"X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, following the classic Marvel mythology, charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known."

"Matthew Vaughn, the director behind the critically acclaimed big screen adaptation of Mark Millar's graphic novel Kick-Ass, is currently shooting the film. A prequel of sorts that continues and pushes this long running franchise in a new direction.
In his interview, Vaughn explained that he jumped at the chance to take on this particular film because, frankly, he doesn't see the genre sticking around much longer. Here is what the visionary action auteur had to say about his decision and how he feels about the future of super hero films:

"It's been mined to death and in some cases the quality control is not what it's supposed to be. People are just going to get bored of it. I've always wanted to do a big-budget superhero film and I think we've kind of crossed the Rubicon with superhero films. I think [the opportunity to do one], it's only going to be there two or three more times. Then the genre is going to be dead for a while because the audience has just been pummeled too much."

"Exploring the younger years of Marvel's popular mutants, "First Class" already boasts an all-star cast culled from veteran, fan-favorite actors and relative newcomers who are no strangers to young audiences. The list of mutants set to appear in the film seems to be growing every day, so everyone wants to find out how Matthew Vaughn plans to avoid the "too many characters" problem that has plagued other comic book movies, and to find out if/how the film will fit into existing "X-Men" movie continuity.

"I have to give a lot of credit to Bryan Singer, because he came up with a very clever, very interesting way of integrating the characters into recent history — not necessarily too recent, though," Vaughn told MTV News. "I don't want to spoil it for you, but when I read the script that was around in May, I thought, 'This is a really clever idea.'"

"It just kind of worked," he continued. "How [Singer] integrated the characters into the world and the political climate of the time, it was very clever."

"While working on X-Men: First Class in London recently, director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) took a little "me time" to check out Christopher Nolan's Inception:

"I saw 'Inception', which I loved," Vaughn said. "But my heart sank when I saw that a few of the ideas we had were up [on the screen]. So it's either leave it in and look as if you're copying or change things. We completely ripped out about 12 pages of the (First Class) script and the storyboards."

Still, with a multitude of fan-favorite characters dispersed throughout the first three "X-Men" movies, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," and possibly the upcoming "Deadpool" movie, one has to wonder: will "First Class" fit within the existing continuity for Marvel's uncanny mutants...

"Yeah, I would say absolutely so," Vaughn responded when asked if "First Class" would be an official, in-continuity prequel to the "X-Men" movies that came before it.

"You've got Magneto and [Charles] Xavier when they first meet," he explained. "The backdrop of what's going on in the world when they first meet, it's very interesting. You see them and their relationship develop and play out with this major political event in the background."

"The quality of the actors that we've got in these roles is truly world class," Vaughn said. "James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are really working well together. We're about to start a rehearsal period before the shoot and they are coming up with some great ideas. They really care very deeply about their characters and how they interact in the film. And the younger cast members as well, the other mutants, they're really incredibly talented. And it's going to be a pleasure to work with them. It really is. They're all very, very committed as well. They're training every day for several hours. Literally, right now they're training with the stunt teams and they're all taking their diets very seriously and exercising a lot and working very, very hard. It's very exciting to see it come together."

Vaughn added that he isn't worried about the film being over-crowded with mutants and suffering the same flaws of other comic book movies that went the ensemble route.

"In terms of having a lot of mutants, it doesn't feel that busy," said the filmmaker. "I don't feel worried about it. I think it will be really cool to see all these guys doing their stuff."

"I'm very keen that it has a lot of heart, this movie," he added. "You understand where these characters have come from, and you obviously know where they're going, but to see that very important point of their lives where they're discovering their power and working out their ethical take on what to do with their power — it's a very interesting story to tell. I want it to be a very good film, and I'm working very hard to create one for you."