X-Men: First Class Sequels Could Explore Hippie-Era '60s, '70s and '80s

Everyone seems to love the retro '60s vibe of Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class. But do we really want to see Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Co. slogging through the not-quite-as-fashionable 1970s and 1980s in potential sequel story lines? (Think hard about this. On the one hand: Magneto in bellbottoms doing lines with Emma Frost at Studio 54. On the other: Dazzler.)

Speaking to Total Film, Vaughn explained that while X-Men: First Class is saddled with the task of introducing the audience to its characters, subsequent sequels will have the freedom to have more fun -- as Chris Nolan's Batman Begins franchise, to which Vaughn compares his film.

"First Class is similar to Batman Begins, where you have the fun of introducing the characters and getting to know them, but that takes time. But with the second one you can just get on with it and have a rollicking good time. That's the main difference between Begins and The Dark Knight."

X-Men: First Class is set specifically in 1962, but Vaughn's got designs on setting a First Class sequel in the late '60s.

"1962 is far more grounded in the world of the '50s. I think it takes about five years for a decade to really start getting its identity, so the fun thing about this for me would be doing [a sequel] in the latter part of the decade, where you've got The Stones, The Beatles, Flower Power..."

Could subsequent films continue on, taking the X-Men into the '70s and '80s? Total Film posed the question to producer Bryan Singer. "That's an idea that's been discussed. How the characters go through time. But only to a point -- they can't age too fast!"

· X-Men: First Class sequel plans revealed [Total Film]