When asked about rumored cameos by X-Men such as Gambit, Colossus and the Beast, Singer smiles that wild, wide grin that lets one know he wants nothing more than to reveal all he knows. But then he hesitates, his smile goes from wild to sly and he’ll only give the slightest of hints as to what’s to come in the most highly anticipated comic book sequel of all time.

"Well, I can tell you that…," Singer begins before chuckling. "Actually, no I can’t tell you that. Never mind."

Executive Producer Tom DeSanto ("X-Men" & "Apt Pupil") isn’t much for talking about "X-Men 2" either—unless he’s talking to Singer.

While the director serves as the vision behind the X-Men franchise, DeSanto’s been the heart and soul of "X-Men" and now its sequel. Singer, who openly admits he was never a huge comic book fan or that knowledgeable when it came to X-Men continuity, relies on DeSanto—a true comic book encyclopedia. His office at Vancouver Film Studios, where "X-Men 2" is filming, is covered in comic book covers, posters and design sheets featuring the X-Men.

"I’ve always been an X-Men fan," says DeSanto, (who also has a wall covered in everything from a nixed storyboard featuring Wolverine in the Danger Room to Alex Ross’ redesigned costumes for the monthly X-Men comic book). "I love being involved in this film. It’s a dream come true."

In fact, when it comes to questions regarding how closely the "X-Men" films should resemble the X-Men comic books, it’s usually DeSanto who’s talking to Singer about it. With a wealth of comic book knowledge, DeSanto finds himself constantly on set and one of the closest advisors to Singer. But that doesn’t mean he’s any more likely to tell fans what to expect in "X-Men 2."

"This will be an amazing film," says the producer. "It’ll be a good blend of the comics and the first film. I don’t think anyone will be disappointed."

Even though Singer and company have been closed mouthed about "X-Men 2," there are some things confirmed about the film. Almost the entire cast from the first film is returning, including Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier, Anna Paquin as Rogue and Ian McKellen as Magneto. In fact, the only two stars not appearing in the sequel are Ray Park, who played Toad, and wrestler Tyler Mane, who filled the role of Sabretooth. The director said both might return in a third installment of the X-Men franchise though.

According to reports, the sequel will revolve around the X-Men facing an anti-mutant extremist who plans to capture or kill all mutants in the United States.
"[Brian Cox] plays a captain named William Stryker," explains Singer. "He’s kind of an amalgam. He’s not a religious figure [as he was in God Loves, Man Kills]. He’s a military guy. So he’s kind of a couple of characters combined. But he has a history with a lot of characters. He’s a human nemesis from their past. They all know him. When they were emerging, he was emerging—in his own way."

At the recent San Diego ComicCon International, Singer attended and even brought along a short clip of scenes that had been shot during his production’s first three weeks of filming in Vancouver. According to the director, the snippets of a military team invading Xavier’s School, Magneto and Xavier debating mutant philosophy and Wolverine slashing away at bad guys gives fans a pretty good idea of exactly what "X-Men 2" plans to show fans in 2003. But don’t expect to see the ComicCon trailer showing before any films on a Friday night any time soon.

"We really cut that together just for San Diego," says Singer. "We may release it on the Internet but I think for the first trailer we’ll do something totally different."
One thing fans can look forward to in an "X-Men 2" trailer is a ton of new faces, including some new X-members, some new students at Xavier’s School and a handful of new bad guys.

Besides Cox, who in 1986’s "Manhunter" played the insane cannibal Hannibal Lecter before Anthony Hopkins made the character his own in "Silence of the Lambs," Kelly Hu ("The Scorpion King") fills the role of Ann Reynolds/Lady Deathstrike, Alan Cummings ("Spy Kids") plays Nightcrawler, Aaron Stanford ("Tadpole") takes over for Alex Burton as Pyro and newcomer Daniel Cudmore plays Colossus.
According to Singer, the second "X-Men" film will have a definite focus on some of the younger characters and explore more of the relationship between Rogue and Shawn Ashmore’s ("Cadet Kelly") Bobby Drake/Iceman character.

"[You’ll see a lot] of the same young characters [as you saw in the first film], you’ll see a few you recognize," says Singer.

Reportedly, "X-Men 2" received a budget of over $100 million and that’s allowed Singer to flex some muscle when it comes to special effects shots and CGI enhancement of scenes. In fact, according to the 35-year-old, most scenes will have some sort of visual effects added to them. Singer says "X-Men 2" will have between 750-800 visual effects shots when all is said and done.

Now that "X-Men 2" has been shooting for almost two months and wraps the filming stage at the end of October, there’s already speculation as to whether or not Singer would return for another X-Men film and set up the trilogy he spoke about during production of the first "X-Men" movie. According to Singer, another X-Men film isn’t out of the question, especially if he has time to work on another project before jumping on to "X-Men 3."

"If I were to go into a third film, I would like to go into fruition," reveals Singer. "You have to see how these things go. That’s why I think ‘Empire Strikes Back’ is so good, because [George Lucas] says he had a plan but it wasn’t until ‘Star Wars’ came together in the way that it did, that you can step back and say, ‘OK this is truly the right way to go.’ That’s what interests me less about two movies back-to-back."

Next Week: Check back next week for a look at how some of the cast of "X-Men 2" spend their days off in Vancouver and why Tyler Mane isn’t the only wrestler who might take on a mutant persona in "X-Men 3."