It is commonly believed that it was Bryan Singer who carried the first two X-Men movies to fruition. His departure, along with a couple of cast members showing a reluctance to return, left considerable doubt as to the feasibility of a third movie in the comic-based franchise.

But according to an interview with Patrick Stewart, who plays Professor X in the films, X-Men 3 will be up and running by the summer, with production slated to begin in either June or July.

"It will probably be a little bit later than that, but they are holding to their release date for the film, which will be summer of 2006, Stewart told the BBC Five Live radio show recently. So, we gotta start shooting quite soon, because films like X-Men are as complicated in their post-production as they are during production."

Based on the twists at the end of the second film, many fans have drawn the conclusion that the film will chart a dark and hugely popular part of the X-Men mythos - The Dark Phoenix Saga. Stewart remained tight lipped about the plot of the film.

A script is almost finished and I expect to have it in my hands any day now. I've been given an idea of the storyline," he hinted.

X-Men 3 is expected to reunite most of the key actors who took part in the first two outings, including Hugh Jackman and Oscar winner Halle Berry. Other actors, like James Marsden (Cyclops) are not expected to return, and have instead jumped ship to the new Superman movie, being directed by Singer.