While the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises are already on Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige’s mind, 20th Century Fox’s other licensed Marvel properties are facing more uncertain futures now that Disney owns them all. For example, last week a report indicated that executives were grappling with how to maintain Deadpool‘s hard R rating while also including the popular character in the decidedly PG-13 Avengers films. And then there’s the X-Men spin-off The New Mutants, which has been delayed since 2018.
According to Variety, the higher-ups at Disney are “optimistic” that Feige and his repeatedly successful team will have no trouble resuscitating the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises for the MCU. The New Mutants, however, is another matter entirely. Apparently, they are “unimpressed” with what they’ve seen of the superhero-derived movie “with a haunted-house vibe.” Specifically (and unsurprisingly), they “[believe] it has limited box office potential.”
So, what then for director Josh Boone’s mutant horror fiasco with Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, and Charlie Heaton? Maybe it will wind up a streaming-only release over a Disney+, just as many suspected it would become over at Hulu before the Disney/Fox merger was approved. Then again, much like Blumhouse’s canceled The Hunt, The New Mutants may never see the light of day at all. Only time will tell.
(Via Variety)