Last weekend, a population of book-lovers and movie enthusiasts were enticed by “The Da Vinci Code.” This weekend, a different breed of movie-goers will be coming out of the walls – many of which will likely be sporting full mutant apparel.

This weekend, the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy will be brought to a close with “X-Men 3: The Last Stand,” and local fans are expressing feelings of excitement and distraught.

Alexandria Davenport, junior in Russian studies, said she’s been an avid “X-Men” fan since the age of five and is planning to see the last installment of “X-Men” opening weekend.

“You can count on me being there opening weekend, and playing the official video game. I can’t get enough of the ‘X-Men’ franchise,” Davenport said.

“X-Men” fanatic Joanna Suckling, sophomore in anthropology, doesn’t seem to share Davenport’s excitement.

“I’m infuriated that they have butchered the story line,” she said. “They kill off characters that have never been killed off in any ‘X-Men’ incarnation and provide a lame main plot that is basically a twisted repeat of the previous plots.”

Fans of the series can expect “X3” to be presented in a different style than the previous two films, which were both directed by Bryan Singer. Shortly after shooting “X2,” Singer was hired to direct this summer’s competing super-hero flick, “Superman Returns,” and told 20th Century Fox they would have to wait until “Superman” was finished before he could work on “X3.”

Wanting to release “X3” in a timely manner, Fox decided to instead put Brett Ratner in the directors chair.

Editors note: “Superman” stars James Marsden, the actor who plays Cyclops in the “X-Men” trilogy.

Ratner, who was ironically the original candidate for directing “Superman,” excitedly agreed to direct “X3,” promising to inject his signature blend of infamous action sequences – “Rush Hour 1 and 2,” “Red Dragon” and “Money Talks,” to name a few.

As different as the third film promises to be, many fans think the change of directing style will bring a refreshing twist of events.

Joel Jones, manager of Mayhem Comics and Collectibles, 2532 Lincoln Way, said he is crossing his fingers for a double whammy.

“[Ratner] seems to have the action pedigree, so even though it is hard seeing Singer go [to ‘Superman Returns’], hopefully we’ll get two great movies out of the deal,” Jones said.

Jones said Mayhem has seen a noticeable increase in profits because of the popularity of films originating from comic books. He said many new fans are finding themselves intrigued enough with the movies to go out and buy the coinciding comic books.

As inaccurate as portions of the third movie’s plot may be in comparison to the original comic book series, the plot will incorporate many characters that are new to the big screen, and beloved by fans of the original series.

The infamously evil Magneto (Ian McKellen), alongside a dastardly band of cohorts, “the brotherhood of mutants” – including new villains such as Juggernaut, Psylocke and Pyro – is bent on conquering the human race and obtaining mutant dominance, no matter the cost. Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and the “X-Men” – now featuring Beast (Kelsey Grammer) and Angel (Ben Foster) – will attempt to thwart both Magneto’s attempts and the human’s attempts to annihilate the mutant race.

Despite the plethora of new characters that were cast in “X3,” Suckling said she’s disappointed in the films exclusion of the card-throwing Cajan mutant Gambit, a fan favorite from the original series who has yet to appear in any of the X-Men movies.

“By god, they needed him. I love that character, and he is a big fan favorite,” she said. “Also, it’s awful that they aren’t having Nightcrawler in ‘X3.'”

Suckling said she’s still planning on seeing “X3,” but she won’t be rushing to the theater with anticipation the way she did with the second movie. Regardless, “X3” promises to be a blockbuster phenomenon.

The original two “X-Men” movies grossed a grand total of $703,807,666 worldwide, according to the Internet Movie Database. Being the last movie in the trilogy, “X3” is said to be a surefire money-making blockbuster hit.

Some “X-Men” fans, although hyped for this weekend’s grand finale, are already grieving the end of the beloved trilogy. Robert Parker, junior in mechanical engineering, said the end of the trilogy will leave a void.

“I will miss the over-the-top battles between good and evil, mutant and human, mutant and mutant and the various ways each mutant’s powers are used to benefit the team,” Parker said.

Although “X3” is the end of this trilogy, Fox head Tom Rothman recently confirmed that there will be an “X-Men 4,” and possibly more “X-Men” movies following it.