One of the most impressive and squee-worthy panels for attendees of Comic-Con 2013 last weekend was the panel for X-Men Days of Future Past. The very fact that it took place was the first surprise, since the schedule entry for 20th Century Fox gave absolutely no details as to which movie would receive Comic-Con panel treatment.
Fox’s first panel of the day was in support of next weekend’s The Wolverine, and to help get us all revved up for it was the star, Hugh Jackman. As if you didn’t know. Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine has actually now been featured in six movies, seven by next summer; he landed the role 14 years ago. He also appeared before our eyes in Hall H:
Jackman promised that in The Wolverine will be “you’ll finally get to see the berserker rage in full,” and that his claws are more destructive than we’ve seen before. Then we were shown a terrific trailer, extra impressive in Hall H because the sound system makes your clothes and internal organs vibrate.
It was a quick presentation, but as he was about to leave the stage, Jackman asked everyone’s indulgence while he plugged another role. Playing in big blockbuster movies, he said, has afforded him the opportunity to participate in smaller, more “indie” movies, and he’d like to bring out a couple of people involved in his next project. “Ladies and gentlemen… Bryan Singer.”
Yes, the crowd went wild. Once we’d calmed down a bit, Singer explained that he’s been shooting X-Men: Days of Future Past in Toronto, and had put together a little unpolished something. Ha. It was gorgeous. A nice long trailer featuring the first cast and the second cast and, for our part, a lot of crowd screaming.
When the lights came up, moderator Geoff Boucher pointed out that the table next to him was, errr, extra long. Singer replied by introducing writer Simon Kinberg, producer Lauren Shuler Donner, and producer Hutch Carver. Then Boucher took over and introduced…
Omar Sy, Ellen Paige, Sean Ashforth, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, James McEvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicolas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, and Evan Peters.
As you can imagine, we yelled ourselves hoarse. Although I had a fairly excellent seat, everyone including me kept jostling in their seats for a good view, and I never did get a shot that included Evan Peters in a continuous line without someone’s Galaxy phone in the way. Still, WOW. I know they said things and answered questions and were fun and witty but it was hard to hear with all the ringing in my ears. Talk about geek eye candy times a billion.
It looks like the panel had a good time too; Bryan Singer tweeted this afterwards:
That was awesome! Thanks fans!!! #XMen #DaysOfFuturePast pic.twitter.com/BepEUxLAu4
— Bryan Singer (@BryanSinger) July 21, 2013
It really was awesome, and one of those moments that make Comic-Con near the top of most geeks’ bucket lists. I’ve had a lot of great Comic-Con experiences, but being in Hall H when Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart were there, not to mention that they were there alongside Michael Fassbender and James McEvoy and Bryan Singer and – well, you can see. Not sure if Comic-Con is worth the hassle of the tickets and the travel and the lack of sleep and the crowds? I’m sure. It is.
