'X-Men: The Last Stand' Gets Blu-ray Rush Release

In what Fox hopes will be high-def's "must-own" Blu-ray disc release of the holiday season, the studio has fast-tracked 'X-Men: The Last Stand' for release in time for this month's launch of the PlayStation 3.

Though the studio has not officially announced the title, Steve Feldstein, senior VP of marketing communications for Fox Home Entertainment, revealed to Home Media Retailing that the studio plans to rush-release 'X-Men' on November 14, three days before the worldwide launch of Sony's next-gen game console.

The standard-def DVD version of 'The Last Stand' previously hit stores on October 3.

"The demographics between 'X-Men' and PlayStation 3 are a near-perfect match," said Feldstein. "This is the biggest new release yet for Blu-ray, and we're working closely with retailers and others to ensure that when people are buying their PS3s, they're going to know they can get X-Men to play on it.

"PlayStation is by far the dominant game platform, and this should put questions about format wars to rest," added Feldstein.

While we're not convinced that one single title can bring down rival HD DVD, Fox is certainly pulling out all the stops for what is sure to be a flagship title for Blu-ray. All of the disc's supplements will be presented in full 1080p high-definition video, including 12 alternate and deleted scenes, a Marvel Comics "Pop-Up" animated trivia track, two audio commentaries, and more to be announced.

'X-Men: The Last Stand' will also include a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer of the film and a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 6.1 surround track.

Fox has set a suggested $39.98 list price for the release.

We'll keep you posted when complete and final details come in, and we've added the latest specs to our Blu-ray Release Schedule.