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Fox Reveals 'X-Men' Trilogy Blu-ray Details

Fox has unveiled final specs for the 'X-Men' trilogy, which will see all three films hit Blu-ray this April as stand-alone three-disc special editions, as well as bundled together as a three-pack collection.

As previously reported, Fox had alerted retailers last month to its plans to issue the first two 'X-Men' films on Blu-ray on April 21, timed to promote the upcoming theatrical release of 'Wolverine: Origins.' (Fox previously released a single-disc Blu-ray version of the trilogy-capper 'X-Men: The Last Stand' in November 2006.)

Final details are now in, and Fox will now not only issue the first two films in the series -- 'X-Men' and 'X2: X-Men United' -- as two-disc Blu-rays. but will also re-issue 'X-Men: The Last Stand' as a new double-platter special edition. (Note that the previous single-disc 'Last Stand' release will be discontinued.)

Fox will also bundle all three Blu-ray stand-alone sets together on April 21 as the 'X-Men Trilogy.'

Tech specs for each stand-alone release will see the respective feature film on a BD-50 dual-layer disc, with 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround audio.

In addition, each film will receive two full discs of extras, outlined as follows:

'X-Men' will feature audio commentary with director Bryan Singer and Brian Peck, an eight-part documentary, 20 behind-the-scenes vignettes, 12 internet interstitials, a Singer interview, the "Mutant Watch" Fox TV special, deleted and extended scenes, animatics, an art gallery, a music promo, TV spots and trailers.

'X2: X-Men United" enjoys two audio commentaries (with Singer, plus a producer/screenwriter track), the "Generation X: Comic Book History" documentary, an additional four-part making-of documentary, deleted scenes, art galleries, additional "Locations and Sets" vignettes, on-camera graphics breakdowns, storyboards and concept art, and trailers and TV spots.

Finally, the new re-issue of 'X-Men: The Last Stand' boasts two audio commentaries with director Brett Ratner, the producers and screenwriters, over two dozen deleted scenes (including three alternate endings), a Brett Ratner Video Diary, the "X-Men Up Close" interactive gallery with stills and video, two Fox Movie Channel TV specials, an "Anatomy of a Scene: Golden Gate Bridge" featurette, additional Vignettes, Blog entries and "Previz Animatics," art galleries, theatrical trailers, and easter eggs.

Exclusive to all three Blu-ray releases is BD-Live connectivity, which will offer an exclusive download preview of 'Wolverine: Origins.' The discs will also come with D-Box motion codes compatible with D-Box home theater equipment.

Finally, each set includes a third DVD disc with Digital Copy (in standard-def) compatible with PCs, PSP and iTunes.

The 'X-Men Trilogy' will feature each stand-alone release only, bundled as a three-pack. At presstime, Fox has not announced any additional content or exclusives for the set.

Suggested list price has been set at $34.98 each for the stand-alone Blu-rays, and $79.98 for the three-pack.

You'll find the latest specs for all 'X-Men' titles linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under April 21.

See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.

Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)

X-Men (Blu-ray)

X2: X-Men United (Blu-ray)

X-Men: The Last Stand (Special Edition) (Blu-ray)

X-Men Trilogy (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand) (Blu-ray)

X-Men: The Last Stand (Discontinued Version) (Blu-ray)

Earlier on High-Def Digest:

'X-Men,' 'X2' Headed to Blu-ray (Jan 16, 2009)

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