Wolverine may be packed with fanservice introductions of many familiar faces, whether or not they make sense for the plot (Emma Frost? Really?), but you shouldn't expect them to show up in the already-announced X-Men: First Class, according to franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner:

First Class is the original first class at Xavier's School for the Gifted, but... if it works, and there's a First Class number 2 or 3, yes, of course, we could weave [Gambit] in, sure, absolutely. He has a relationship with Storm.

But who is the movie version of Xavier's first class? In the comics, it's always been Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman and Marvel Girl, but the movie versions of both Angel and Iceman are too young to have been part of that class (despite Iceman actor Shawn Ashmore being contracted for another X-Film somewhere down the line). Judging from the first three X-Men movies, we can assume that Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm were probably three of the first students, and X-Men: The Last Stand put Beast in that mix, as well. For some reason - probably the presence on the project of Gossip Girl and The OC creator Josh Schwartz - I wouldn't be surprised if Wolverine's Emma Frost made an appearance, as well; out of the various Wolverine characters who would make sense in the movie, she's the most obvious, and not least because of her comic history with Cyclops.

(Personally, I'd like to see Juggernaut in there as well, just to amp up the soap operatics a little more. If we're going to have to sit through two hours of badly-CGI-youthened Patrick Stewart, after all, at least give him an evil step-brother to deal with so that he's got more to do than smile benignly and tell Scott that self-control will lead to a better life a lot.)

(I may just have proven why I would never be able to make a living planning big-budget blockbusters.)

Shuler's also dropped hints about potential other X-Men movies, spinning off from Wolverine:

There's internal discussions about all [what spin-offs may happen] . We're gonna resolve that soon... Nothing would please me more than to bring Bryan [Singer] on for another movie. And, if it's like the first Deadpool or the first Gambit, I think... I mean, I would hope he would be interested.

Whether or not Fox would be interested is the main question, of course; chairman Tom Rothman's comment earlier this week that "if [X-Men Origins:Wolverine] works out well, and we think it will, then we're going to be hard at work on [the rumored spin-offs]" was much more definite than his more guarded reply to the same question last October, although whether that's the difference between trying to appear positive on the red carpet compared with a more considered, honest response remains to be seen.

One thing is for sure, though; if X-Men: First Class can be made for a comparable budget to Wolverine and be as successful without the Hugh Jackman factor, Fox will definitely do their best to keep the franchise going. But, given their history with Daredevil and Fantastic Four, is their best really going to be good enough?

Actually, there's a pretty movie-centric feel to most of this week's new launches or noteworthy titles; even the non-obvious ones (Detective Comics #853 is finally released, only two months late, finishing up the Neil Gaiman two-part storyline "Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader?") have some kind of cross-media connection (It's Batman).

Admittedly, you may have to squint to see that connection with Marvel's new series Skrull Kill Krew, but come on; alien invaders and biker gangs. That's got to have been a movie at some time, right?

Marvel's also launching Fantastic Force, a spin-off from Fantastic Four written by Doctor Who director Joe Aherne. And Marvel is making up for Gambit Classic Volume 1 - I swear, that title is taunting me by including the word "Classic" - by also releasing collections of Warren Ellis' short Wolverine run as Wolverine: Not Dead Yet and the first volume of the enjoyable-if-blindingly-colored Spider-Man 2099, which introduces you to the Spider-Man of the future. And if you're rich, there's a hardcover omnibus of the first 31 issues of the original X-Men run, for "just" $99.99.

But for the most part, the releases you'll want to look out for are all tied into nostalgia and TV or movies; Dark Horse's wonderful Star Wars: Dark Times series returns, with the first part of Blue Harvest (I'll allow you a moment to get over the geeky perfection of the title), while Boom! Studios has Farscape Script Book, letting fans see Rockne S. O'Bannon's original script and plans for the comic continuation of the beloved TV show.

IDW go for the gold with two collections - GI Joe: The Best of Larry Hama (celebrating the comic writer who shaped the franchise so much during the '80s) and Terminator Salvation: The Movie Prequel, letting you see just what made Christian Bale's John Connor so screwed up (Clue: Everything in his life up until that point).

Dynamite Entertainment, meanwhile, are putting out a collection of the unlikely Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess crossover series, as well as their Battlestar Galactica: Adama flashback book (And, finally, the Final Five comic that was supposed to come out last week), but that's only a distraction from the true prize of the week - Their 25-cent preview of the new Buck Rogers series launching this summer. At that price, how can you resist?

So, come tomorrow - Thursday if you're in the UK (And potentially the rest of Europe?) - strap on that jetpack and fly down to your local comic book store to demand your cheap future. And, if that doesn't do it for you, you can always check out the complete shipping list of what's making it to stores this week and find something else to spend your money on, instead. Just remember to turn that jetpack pack off before entering the store. Comics are flammable, after all.

MTV has a collection of character videos from the new Wolverine movie. I'm most surprised with Reynolds super serious delivery.

Taylor Kitsch as Gambit (Plays For Keeps)

Ryan Reynolds As Wade Wilson (Loves His Job)

Hugh Jackman As Wolverine (Gets New Jewelry)

Liev Schrieber As Sabretooth (Is An Animal)

Will.i.am As Wraith (Wants To Give His Gift Back To The Devil...sigh)

Wolverine will be in theaters May 1st.

Kitsch revealed in an interview that he had to go back and beg for another try at the Gambit character, after he sleep-walked through the first one. According to New York Magazine:

It was a fucking battle,” he says of landing ladies’ man–mutant Gambit. He flubbed his first reading because he was tired. “But I got my managers to get me back in because I knew I could crush the role.”

It's time to take a page from Liev Schreiber and Hugh Jackman, who I don't think have ever been tired in their lives. Still, Kitsch seems like a good fit for the part, so I'm glad the TV actor was able to rouse himself to try again.

But we still need to ask, why is Gambit in this movie again? And also, can we please make him more of a bad guy? Kitsch can pull from his role as walking sex stick from Friday Night Lights. Good luck buddy, hopefully you'll get a Gambit series spin off on Fox so I can watch you seduce mutant women on my weeknights. [via Filmonic]

Where does one even go to find a silky purple button-down shirt like that? Where is his trench coat? Someone give him a coat, and get him out of that velour vest thing.

Yes, I know that Origins takes place in the past, and his signature color is purple. But I thought the whole point of casting Taylor Kitsch was to make him a little more rough around the edges and a lot less pole-dancer-at-a-boyz-club. I'm aware that Gambit is a love-him-or-hate-him character, he's a bit annoying at times, but for those of us that love his silly Cajun quips and smarmy smile, please go make him put on another shirt.

Now that I've got my wardrobe steam out of the way I'm going to have to say that I'm terribly excited about Kitsch as Gambit. If you're a fan of Friday Night Lights (and I am) you know he's entertaining to watch, no matter how much they try and make you hate him (which is kind of perfect for Gambit). Between Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, Dominic Monaghan, Jackman and Kitsch, I'm crazy excited about watching the mutant interplay between these amazing actors.

Origins is set to be released May 1, 2009 and the trailer is supposed to be released in front of The Day The Earth Stood Still next week. But besides the shirt, what do you think they'll do with Gambit's eyes?

[Empire Magazine via Cinemablend]