Schwartz is something of a Gossip Boy, ain't he?
BlackBook magazine talked to TV writer/producer Josh Schwartz (The O.C., Gossip Girl, Chuck) and revealed that he has taken over for Zack Penn in writing the (unconfirmed title) Young X-Men screenplay. Schwartz went on to make some unflattering remarks about some of his superhero-adapting peers. BlackBook has since taken down the interview, but SuperheroHype managed to salvage the relevant passage:
Something he [Schwartz] can talk about, however, is news that he will pen the screenplay for the next installment of X-Men, a prequel of sorts. "I'm very well aware that I'll be bludgeoned by purists, but I love its mythology, and it comes with a pretty hefty paycheck." Of the project, he beams with excitement about the opportunity to involve lesser known X-Men characters who haven't yet been portrayed on film. It will center on teenage characters at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. "It's not like I'm adding new characters like Toaster Head, or anything like that." Despite his enthusiam, he's cautious, given the double-edged sword inherent in the seemingly inexhaustible renaissance of the genre. "The Hulk looks like it's going to be terrible. And why does he look like he's fighting against the monster from Cloverfield? I mean, with Transformers, it's not like fans were going to come back saying, 'You used the wrong car.' This, however, is a different story." Of his predecessors and their successes (or failures), he says, "Brett Ratner didn't have a lot of credibility going in to the third X-Men movie, but I think Bryan Singer [who directed the first two installments] got a free pass on Superman Returns because of his work on X-Men."
I can't say I disagree with his comment about Singer's Superman Returns, but I never made the connection and still don't see the Cloverfield similarity in Hulk's Abomination villain in the trailers. Still, Schwartz established his comic nerdery with numerous references on The O.C. so he may write a decent teeny X-Men movie, whatever saucy opinions he holds.
