From the outside looking in, 20th Century Fox’s grand X-Men franchise appears to be in a state of flux following the launch of Apocalypse earlier in the year. Barring the runaway success of Deadpool, production on the Channing Tatum-fronted Gambit solo movie has effectively ground to a halt, and unless the studio irons out contract extensions with the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, the uncertainty swirling around the core X-Men timeline may prompt Fox to reboot the series as we know it. The show must go on, as the old saying goes.
Speaking of which, Le Journal De Montréal has unearthed a report (via CBM) that suggests 20th Century Fox will be bringing together the X-Men as early as next year – May 2017, to be specific. The outlet claims Fox will circle back to MELS Studios for the next film, extending its streak there to three features after Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse.
[wgtc_youtube video_id=”3xwE8-4yLEs”]Common logic would dictate that that mysterious project in question is actually Josh Boone’s New Mutants, considering the spinoff appears to be the furthest along in production. MELS Studios president Michel Trudel relayed a statement on the matter, noting that Fox “will start shooting in May and they will occupy Studios 2 and 3 of MELS for several months.”
Trudel continued:
“We had two and a half months of negotiations with the people at Fox. I went to Los Angeles last October to try to convince them. We are very pleased that they have agreed to return to Montreal. They enjoyed their two previous shooting experience with us and they were very satisfied with our facilities and talent of the Quebec film industry.”
News that 20th Century Fox will continue to expand its flagship X-Men franchise is hardly surprising, but the real question now is whether this untitled project is New Mutants, Deadpool 2, or another film entirely.