Dark Phoenix may have been pushed back to next February but a trailer is still long overdue considering the fact principal photography finished a while ago but with extensive reshoots taking place on that and The New Mutants, it's become clear in recent months that both movies are in serious trouble. Now, an apparent insider has leaked some details on both of the Marvel Comics adaptations.
These originated from a seemingly trusted user on the Superhero Hype Forums (a site which, unlike Reddit, does have moderators) before being shared by a number of sites, so it's worth considering.
Despite that, everything you read below should be considered a rumour for now and nothing is confirmed. However, there's a lot of very believable and shocking information here, including what went wrong with The New Mutants, Disney's plans to scrap both of these movies, and which character it was Fox decided to add to the Josh Boone movie. Take a look by clicking the "View List" button!
The Original Plan For The New Mutants
Apparently, The New Mutants was envisioned as an R-Rated adventure focusing on a handful of mutants as they adjusted to life within the X-Mansion. Tonally, it was supposed to follow in the footsteps of the Deadpool franchise and it would have put the focus on your typical teenage shenanigans, showing a different side to life in the home of the X-Men from a student's perspective.
Serving as an introduction to these characters, it's said that the sequel would have been a little darker and it would have kicked off the with team attempting to escape a military bunker. The first instalment, though, would have been very faithful to the comic books and was set to feature the Sentinels in a major setpiece. Unfortunately, that version was later deemed too expensive by the studio...
Don't Get Too Excited For Demon Bear
It's said that it was around this time Josh Boone stepped in and offered the studio a totally different take on The New Mutants. The filmmaker reportedly has little to no interest in comic books and simply wanted to make a horror movie with superheroes, resulting in a relatively generic affair (something which was evident from the teaser trailer and the tepid response it received from, well, everyone).
Despite warnings from those involved with the movie that this concept wasn't well suited to the characters, Boone continued and The New Mutants quickly veered further and further away from the source material with the horror elements far outweighing the superhero ones. Even Demon Bear, originally envisioned as the main antagonist, had its role cut and is now just part of a sole action scene.
Disastrous Test Screenings
We know that extensive reshoots are currently taking place on The New Mutants and it sounds like his behaviour on set might have been a big part of the problem. Like Josh Trank before him, it seems he struggled taking on a big budget blockbuster and while he was seemingly quite confident in the movie he was making, it's said that he was often incredibly hostile to the movie's crew. Test screenings were a disaster and the only good thing about the rough cut is said to be the cast's strong performances.
About Those Reshoots...
Despite initial reports that reshoots were taking place to make the movie scarier, those were actually ordered to add a little more heart and humour. None of this was perceived as being enough to "save" the movie, though, but it would more than likely result in it not being totally boring and unwatchable. Fox simply decided to work with what they had and at least try to make The New Mutants a little more faithful to the source material without having to essentially start over and refilm the whole thing.
A Possible Role For Logan's X-23
As the movie was retooled, Boone became the director pretty much in name alone and while we won't see superhero costumes, it does appear as if it will be closer to what fans know from the comics.
Interestingly, it's said that the new character who was added is actually Logan's X-23, while there was also going to be a subplot featuring Colossus attempting to find his sister Illyana. Unfortunately, that was scrapped but it does sound as if the clawed mutant will indeed be making an appearance here.
Disney Isn't Happy With The Movies Either
Once the Disney/Fox merger started coming together, Disney apparently started getting a little more involved with Fox's Marvel movies and they're not happy with either The New Mutants or Dark Phoenix. To be fair, Fox also isn't happy and this supposed insider claims that the former is every bit as bad as 2015's Fantastic Four reboot while the latter is a disaster with phoned-in performances.
There are a number of people within both studios who believe it would be better to just write both of these movies off at this stage rather than spending millions of dollars on reshoots and post-production work to try and salvage them. Reshoots will happen due to contractual obligations but it sounds more and more like neither of these will ever be officially released. They could end up leaking, though!
Cancellation For Both Could Be Looming
The Disney/Fox shareholder vote takes place tomorrow and it's said that once all is said and done and things are approved, both The New Mutants and Dark Phoenix will be officially cancelled. Both studios can easily spin this to point out that it's being done because the franchises are being rebooted for the Marvel Cinematic Universe but it's going to be a very costly embarrassment. However, fans won't mourn either movie if they don't happen, so it won't be too much of a PR nightmare for them.
An Update On Certain Movies And Characters
Despite comments from Simon Kinberg, it's said that Gambit definitely isn't happening at this stage and the movie - like many of those other spinoffs - has effectively been scrapped. Psylocke, meanwhile, won't be in Dark Phoenix and Mister Sinister isn't part of The New Mutants and never was. As a result, we're left to assume that the villain is being saved for X-Force (more on that later on in this post).
Another Cameo In The New Mutants
Surprisingly, Warlock does reportedly have a cameo in The New Mutants and will be brought to life via motion-capture CGI, something which is bound to make fans happy. However, as expected after that cast photo was revealed, Lockheed is only a plushie throughout the course of the movie and won't be portrayed as an actual fire breaking dragon a la his comic book counterpart which is a real letdown.
Marvel Already Has Big Plans For Two Characters
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige may have claimed that he's not giving any thought to the X-Men and Fantastic Four at this stage but this leaker claims that there's already been talk of bringing Galactus and the Silver Surfer into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, something which is no great surprise when we know Feige has had his eye on those characters for a number of years now. He actually tried to bring them back into the fold back in 2012 in exchange for letting Fox keep the Daredevil rights.
The Future Of The New Mutants
Whatever happens to The New Mutants moving forward, it's said that some of the characters could be used in X-Force (don't expect to see Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, though, because she reportedly had issues with someone else in the cast). As for X-23, Fox doesn't have faith in a young girl being able to carry her own R-Rated movie and while she's far from confirmed for the Ryan Reynolds led ensemble, it does seem like a logical place for the character to appear next and there is a precedent for that.
X-Force Might Be Safe
With the Disney/Fox merger looming, many fans have wondered if X-Force will never actually be released especially as it hasn't even started shooting yet. However, it sounds like the movie will be spared from Fox's decision to cull Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, possibly because they want to send the Merc with the Mouth off in style and ending his trilogy this way obviously acheives that.
Is this a sign that Disney has no plans for the Merc with the Mouth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? It's hard to see where the R-Rated hero could fit into that world and rebooting the X-Men and Fantastic Four will probably be Marvel's priority despite how popular the character is among moviegoers.
Oh, And X-Force Might Be Getting A New Title
With so much controversy seemingly surrounding both The New Mutants and Dark Phoenix and Marvel eyeing up those X-Men characters, it seems X-Force will receive a new title to tie it into the Merc with the Mouth's adventures and one suggestion made by this insider is said to be Deadpool 3: X-Force.
The Eternals Could Be A Game Changer For The MCU
We know that Marvel Studios is currently developing a movie for The Eternals but it's said that a big part of the movie will be something that helps usher mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We don't have any details beyond that but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say it's probably related to the Celestials and the characters will ultimately get a slightly different origin as a result. We'll see, I guess!
What do you guys think of these new details? Are you buying them or do you remain unconvinced? Take them with a pinch of salt for now but be sure to share your thoughts in the usual place.