X-Men: First Class

According to Variety, "Twentieth Century Fox is gearing up to continue its "X-Men" franchise with a younger set of mutants.

Studio has tapped 'Gossip Girl' creator Josh Schwartz to write 'X-Men: First Class.'

Schwartz, the creator and exec producer of CW's teen sudser hit as well as Fox's youth-centric 'The OC' and NBC's 'Chuck,' is expected to inject a next-gen sensibility into the superhero series, which has earned $1.2 billion worldwide.

Writing assignment has also included the possibility of directing the pic, but so far Schwartz has opted not to take the helm.

Lauren Shuler Donner, who produced all three 'X-Men' pics, as well as next summer's 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine,' is producing 'First Class' alongside 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' scribe Simon Kinberg.

Fox is keeping quiet on plans and declined to confirm details of the project. The studio has been considering ways to continue its successful series of 'X-Men' movies after the third installment, the Brett Ratner-helmed 'X-Men: The Last Stand,' collected $459 million in 2006.

Fox has been leaning toward using the younger characters introduced in the previous pics in future installments -- teenagers with powers taught at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning."

Latino Review notes that "since its dismal summer at the box office, Fox has placed renewed attention on its 'X-Men' franchise. The studio, which is actively developing a standalone 'Magneto' pic, also is considering creating a 'Deadpool' spinoff, based on a character played by Ryan Reynolds in 'Wolverine.'"

Fox is keeping quiet on its plans and declined to confirm details of the project to any of the sources I have checked out. But I read an interesting bit on what characters might be in the film.

According to The Geek Files, "Over 40 years ago, the world was introduced to a team of mutant superheroes that would change the world forever - the 'X-Men.' Today, they are battle-hardened superheroes who have saved the world many times over. But originally they started out as students at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.

'First Class' would likely draw from elements of the Marvel comic of the same name, launched in 2006. The film would feature such characters as Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat, which contradicts the comic book line-up and the official synopsis as well as fans' understanding that it would focus on the early years of Xavier's school with younger versions of Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Storm and other mutants."

More news to come! Catch ya' later!