Before shared universes became commonplace, there was 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise. The main storyline came to an end with Dark Phoenix, but there is one spinoff that is still expected to arrive in theaters: The New Mutants. Josh Boone's horror-infused comic book flick has been delayed countless times over the years, and fans are eager to finally learn the contents of the blockbuster. And while we shouldn't expect members of the X-Men to pop up, the stories will still be connected.
Prior to being acquired by Disney, 20th Century Fox was going all-in on its mutant properties. In addition to the main X-Men installments, there was also massive success with Logan and the Deadpool movies. While The New Mutants likely won't include any major crossover moments, director Josh Boone recently shared one way that the X-Men will be included in the upcoming movie. When asked if there were going to be cross references, the filmmaker said:
Yeah, it’s there – they talk about Professor X and those things, but it doesn’t have cameos from anyone or anything like that.
Well, that seems pretty cut and dry. It looks like The New Mutants will indeed be set in the same universe as the X-Men franchise. And while we won't see characters like Mystique or Professor X appear in the long gestating blockbuster, there will be enough references to tie the properties together.
Josh Boone's comments to Slashfilm help to answer some of the long-standing questions currently looming over The New Mutants. After the spinoff was delayed yet again, some fans lost hope that we'd ever get to see the team of scrappy young heroes on the big screen. But Boone and company have only continued the The New Mutants' marketing campaign, including new footage that debuted as virtual Comic-Con.
The trailers for The New Mutants has helped to maintain fan anticipation for years, as the blockbuster looks like it'll have a unique take on the superhero genre. Comic book movies are everywhere, but few have leaned heavily on horror tropes. What's more, Josh Boone brought together a strong cast to make up the titular team of heroes, including Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams, Glass' Anya Taylor-Joy, and Stranger Things' Charlie Heaton.
It's currently unclear exactly when The New Mutants will hit theaters, and if the movie will make its current planned release date. But it does appear that the House of Mouse is intending the movie for a theatrical run, rather than streaming on Disney+. The movie's participation in virtual Comic-Con is definitely a hopeful step forward, so fans will just have to continue being patient for the time being.
The New Mutants is currently expected to arrive on August 28th. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
