The comic book movie community has been awfully busy this past week thanks to the rumors that Fox is on the verge of cancelling their two upcoming X-Men films: The New Mutants and Dark Phoenix.
The source – an anonymous poster on the SuperHeroHype forums – claimed that both pics are spiraling into disaster and that the studio’s now looking to cut their losses and just outright axe the movies. And though Fox has yet to comment on the matter, it’s starting to seem more and more like those rumors were just that, as there’s been some compelling evidence to suggest that both films are still moving forward.
For one, wee know that Dark Phoenix‘s reshoots are currently scheduled for August and September and the other day we were told that hasn’t changed, with sets currently being built in Montreal in anticipation of the additional photography. But in case you needed some proof that was a little more concrete, we’ve got just the thing.
IMAX released their quarterly earnings report earlier this week and along with it came their upcoming slate for 2019. And, what do you know, both Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants are still on there, listed along with their release dates (February 14th and August 2nd, respectively). Again, there’s no word from Fox yet on the matter, but this should be enough to convince you that neither film is going anywhere.
Truthfully, cancelling New Mutants wouldn’t be the biggest shock in the world, given that it has a relatively small budget and sounds like it’s going to be a bit pear-shaped. But with Dark Phoenix? That’s a mega budget blockbuster that’s now finished principal photography, is about to undergo reshoots and you can guarantee there are CG artists currently beavering away at the best mutant-inspired fire effects that money can buy. In short, Fox would lose a ton of money if they were to scrap it at this stage.
For now, then, we’ll sit back, relax and assume that both The New Mutants and X-Men: Dark Phoenix are still locked in for release next year. Although, if we hear anything different, be it from Fox or another source, we’ll be sure to let you know.
