The highly-anticipated X-Men: Apocalypse is almost here, but don’t get your hopes up. The film’s first reviews arrived yesterday with mostly disappointing results. “X-Men: Apocalypse is a franchise-killing disaster,” read Forbes’ review. Dear Jesus, where does a franchise go when it’s been... killed? Do you see what I’m about to do here? That’s right, X-Men must be resurrected, and Fox, for better or worse, has a plan. It’s going to take a little longer than three days, though.
In fact, New Mutants has already been in development for the past year. The project, centering on a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training, has been overseen by The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone. The writer-director handed in a draft of the New Mutants script several weeks ago, which is obviously a huge step towards rebooting the X-Men universe. Implementing a recognizable character would spark public interest as well, since most fans outside of dedicated X-Men readers are unfamiliar with the New Mutants. It would be sort of like Suicide Squad utilizing The Joker as a lure for newer DC fans.
Lead producer Simon Kinberg went on record last month saying “familiar faces” are likely to make an appearance in New Mutants. His colleague Boone, however, took it a step further by mentioning the granddaddy of them all. As of now, Charles “Professor X” Xavier is set to feature in the New Mutants movie. Take a look at what Boone said in an interview with Collider, below:
Right now, as the movie exists, Professor X would be a part of a New Mutants movie.
It’s not much, but it’s enough for Marvel fans to get genuinely excited for this latest adaptation. Including Professor X in New Mutants is not only a smart choice, but a necessary one, as the Professor teaches these students at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. As for which exact youngsters will feature, Cinema Blend reports a potential lineup starring Wolfsbane, Mirage, Cannonball, Sunspot, Magik, and Warlock.
The casting of Professor X remains unknown, however. As of now, James McAvoy holds the role, but Patrick Stewart played a damn good Xavier in the past and is reprising the role in next year’s Wolverine 3. Considering the next X-Men movie is set in the 1990s, Professor X, whoever he may be, needs to look the appropriate age. Hopefully we find out more details about Xavier and the rest of the New Mutants soon enough.
No official release date is scheduled as of now, but expect New Mutants to hit theaters sometime in 2018.
