BY DAVID SERVER | Recently, I had a chance to squeeze a phone interview in with X2 director Bryan Singer as he was directing his new mutant epic on location in Vancouver, Canada.

The first X-Men film was really an introduction into this universe and these characters for the public at large, as well as a basic refresher course about the main themes that the comic-book embodies. What was the incentive for you as a director and a storyteller to come back to this universe for a second round?

BRYAN SINGER: Well, in developing the story of the first one and spending so much time with the universe and the actors, I always felt that if it was successful and well received in any way then I would want to continue it further. In fact there were elements in the first one that were designed specifically to carry into a sequel and so that was kind of always the intention. Had it not been successful, I may not have had incentive to get involved because the success really enabled the studio to provide more support in the way of budget, schedule, things like that. And I think its a combination of the desire to make another film and that further support and freedom that made me interested in doing it.

Why do you feel that Nightcrawler was the right new character to introduce to compliment the plot and themes youve chosen for this film?

Well, because hes a very interesting character. Once again, like Rogue in the first picture, theres a kind of dichotomy to his character that interests me; hes a religious character who has the physical proportions of a demon. He has a unique power that we havent seen before; he teleports, which is a bit different from what all the other characters do and thats always important. One finds when one explores the universe that there are a lot of characters that are similar very often. This character shoots powerful lighting bolts from their eyes, another one from the hands, another one with a powerful beam, another one with powerful energy or powerful energy blasts and its always nice to have characters that are different and that also exemplify the mutant predicament, much like Rogue did in the first film. The Nightcrawler character embodies that choice, and also serves the story, and is also a fan favorite.

Youve said previously that you looked largely to Foxs animated X-Men series for inspiration for the last films characters and personalitieshow did you research Nightcrawler for this film?

The same sorts of sources, the various comics of the X-Men universe. There was no Nightcrawler storyline that I based this off ofcontrary to what people seem to think, which is that this movie is based off God Loves, Man Kills, I dont know where that idea started

Well its where your main villain William Stryker came from

Yes, the name Stryker, though he is a different character in this movie. Although he is a human villain and there are similarities.

Speaking of Stryker, with so many classic X-Men villains out there, some people are curious as to why you reached in and chose his character as the main antagonist, since hes somewhat obscure.

Well, our Stryker is a little different from the one in the comicshes not a religious guy, hes a military scientist kind of a character. So he has the name Stryker, and having him as the human villain and having a relationship with the X-Mens history, hes very much a conglomeration of human villainry, and that all materializes with the name Stryker.

So did actor Brian Cox slip into this universe and this role fairly easily?

I knew Brian from years ago, and Ive always wanted to work with him. It was interesting, when he came in he had very strong ideas about the character, which came very suddenly. And I was just sort of like woah. But thats a very big part of the fun Ive had in the past with actors; when they have ideas about their characters, is to just go with them. And then my job becomes helping them maintain that character, so it was kind of exciting, work shopping his look and his voice. And then once that happens, that helped define the character further. And yknow, the actions of the character in the story are also a big part of it. I was already shooting when he came on board with the ideas. It reminds me of the day when Benicio del Toro came on Usual Suspects, and he was like, Id like to do it like this. And then sometimes it really works out and you start using it to your advantage and making it work, and its cool. And Stryker ended up being a really cool character. He reminds me of Captain Nemoan evil Captain Nemowhen you see him in his underground installation in his costume (laughs).

What about Alan Cumming as an actor would you say makes him right for the part of Nightcrawler?

He not only is an exceptionally fine actor, but he also has a sense of humor, and I felt the role required not only acting chops, but also a sense of humor and also a strong sense of character. What weve tried to do with the X-Men series is to cast exceptionally fine actors for roles that bring more dimension to their characters.

What led you to the decision to recast the role of Pyro with newcomer Aaron Stanford?

Well, because Anna Paquin and Shawn Ashmore who plays Bobby Drake have gotten a bit older, and I wanted somebody a little rougher with a darker edge, and I had seen Tadpole and I thought Aaron Stanford really had the chops as an actor, and also an edge to him. Plus he was more in the age range physically of Anna and Shawn.

Daniel Cudmore, who plays Colossus, is a complete newcomer  how did you come across him?

He went on tape in Vancouver, part of a Vancouver casting call, and he had a physical presence and a charisma, so Producer Lauren Shuler Donner and I eventually both decided that there arent a lot of people in the world that have that certain unique presence. And he also happened to be a 21 year old man who is 68. Which is very unique (laughs). He had also the age of one of Xaviers students, and almost the size of Andre the Giant.

Now that Colossus appearance in the film has been confirmed by Entertainment Weekly, at this point does it look like he will get a metal scene in the final cut?

Yknow, you never can be too sure. Its still in there! It was in there last time I was in the editing room (which was about an hour ago). Just a second, Im just going to set up this shot

[the sounds of Bryan directing and yelling action can be faintly heard on the other end of the phone]

Ok, back with you.

Heh, ok cool. Do you feel more confident about undertaking complicated effects sequences after helming the first film?

Yea, it helps when you shoot 120 days on a visual effects movie to give you some sense of experience. We also had more flexibility because my cinematographer Tom Siegel decided to shoot with super 35 instead of anamorphic, which added more flexibility to shooting. So we were able to move a lot faster. Plus we had done some of these effects before, and so then those effects, like Wolverines claws, certain eyes, certain things like that we had experience with. And then so we had some experience with that, and that gives us more room to explore with new effects that we hadnt done before.

This is the first film that Guy Dyas has been the lead Production Designer on. What has he brought to the overall look and feel of this decidedly darker film?

Well he was very respectful to some of the original John Myhre designs from the first film, but at the same time he expanded the universe immensely, while at the same time found clever ways of designing the things we had done before that would make our lives a bit easier. And hes a magnificent illustrator with an incredible resume. Whats wonderful about Guy is he sees things in the context of the frame and shots. Sometimes he doesnt just illustrate designs and sets, he also illustrates visual concepts, frames from a movie. You feel like youre working with someone who understands storytelling. And then he is able to work very closely with Tom Siegel our cinematographer in designing sets that would incorporate the lighting.

On this film, you chose two totally new writers, Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris. Tell us a little bit about how you found them and why you wanted them for this movie.

I have a long history working with writers out of the blue, in other words, friends of mine who have limited credits that I am familiar with their writing and their personalities and I get along with them. And its always been very successful for me, with Chris McQuarrie, with David Hayter on the first X-Men, with Brandon Boyce on Apt Pupil, and in this case with Dan and Mike. When youve got a friend, someone at an early stage of their career, theyre excitement about it is really genuine. I try to approach each movie as if its my first, I put the same kind of enthusiasm into finding young writers early in their careers, particularly ones that are your friends and have the same taste as you, that theyre enthusiasm becomes equal. I think very often the problem with Hollywood is theres a lot of jaded writers who are paid large sums of money for drafts and a couple of polishes, theyre not invested the same way guys like Dan and Mike are. And then they become architects on the movie with you, and they work day and night to that effect. And theyre here right up through to the last day (laughs).

With production coming to a close, would you say it went pretty smoothly this time around? There were some horror stories about being rushed last time.

Oh yea. Much more smoothly. You know with all the confidence of having the first one done. We have a lot of things already created and established from the first film. Plus there was more time, which gives you more money, which gives you more freedom. And that allows for me to make more of the type of film that I enjoy making. Plus I can do a lot more  make it a bit darker, a bit more my style. I kind of gauged what I think the audience last time, the big fan base, responded to, and give them more of that.

Did you have a hand in the recently released X-Door teaser poster? Any reasons why you wanted to stay with the metal X design from the first film?

While Im not the guy that designs those things, I am a consultant on all things of a promotional nature and I try to be as involved as I can from here, since that all happens in LA. But I felt comfortable that for a first kind of announcement, that at least it reminded people of the first poster  very simple and it reminded people of the first movie. Yknow, Were coming, were X-Men 2. But I didnt draw it (laughs). But I do try to be involved as much as I can. I am anxious to start with trailersthatll be nice. Give me a moment, let me just step out onto Cerebro here

Sweet!

[Bryan overlooks a shot before returning to the phone]

Ok, Im back.

Was there anything in this film that you would have loved to have done, but at the end of the day it just couldnt be accommodated?

Oh, theres always thingslike I always say Im very fond of Beast as a character, I would have loved to have done something with that character. I would have loved to have had a Danger Room and a lot of fans want to see something to that effect. I would have liked to have had the Sentinel robots to some degree, though they are very difficult in the real physical world. And then there are things from the comic book that Ive grown to appreciate, things from the comic universe that I would have liked to have been able to explore, but theres only so much one can do and I think in this story I try to focus on the things that accommodate this story, not things that become tangential just for the sake of having a character or a particular sequence.

Werent there even some rumors that Toad almost made it into the script?

Yea, there was a sequence, there was a way of bringing Toad into the picture and there was a sequence, but I think it would have been redundant of other sequences and so we made the decision that it wasnt the right time to bring back that character. Which isnt to say that characters gone forever, but in this picture it didnt work out.

What involvement have you had with the recently announced X-Men DVD rerelease?

I did a commentary on it, I did a little introduction, I dont know what they used. And a guy named Matt Granger, a local guy from here in Canada, went around with a video camera and took what must have been how many hours, but he filmed every single thing that we didlike, not standard electronic press kit kind of stuff or standard promotional material, but it was more like a Hearts of Darkness kind of thing. And I allowed some of that to be released. Thats all I can think of. It was all sort of on the fly while I was making this film, so I couldnt really get heavily involved in it and Rob Burnett the producer of it is a great producer and Im sure he did a great job.

There were some conflicting reports about whether or not John Ottman had any involvement with the music or editing of the content on the re-releasewhats the final word?

He wasnt involved at all. Hes got his hands full up here (laughs).

Youve drawn comparisons between X2 and Empire Strikes Backwhich clearly brings up the thought of your third (and possibly final) X-Film. Lauren Shuler Donner has recently stated that shes already thinking about the third film, with her fingers crossed that youll come back. Have you given any thought to that possibility?

Unless you really sit down and you make a deal to do three movies like Lord of the Rings thats one thing, but when you do them one by one, you have to take a step back to decide on the course of action, and thats my philosophy. But there are definitely thoughts in mind and ideas for further movies. Because I love this universe and I love these characters. And these actors are really awesome too.

There have been rumblings of a possible Wolverine spin off movie  would you ever consider working on that if it ever came to pass?

It depends on the story. Im not opposed to anything thats a good story. And I love Hugh Jackman. LOVE Hugh Jackman. Hes the coolest. Hes one of the coolest actors Ive ever worked with, and Ill do anything with him.

Any final words for the fans who are eagerly counting down the days to May 2^nd?

Theyre not as excited as I am! (laughs) No, but seriously, I think this is going to be a much bigger, better movie. And a little darker. I can never answer that question (laughs).

Alright, ha ha. Thanks again so much for your time and good luck with the rest of shooting!

Sure thing.