EXCLUSIVE: Fox is moving at superheroic speed to begin filling out the members of "X-Men: First Class"  -- starting with the man who leads the pack.

The studio is hiring James McAvoy to play the role of Charles Xavier, the professor who organizes the X-Men band of mutants into a group (and force for good). Patrick Stewart played Xavier in the original set of pictures, but of course as an origin story, many of the characters in "First Class" will skew younger. 

McAvoy, who's next up in the Robert Redford post-Civil War drama "The Conspirator," has played in films with superhero themes before, primarily as a lead character in the assassin picture "Wanted."

Matthew Vaughn is directing the new "X-Men," which is set to start shooting this summer. With McAvoy's casting, get ready for a new raft of mutants to follow not far behind him.

-- Steven Zeitchik

http://twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT

Photo: James McAvoy. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

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After all the back and forth between Matthew Vaughn and "X-Men: First Class," the director is not only in, but Fox is moving quickly on the project. So quickly, in fact, that the movie will be in theaters in just over a year.

Fox confirmed Vaughn's attachment today and said that the film will begin shooting this summer (!) in time for a June 3, 2011, release. The movie basically hits reset on the franchise by going back to the twentysomethings who became the superheroes we later knew, "Star Trek" for the spandex set. So casting for said twentysomethings is likely to go into overdrive; if you're a fan of an up-and-comer (or represent one) these will be good and busy times.

All that is positive news for fans, but it really fills up the late spring release calendar for next year. "Mission: Impossible IV" comes out just one week prior to the "X-Men" release date, and the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" is set for release just two weeks before.

As for the Hollywood back story, apparently all of Vaughn's hesitations and the studio's gyrations are resolved; no quote from Vaughn in the statement, but Bryan Singer, who is one of the producers, says  that Vaughn has "a deft hand with multiple characters and storylines, and a great love of the X-Men universe."

From not having a director to starting production on a big-budget action movie in a matter of months-- it's almost like the anti-"Moneyball."

--Steven Zeitchik

(Follow me on Twitter.)

Photo: "X-Men." Credit: 20th Century Fox

Buy the “X-Men” trilogy on DVD for under $20

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