Halle Berry Won't Return In X-Men 3

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040702f.php

 

"X3" & "Fantastic" Casting Talk

Posted: Friday July 2nd, 2004 11:29pm (Au-EST)

 

Author: Garth Franklin

 

Handbag.com reports that Halle Berry will not be back for a third "X-Men" movie because her character, Storm, isn't going to be in it enough. According to their insider, "Halle was ready to do X-Men 3, but only if Storm was given more storyline, but the studio sees the third movie as a means to wrap up the trilogy, and that means Storm won't be featured more than Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Halle has now passed on the third movie because she's not into bit-parts. She's an Oscar winner and she wants roles that test her". As a result, producers are now apparently looking to singer and actress Christina Milian as a possible replacement

 

In more solid news, Latino Review has learned that "Not Another Teen Movie" & "Cellular" star Chris Evans has been offered the role of Johnny Storm (aka. The Human Torch) in Fox's "The Fantastic Four". Tim Story wants Evans and that he loved him so much that he apparently offered him the role right there on the spot.

 

The final list now according to the most solid rumours seems to be Ioan Gruffodd ("Horatio Hornblower", "King Arthur") as Mr. Fantastic, Rachel McAdams ("The Notebook", "Mean Girls") as Susan Storm, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, and Michael Chiklis (TV's "The Shield") as Ben Grimm. An official announcement is due any moment.

 

Thanks to 'Pat' & 'Kellvin'

[MrRant 0]

I would have done X3 just for the money.

[Guest combat_rock]

Why even replace her? The comics have done fine with a rotating cast. They could leave the roster spot open for one of the other characters fans have been clamoring to see.

[Guest netslob]

looks like somebody's Oscar went to their head...good, then she can't fuck up the role anymore...ego-driven bitch.

 

and Michael Chiklis (TV's "The Shield") as Ben Grimm.

 

whoa...i could totally see him as Ben Grimm! he'd be perfect.

[Guest combat_rock]

I'm just glad they aren't really considering Trish Stratus for Sue Storm (I actually read that somewhere). What a disaster that would've been

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

It sucks that she turns down quality over quantity.

 

 

X-Men 3 or Catwomen? BAH!

[Scroby 0]

Oh wonderful Ms. Halle Berry now has an ego, so now she won't do X3. I'm gonna laugh so hard when Catwoman bombs and X3 makes way more money than Catwomen can. Yeah I bet her ego will die then.

[Guest Smues]

Oh wonderful Ms. Halle Berry now has an ego,

Now??

[AndrewTS 0]

Oh wonderful Ms. Halle Berry now has an ego, so now she won't do X3. I'm gonna laugh so hard when Catwoman bombs and X3 makes way more money than Catwomen can.

Seconded.

 

Halle has now passed on the third movie because she's not into bit-parts. She's an Oscar winner and she wants roles that test her

 

That's just funny...

[Ted the Poster 0]

Since when is incredibly contrived dribble like Catwoman challenging? I couldn't care less about Halle Berry. Hope they get someone in the same age range to replace her though. Milian is what, 21 or something? I think Angela Basset could be a good Storm if they made her look a bit younger onscreen.

 

I just saw the trailer for Cellular. Evans looks like he'd make a good Torch. Chiklis as Grimm though is one of the best casting decisions, if not the best, that they could have made. He's not a true superhero... he's Al Capone made of rock.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

I would have done X3 just for the money.

Like she needs it.

 

And if everyone was sucking my proverbial dick, I'd buy into the hype as well. You can only be told something enough times before you start believing it yourself.

 

UYI

[starvenger 0]

I'm just glad they aren't really considering Trish Stratus for Sue Storm (I actually read that somewhere). What a disaster that would've been

That was a while back. Actually that sounds like something you'd find in Wizard magazine.

 

People are really high on Milian right now, aren't they? I'll have to see how she does in "Be Cool" before I can pass judgement.

 

As for Halle Berry... no big loss there.

[Skywarp! 0]

It's too bad, though. I hate when people get replaced mid-franchise. It tends to ruin the illusion. I wouldn't just have the person disappear, either, because now you have to rework the script with an explanation as to why.

 

Though the X-Men movies are the only ones I think I ever liked with Berry.

[Black Lushus 0]

i don't recognize the actor set to play Mr. Fantastic, but I do know the gal playing Sue Storm...correct me if I'm wrong because i never really dug FF, but haven't Reed and Sue always been portrayed as older characters? Sue being upper 30s and Reed being 40 or more? I don't see the logic in casting a 20 year old for Sue's role...

 

EDIT: oh yeah, Halle Berry sucks...she's up there with Julia Roberts in overrated-ness...

[Guest Nelly's Bandaid]

Well, at least we'll all get a laugh when Catwoman struggles for weeks to break $50 and Xmen does it in one weekend.

 

And I'd prefer if they just wrote storm out altogether.

[Black Lushus 0]

you know what though, if White Chicks can have a decent opening, you know Catwoman will...

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I think it's utterly hilarious that she thinks she's too good for the X-Men now. She was by far the worst actor in that whole series. Glad to see her go. Now maybe someone can play Storm decently.

[starvenger 0]

i don't recognize the actor set to play Mr. Fantastic, but I do know the gal playing Sue Storm...correct me if I'm wrong because i never really dug FF, but haven't Reed and Sue always been portrayed as older characters? Sue being upper 30s and Reed being 40 or more? I don't see the logic in casting a 20 year old for Sue's role...

Depends on thte writer and artist. To me, it seems like Sue was maybe 5-7 years younger than Reed, and maybe that much older than Johnny. When she became the Invisible WOMAN (Byrne's run?) she aged a bit more to reflect the name change. Reed would be about the same age as Banner, Stark and Pym, which in Marvel time would probably put him around 35 or so. The white hair is really just premature greying).

 

Though the X-Men movies are the only ones I think I ever liked with Berry.

Halle Berry was the two best things in Swordfish...

[Black Lushus 0]

has there ever been an explanation as to why Storm has an accent in the first movie and then suddenly it's gone by X2?

 

I forgot Richards was part of that group of science nerds with Von Doom, Banner, Stark and Pym...i guess the grey thing is what made me think 40s...

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

has there ever been an explanation as to why Storm has an accent in the first movie and then suddenly it's gone by X2?

 

Judging by Berry's attitude towards the X-Men movies and lack of effort I'd imagine she was either too lazy or too hard to work with by this point to worry about it.

[starvenger 0]

I forgot Richards was part of that group of science nerds with Von Doom, Banner, Stark and Pym...i guess the grey thing is what made me think 40s...

Heroes Reborn continuity. In regular Marvel continuity, Richards was Doom's roommate. I think Banner was at one point a roommate of Walter Langowski aka Sasquatch of Alpha Flight. Someone needs to ask Trabold at 411 about it actually...

[Vyce 0]

Handbag.com reports that Halle Berry will not be back for a third "X-Men" movie because her character, Storm, isn't going to be in it enough. According to their insider, "Halle was ready to do X-Men 3, but only if Storm was given more storyline, but the studio sees the third movie as a means to wrap up the trilogy, and that means Storm won't be featured more than Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.

 

If you ask me, the writers of X2 were smart in that they DIDN'T give Storm more of a role, because a) everyone knows that Wolverine is the star of these things and b) Berry was just awful in the part.

 

Now, I want just one of you to honestly tell me that they couldn't stick ANY other young, attractive black actress in this role.

 

But what is this shit about "closing the trilogy"? This is the same kind of RETARDED talk coming out of the Spider-Man camp about "Well, we don't think we're going to do more than three films...."

 

FRANCHISE, people. You have a money-making franchise in both cases. If the current actors / creative teams don't want to do more than three, then it's simple - replace them with a new crop of people. It's insane to just leave it at three films a piece when you have the potential for continuing the properties for years to come.

[Guest SpiderFan]

has there ever been an explanation as to why Storm has an accent in the first movie and then suddenly it's gone by X2?

Bryan Singer said he had her drop it because it didn't really work.

 

I don't see the need to recast her. Just say Storm is in Africa helping out with a drought or some shit like that. It's not like she has a whole big story to continue like Wolverine or Jean Grey, and there's plenty of other characters availible to use.

 

They can use the money they save from not paying her to add another character. They already said they were trying to work Beast in, so now they can add Angel too. Or Gambit.

[Boner Kawanger 0]

Since when is incredibly contrived dribble like Catwoman challenging?

She had to learn how to use a whip!

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

Well we may have lost Berry but, we could get Jessica Simpson. Which is much worst.

 

http://www.x3movie.net/UX3/xnews/news77

 

(07.06) Jessica Simpson Might Be Dazzler in X3 & Spinoff

Is it a little nutty news? Or is it the truth? A scooper at Dark Horizons reports to the site:

 

...what took me off guard is how our paper goes on to say how Jessica is possibly auditioning for a role as a superhero called Dazzler. The article goes on to say that producers were impresses with a small audition tape that the singer-actress sent them upon request, and will possibly give her a small role in the 3rd X-MEN movie as a lounge-singer, to introduce the character of Dazzler, in hopes to extend the character's role in future films.

 

Don't take this all with a grain of salt. There are a couple X spin-off projects that Marvel and 20th Century Fox have been putting in the early stages and Dazzler might very well be one of those. We previously recieved word from a source that the studio was hoping to debut certain characters in the third film, to spin them off into other franchises featuring solo characters and teams. While we were never given the specifics as to who these characters were, Dazzler seems to be a strong possibility, and there could actually be truth to the story.

 

But can Jessica Simpson, a singer with barely any real acting experience pull off starring in her own film? And if producers are accepting audition tapes for the Dazzler character, then what other actresses have tried out? Stay tuned for more on this possible true story.

[starvenger 0]

Sure, why not? Bring in Lila Cheney and Strong Guy while you're at it.

[Guest SP-1]

That could be interesting. I'll wait to see how Simpson does and then pass judgement on whether its worth a spinoff or not.

 

I demand a Gambit spinoff.

 

Now.

 

 

 

As for Berry: Bye bye. Just have Storm off leading a B-Team. Bring back the X-MEN: GOLD concept to explain it away or something.

 

And, you know, studios tend to be finnicky. On the surface they have high hopes for a franchise but they're probably all scared that X3 will somehow bomb so they call it a trilogy. Until it starts busting records and then they start chasing the cast for X4. Money is the bottom line. If they keep making money, they'll keep making movies. Whether the quality remains is questionable, but hopefully it will.

[starvenger 0]

Here's the official press release (taken from 411, which took it from Variety)

 

Official Fantastic Four casting news has finally been announced. Michael Chiklis (TV's "The Shield"), Iaon Gruffudd, and Chris Evans will be three of the four members of the cast. Chiklis will play Ben Grimm/The Thing, Gruffudd will play Reed Richard/Mr. Fantastic, and Chris Evans will play Johnny Storm/The Human Torch. As of right now, Jessica Alba is the leading candidate for Sue/The Invisible Woman, but Rachel McAdams and Keri Russell are still in the running.

 

Tim Story will direct and Chris Columbus will produce.

 

The film revolves around four astronauts - scientist Reed Richards, his wife, her brother and their friend Ben Grimm - who obtain superhuman powers after their experimental spaceship is exposed to cosmic rays. They come together to fight against the evil Doctor Doom.

 

A July 1, 2005 release is planned.

 

Credit: Variety

I have no idea how Jessica Alba would look with blonde hair, but otherwise - I'd love it...

[Guest SP-1]

Think they'll change up the cosmic rays and the astronauts thing to something a little more modern? I think ULTIMATE F4 did that and it still worked. Kinda like how it was a genetically altered spider and not a radioactive spider for the Spidey films.

[BlackFlagg 0]

But what is this shit about "closing the trilogy"? This is the same kind of RETARDED talk coming out of the Spider-Man camp about "Well, we don't think we're going to do more than three films...."

Especially since we already know they're doing a fourth part since they're making it at the same time as 3 so they can release them closer ogether as a two-parter type thing.