Many fans have been speculating exactly when X-Men: Days of Future Past would be taking place with relation to the other films. Well, turns out it’s not that far removed at all.

Director Bryan Singer recently disclosed in an interview with Empire Magazine that the new film will take place about ten years after the events of X-Men 3 (the future) and also ten years after what went down in First Class (the past). So, basically a decade has passed in both timelines, meaning it won’t be as far removed that it depicts the oppressive future landscape in the source material from the Chris Claremont/John Byrne comic book arc.

X-Men Days of Future Past TimelineAnd for anyone that missed our coverage of Comic-Con, it was revealed that none other than Logan the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) would be the one doing the time traveling, thanks to the power of Kitty Pride (Ellen Page). Wolverine is selected for the mission because of his regenerative, adamantium constitution as time travel tends to take its toll on those that get thrown into the wormhole. Wolverine lands in a spot in time where Charles Xavier is in a depressed, dark state and Magneto is on the fringes, gathering his troops and flexing his powers like muscles to make them grow stronger.

May I just say that I am all in for this flick. I have nothing against Singer like some detractors might and think that, given the rich source material and the awesome universe set up in all of these films, he will knock this out of the park. Having the older and newer versions of the mutants onscreen can provide a lot of dramatic moments, as well as someX-Men Days of Future Past Timeline levity when things get too bleak. (Best part of First Class? Wolverine’s cameo.) I look forward to seeing this next year, and hope that this weekend’s The Wolverine is a positive springboard towards Singer’s return to the franchise.

C’mon; you know there’s gonna be a post-credits stinger that ties in.

Source: Empire Magazine (Empire online home page is linked; info from print magazine)