Aaron Johnson Cast As Cyclops In X-Men: First Class?

Okay, so this might sound familiar because we posted a piece in May that speculated Kick-Ass star Aaron Johnson might be in line for Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class.

It all started when Johnson was spotted "taking a meeting" with Vaughn and  James McAvoy, who it was later be announced was cast as young Charles Xavier (aka Professor X). An earlier report claimed that producer Bryan Singer (who was originally supposed to direct First Class but was unable to due to his Jack the Giant Killer commitments) was using Giant Killer's casting process "as an opportunity to look for potential X-Men, vetting actors who may be qualified to play a young Cyclops or young Jean Grey." And it was also reported that Singer had met with Johnson and Andrew Garfield about the possible leading role in Giant Killer.

And now a second source is claiming (or confirming?) that Johnson has been cast in First Class.

A tipper who goes under the nickname "Son of Rothman" (a reference to Fox head Tom Rothman) tells Aint It Cool News that Matthew Vaughn has cast his Kick-Ass lead star Aaron Johnson as young Cyclops in X-Men: First Class. The tipper claims "this is one hundred percent locked at this point," although you never know. I'm sure we'll find out next week, if not at Comic-Con later this month.

Previously:

Casting:

Michael Fassbender of Inglourious Basterds and Hunger is playing Magnet, a role he chose over a villain turn in Sony's Spider-Man reboot.

It has been rumored that Amber Heard (The Informers, Zombieland) is in talks to play a young Mystique, and Pride & Prejudice/Surrogates star Rosamund Pike is in talks to play Moira McTaggert.

Benjamin Walker (star of the Public Theater's "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" has been cast as Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy (aka Beast).

Alice Eve, the lead actress from She's Out of My League, was in talks with Fox to play Emma Frost.

Spider-Man shortlist actor Frank Dillane may also be up for a role.

It has been rumored that It has been rumored Caleb Landry Jones (Friday Night Lights, The Longshots, The Last Exorcism) is the top choice to play Sean Cassidy aka Banshee.

It has also been reported that surfer Erica Hosseini auditioned for the role of Willow.

Matthew Vaughn beat out eight directors to take the helm. Bryan Singer was originally attached to return to the X-Men franchise to helm this new film, but his commitment to Jack The Giant Killer at Warner Bros will prevent him from directing. Singer's treatment was a Str Trek-style reboot/prequel, which will focus on "the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where there [sic] relationship took a wrong turn." Singer has previously admitted that First Class would "probably utilize some of the [planned/announced X-Men Origins:] Magneto story because it deals with a young Magneto," and that "it might supersede" that plan because this new movie would explore "that relationship between a young energetic professor and a disenfranchised victim of the Holocaust."

"It's basically about the formation of the X-Men. How they began and the relationship between a young Xavier and a young Magneto."

Here is the official plot synopsis:

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, following the classic Marvel mythology, charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga.  Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

The day after Jamie Moss handed in his first draft, Fox head Tom Rothman fast-tracked the project.  It was at this moment that Warner Bros informed Singer that they would not delay the production of Jack and the Giant Killer. Singer will still produce the project. I've heard the script is solid, and everyone who has read it is excited to make it. Fox is scouting locations in West Michigan.  The film is set to go into production this Summer, and the studio has set a June 3rd 2011 release date.