Earlier today, we reported that Fox was allegedly thinking about cancelling the releases of both of its upcoming Marvel movies, The New Mutants and Dark Phoenix, due to a lack of faith in the finished products. In particular, it seems the former has seriously fallen short of expectations, with sources saying it’s as bad as 2015’s reviled Fantastic Four reboot.
It’s possible that the two movies have one major problem in common, as well: a director ill-suited to the material. Remember how FF‘s Josh Trank wanted to make a gritty horror-infused movie about Marvel’s First Family? Well, Josh Boone allegedly wanted to do the same thing with The New Mutants, something that contrasted with the vision Fox had for the project.
Initially, the studio had a more typical superhero pic planned, focusing on the teen mutants as they adjust to life in the X-Mansion. This version was said to be very faithful to the comics, complete with a big Sentinel attack on the mansion for the final act. When that was deemed too expensive, though, Boone stepped in and offered his take. Apparently not a fan of the comics, he took The New Mutants further and further away from the source material (for instance, reducing Demon Bear’s role from main antagonist to one scene wonder).
What’s more, Boone was apparently a hostile presence on set – again, much like Trank on Fantastic Four. Though he was said to be happy with the movie he was making, the director displayed unprofessional behavior to his crew. Due to a combination of this and the disastrous reception to the test screenings, he doesn’t have much sway over the reshoots and is allegedly only director in name at this point.
Speaking of the reshoots, though earlier reports claimed Fox wanted to make The New Mutants scarier, this new leak says the studio’s hoping to increase the heart and humor in the film. Word is that in its current form, the movie is “boring” and “unwatchable” and only saved by the cast’s committed performances. That said, there’s apparently some bad blood between the actors, too, as Anya Taylor-Joy (Magik) “has issues” with another member of the cast.
If we can believe all this – and it seems we can, as it was sprung by a trusted source and corroborated by other outlets – you can easily see why the studio’s seriously considering cutting their losses and just sweeping the movie under the rug. If this does ineed happen, there’s talk of the New Mutants being folded into the X-Force franchise. The same apparently goes for Dafne Keen’s X-23, first seen in Logan, who – get this – may have had a cameo in The New Mutants.
We’ll keep you updated as we hear more, but for now, things certainly aren’t looking too good for what could be one of Fox’s last X-Men movies.
