambit spin-off. And it now seems there is new movement on X-Men Origins: Magneto, a project that would explore the backstory of the magnetically-powered archvillain played in the X-Men trilogy by Ian McKellen.

Sources are now saying that James McTeigue is in negotiations to direct the movie, instead of David S. Goyer. And Internet Movie Database confirms this, with its listing for McTeigue saying he is in talks to take on Magneto.

As I mentioned yesterday, McTeigue is apparently also being sought to take on the Conan remake after Brett Ratner left the director's chair so it will be interesting to see which project he opts for, or whether he is able to do both. At one point, Children of Men director Alfonso Cuaron was also rumoured as a candidate for helming Magneto.

Sheldon Turner wrote the original screenplay for the Magneto film and when Goyer came on board he reworked it. He was also set to direct but has several other film projects o his plate including a movie sequel to H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. Fox may now be looking at other directors to get moving on the project.

I've seen the Goyer script and it was reasonably good - the dynamic and dialogue between Magneto and Xavier was spot on.

But it also had some questionable elements, as was suggested by a previous commenter on here at the time I reviewed the script . For instance, the story included a Nazi mad scientist experimenting on Magneto and other mutants to try to harness their abilities. We've now seen that already with Stryker in Wolverine.

In the script, Magneto's wife Magda dies in a fire started by a mob - whereas in the comics it plays out differently: Magneto saves Magda by revealing his powers and using them against the mob (although he is unable to save their daughter) but Magda then flees in terror at his display of destructive force.

That hurtful rejection for being different adds to the Holocaust in being another part of what shapes his character. It also leaves his wife to go on and give birth to the mutant twins Pietro aka Quicksilver (who we appear to see in Wolverine as one of the captives at Stryker's base) and Wanda aka Scarlet Witch. You can see Quicksilver on the right in the image below from the Wolverine movie. (Article continues below image)

Emma,-Cyclops,-Quicksilver.jpg

Without a mad scientist experimenting on him at Auschwitz, Magneto would need another, better motivation to become a terrorist. Here's where we could see the later, post-war capture, abuse and enslavement of mutants by another entity.

Possible candidates from the source material might be: the Nazi terrorist group Hydra (which features in the comic book origin of Magneto); the mutant-enslaving advanced nation Genosha, which could perhaps be shown trading mutants for its technology; or the elite society The Helllfire Club with their mutant-hunting robots called Sentinels.

Any of those could feature in the film as a powerful corporation working for the government (or a collection of several governments, similar to the UN) to resolve the mutant 'problem.' For instance, in the comics, the government purchased Sentinels from The Hellfire Club for its Project Wideawake initiative to capture mutants.

And perhaps a dramatic moment could see Magneto finding out that one or more of the 'Dr Death' characters from the Nazi prison camps were now working for the corporation. Terrorism usually results from a reaction to the ongoing policies of a system in power, so it would need to go far beyond what the Nazis were doing during the war. The Nazis just sowed the seeds of hate in Magneto's mind; continued mutant exploitation would be needed for his hate and distrust to spill over into a life of anti-government villainy and terrorism.

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner recently confirmed that internal discussions were taking place about the Magneto movie. Now we just need some more official news on the progress of this project...

Read below for the official synopsis of the movie. Source

The synopsis for X-Men Origins: Magneto has appeared in Production Weekly. It gives a backstory of the youthfull metal-controlling mutant, who was portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen in the X-Men movies.
The Magneto movie, currently under development, will be directed by David Goyer, who wrote the screenplay which was leaked earlier this year. Goyer is a busy man these days, but he says he will get around to this film project after The Invisible Man.

McKellen is listed as a cast member for the movie, but will not be headlining as the star will need to be much younger, but he is expected to 'book-end' the movie with narrative and perhaps a cameo appearance.

Here is the official synopsis for the movie, as listed by subscription trade mag Production Weekly...

"The original X-Men film began with a prologue that showed the character as a child being led to a concentration camp by Nazis and that is the period in which the Magneto film will take place. This setup will allow a future villain to at least flirt with the designation of protagonist since the character will be seen almost exclusively in his formative years."

"The storyline will heavily involve Professor X, the wheelchair-using X-Men leader. That character was a soldier in the allied force that liberated the concentration camps. The professor meets Magneto after the war and while they bond over the realisation that they are alike in their special powers, their differences soon turn them into enemies."