When X-Men: Days of Future Past finally landed in theaters this past May, it was met with almost universal acclaim from comic-book buffs, critics and general audiences alike, with many commending director Bryan Singer for balancing a tricky time-travelling narrative with a boatload of important characters and an absolutely massive amount of special effects. Sadly, in order to satisfy the studio and trim down the running time, Singer was forced to leave a lot of footage on the cutting room floor – including most of Anna Paquin’s performance as Rogue.
However, it turns out we may get to see the director’s more complete version of Days of Future Past after all. Responding to a fan on Twitter, producer Lauren Shuler Donner revealed that a director’s cut of the film would be making its way to Blu-Ray and DVD later this year along with the theatrical version:
@SheenaTylor2 @BryanSinger @Kinberg @ShuDonner @20thcenturyfox yes ! Coming later this year.
— Lauren Shuler Donner (@ShuDonner) June 26, 2014
Apparently, Rogue’s role was cut from the film almost entirely. In one cut of Days of Future Past, Rogue showed up to absorb Kitty Pryde’s injury after Kitty is injured by Logan/Wolverine, who is in the past attempting to prevent the advent of mutant-hunting Sentinels. Explaining why the role was cut, writer Simon Kinberg said:
“I thought it would increase the urgency and the stakes of the plot in the future, but it actually does the opposite, because it makes you feel like there is an answer out there. You think once Rogue gets here, we’ll have an unlimited amount of time. The ticking clock that we’d established with Kitty getting wounded and losing her powers… well, Rogue would show up and press stop on the clock. So for all of those narrative reasons, there was this ten-minute subplot that had to go.”
Also cut – a sequence in which Professor X, Magneto and Iceman went on an excursion to rescue Rogue from the Sentinels. That could also make it to the director’s cut later this year, provided Singer is proud of how it turned out. Some scenes with Storm were reportedly cut as well.
No word yet on when X-Men: Days of Future Past will hit shelves, but I’d imagine it will be before Christmas at the latest.
