If it isn't already plainly obvious, 20th Century Fox has been trying to get everything they possibly can out of the X-Men franchise. In addition to an original trilogy, they are about to put out their second spin-off - which also happens to be a prequel - and have even more in development (ex. Deadpool). But even though there hasn't been a good X-Men movie made in nearly eight years, the studio is going to keep plugging away and developing new ways to make more of them.
In the new issue of Empire Magazine (via The Playlist), produce Laura Shuler Donner has revealed that while there are plans to turn X-Men: First Class into its own separate series, the one begun by Bryan Singer back in 2000 is not over yet. According to Donner, a treatment for an X-Men 4 has been brought in to Fox and it was well liked by execs. Even more interesting, the idea behind the fourth installment leads into a fifth film, which you know had the higher-ups licking their chops.
We really shouldn't be surprised by this news: there are two cliffhangers at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand, with Professor X not actually being dead and Magneto able to move the metal chess piece without touching it. The question is, though, after what Brett Ratner did, do we really want to see more of the franchise from that angle?
