'X-Men 4' and 'New Mutants' Films?

The "X-Men" franchise has a bright future on the silver screen. With multiple projects in their early stages of development and several given the greenlight after the financial success of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," there seems to be no end in sight for what the future may hold of Fox Studio’s hot property.

We've all been wondering which project will follow and it seemed for a moment that "X-Men: First Class" might be up next.

But a Twitter message from actor Tim Pocock (the young Cyclops in the "Wolverine" film) hinting at a start date for "First Class" in spring 2010 was said to be a hoax.

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner has reportedly given some further clues at a Los Angeles press event for the "Wolverine" Blu-ray and DVD release.

Slashfilm reports: "Shuler Donner revealed that she has been cooking up plans for several other mutant films. The two she named? An 'X4,' reuniting the X-Men, and a big screen outing for 'The New Mutants.'' X4,' she said, had yet to be pitched to the studio, however."

An "X4" must mean a sequel to 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand," as well as (or instead of) the other planned prequels. "The New Mutants" is an X-Men spin-off comic featuring a new teenage team with members such as Cannonball, Wolfsbane and Magma.

The producer also clarified there was no scheduled start date for "X-Men: First Class" and no actors had signed contracts to appear in the film. But she said those actors who played the young mutants rescued by Xavier in "Wolverine" were all under option to return in future films.

Noticeably absent from the conversation were mentions of either the Ryan Reynolds "Deadpool" spinoff or a potential "X-Men Origins: Magneto" film, but the projects certainly weren't denied either, meaning fans still have plenty to keep an eye on.

"X-Men 4" will be major if it happens, but when would they film it? Jackman’s got "Wolverine 2" in development and won't be out for a few years. How much can he push his body physically 4-5 years down the road for the part? Plus he probably will carry a hefty paycheck as will Halle Berry (if she returns).

When could all these new films realistically be made and in what order would they go into production? There’s "Deadpool," "X-Men Origins: Magneto," "Wolverine 2," "X-Men First: Class," a possible "Gambit" movie down the road, and now two more!
As for "New Mutants" - that’s an idea that would work easily. It’s a great way to bring in entirely new unseen characters from the comics and cast a new set of actors, tied into an existing brand name. It would also work perfectly alongside "X-Men 4" since they could all be at the school at the same time, meaning both films would feature both sets of characters in at least some form. That cross-over capability is what makes these comic films so exciting as we’ll be seeing a lot of in the upcoming slate of films by Marvel Studios ("Iron Man 2," "Thor," "Captain America," "Avengers.")

Do you want to see an "X4" or "New Mutants" film? Or would you prefer that Marvel/Disney get the rights back and then integrate the X-men into the universe they are creating with "The Avengers"?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: The Geek Files, MTV News, Screen Rant