Little has been confirmed about 20th Century Fox’s plans forX-Men: The New Mutants. We know thatJosh Boone(The Fault in Our Stars) currently sits at the helm and will direct from a script he co-wrote alongsideFault’sScott NeustadterandMichael H. Weber, withKnate Lee(a.k.a.Kante Gwaltney) also tacklingChris Claremontand artistBob McLeod’s early 1980s comic book creation;Simon KinbergandLaura Shuler Donnerare producing.
As far as rumors go, they abound. Most of them center on casting choices, likeMaisie Williamsannouncing her interest in playing Rahne Sinclair / Wolfsbane in the movieback in April of 2016. Around that time,it was also reportedthatAnya Taylor-Joy(The Witch) was the studio’s choice to play Colossus' younger sister/teleporter Magik, a.k.a. Ilyana Nikolievna Rasputin.Alexandra Shippwas also rumored to reprise herX-Men: Apocalypserole of Storm in the upcoming film. Cannonball (possibly played byFault’sNat Wolff), Sunspot, and Mirage were also rumored to be on the team, whileJames McAvoy’sProfessor X was expected to play a significant role. That’s where today’s rumor comes in.
Coming Soonsat down with Taylor-Joy during a round of press interviews for her role inM. Night Shyamalan’s thrillerSplit, which opens January 20th and just so happens to star McAvoy. They asked her about theanimatic featuring concept artworkrelated to theNew Mutants'“Demon Bear Saga”:
I have [seen the Demon Bear animatic], it’s pretty cool. I’m a big fan so I’d love to be a part of it. I can’t say very much, but I would love to be a part of it. I think this year’s gonna be very exciting.
They also asked if she was looking forward to reuniting with McAvoy and about his presumed involvement in the film:
I mean, I think James is already a part of it, isn’t he?
Not exactly official confirmation, especially considering Taylor-Joy stated twice that she’d “love to be a part” of the film, but we’ll take what we can get.
Considering that the title heroes studied and lived at Professor X’s school for gifted youngsters, and considering the current trend to connect movies together within the framework of a cinematic universe, it would make a lot of sense for McAvoy to show up as Charles Xavier once more. This is assuming thatX-Men: The New Mutantswill follow up on the 80s setting ofApocalypse, quite possibly giving us the first truly 90sX-Menfilm that could tap into the franchise’s explosive popularity during that decade. Keep an eye out for official word sooner than later as the film is expected to start production this year for a 2018 release.
For more onX-Men: The New Mutants, be sure to take a look at our previous write-ups below:
