We’re about to go into RumorTown, so I need you to step aside with me and take something to stay safe while we’re in there:
Take a grain of salt with you and you should be fine. Let’s jump in.
Along with Marvel Studios, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures, Fox has spent the last few years massively expanding its slate of superhero titles with new X-Men titles. Deadpool and Logan have been highlights not just for Fox but superhero movies in general. Meanwhile, we’ve been watching some of their other projects with a nervous eye, and now it seems like those projects – X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants – might be on the chopping block.
According to a trusted user on the Superhero Hype forums with industry insider access, it seems these movies may not be making it to theaters. With Comcast out of the way of Disney’s acquisition of Fox and Disney having a high success rate with its comic movies, it doesn’t sound far out to say that Marvel Studios might push any subpar movies into reshoots or cancellation, and that’s what it sounds like is happening. The New Mutants has already been pushed back well over a year past its release date, and rumors around test screenings have pegged it as being on the same level as the universally-panned Fantastic Four reboot.
It’s worth keeping in mind that these are strictly rumors. Fox has already dumped tons of money and time into these movies, and studios don’t like wasting money like that. The user suggests that these movies might instead one day make their way to streaming services. If that’s the case, they seem like prime candidates to attract people to Disney/Marvel’s planned streaming service.
Rumors of movies in rough situations rarely end up turned around once the movie is in theaters. If even the studios know their movie is in trouble, it’s probably in trouble. There’s only so much you can do to get a movie back on track if it’s off the rails.
It’s very possible these movies are still on. I love the idea of a horror-themed X-Men movie. I want to see the “Dark Phoenix” storyline get the treatment it deserves, because the X-Men animated series is still the closest thing we have, decades later (if you’re old enough, you’re humming the theme song right now). But things are not looking good for X-Men: Dark Phoenix or The New Mutants right now. We have two movies that have seen delays being made in the midst of a huge studio sale with rumors of discord on-set. We’re hopeful, but we’re not optimistic.
