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First, the good news. Besides the upcoming "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which hits theaters May 1, it's no secret that 20th Century Fox and Marvel Studios have been hard at work on a new X-Men movie that would focus on a younger generation of mutants. Tentatively titled "X-Men: First Class," the studio has brought on current television sensation Josh Schwartz, of "Gossip Girl," "The O.C.," and "Chuck" fame, to pen the screenplay. The bad news is that nobody seems to know (including, possibly, Schwartz) which young X-Men this movie is supposed to be about.

Two years ago, to mild critical acclaim, Marvel launched a comic with the same title, focusing on the early years of the traditional members of Professor Xavier's team of heroic mutants: Angel, Cyclops, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey for all you movie fans), a not-so-blue-and-furry Beast, and Iceman. Some reports have this new movie focusing on these characters, but that would directly contradict the continuity of the previous "X-Men" films (Iceman didn't appear till much later) and Marvel Studios' goal of creating continuity in its movie universe.

What makes more sense is to center a picture on some of the younger characters still alive and kicking at the end of "X-Men: The Last Stand." Namely, Kitty Pryde (Ellen "You Better Open That Checkbook" Page), Iceman (Shawn "The Ruins" Ashmore), Colossus (Daniel "I Could Use the Work" Cudmore) and Angel (Ben "I'm Too Old for This Crap" Foster). Perhaps Rogue (Anna "I Love Vampires" Paquin) could drop by for a cameo because people are still clamoring to discover if she really lost her powers, right?

Well, maybe not.

In any case, like Fox's "X-Men Origins: Magneto" movie, which has been plagued by bad scripts and may be a completely uncommercial endeavor, the announcement of Schwartz's involvement doesn't mean the project is any closer to happening. In fact, he has been quietly involved for months. More likely, after a year of badly made and marketed flops, Fox wants to reassure stockholders that it is still in the franchise business. So, unfortunately for mutant fans, the eventual contribution of "First Class" to the "X-Men" movie legacy is still up for debate.

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