Verbal Diorama - Episode 156 - X-Men: First Class - Verbal Diorama

Episode 156

X-Men: First Class

After the financial success of X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men spin-offs X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men Origins: Magneto were both being developed at about the same time at 20th Century Fox. Due to the Writer's Guild of America strike in 2007-2008, production on Magneto was halted and put on the back burner, whereas Wolverine managed to scrape through the system. When Wolverine was released and didn't do quite as well as Fox hoped, the idea for an Origins franchise, and specifically the Magneto spin-off, was shelved, until the idea for a young X-Men movie came back into executives' minds after dabbling in it in the mid 2000s.

The two ideas for young X-Men and a Magneto origin story, along with the name X-Men: First Class, were mushed together to start a new trilogy. There were serious time constraints on this production though. It would end up coming together in just thirteen(!) months, with literal days between finishing the post-production and its premiere. The fact X-Men: First Class is as xceptional as it is, well, it's quite miraculous.

I would love to hear your thoughts on X-Men: First Class !

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About the Podcast

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Verbal Diorama
The podcast on the history and legacy of movies you know, and movies you don't.

About your host

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Em .

Hi! I'm Em. I created Verbal Diorama in 2018, and launched the podcast in February 2019 to rapturous applause and acclaim.... from my cat Jess.

The modus operandi of Verbal Diorama is simple: movies are tough to make! The coming together of a team of people from all walks of life to make something to entertain, delight and educate us for 90+ mins is not an easy task, and yet so many succeed at it. That must be something to celebrate.

I'm here to do just that - to celebrate movies. Their history and legacy, and why they remain so special to so many of us.

Episodes are book ended by my cat, Jess. She sadly passed away in March 2022, aged almost 18. She featured in many episodes of the podcast, and that's why you can hear her at the end of every episode. The role of official feline producer is now held by the comparatively quieter Evie.

I love podcasts, and listen to many, but never my own.

I unashamedly love The Mummy (1999) and Grease 2. I'm still looking for a cool rider.