Major, major news this Wednesday afternoon as Twentieth Century Fox has closed a deal with The Fault In Our Stars director Josh Boone to co-write and direct The New Mutants, a standalone spinoff that expands Fox’s X-Men movie universe, Deadline reports.
The series, already part of the “X-Men” comic universe, introduces a new crop of mutant characters born with special powers, one of which is the incredibly popular Cable (who is bizarrely absent from Bryan Singer’s now-filming X-Men: Apocalypse).
Cable made his first appearance in Marvel’s “The New Mutants” #87 while Deadpool first appeared in “The New Mutants” #98. Wolverine has also had a huge rule in the first series, which leads to hope that we’ll see all three characters in the film. My only concern is, why isn’t Cable in X-Men: Apocalypse? Hopefully Singer is just saving the surprise.
Oh, and could “X-Force” be next?! We can dream…
Boone will co-write with Knate Gwaltney. Simon Kinberg will produce with Lauren Shuler Donner.
Next up for Boone is The Vampire Chronicles at Universal, a reboot based on the Anne Rice novels that were turned into Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. The Stand would go after, so The New Mutants is a couple years away, explains the site.
Said Kinberg of the X-Men expansion with Boone: “We’re so excited to explore this new part of the X-Men universe, and so excited to do it with Josh, who is uniquely suited to tell this story about young characters.”
In the future for Fox’s X-Men franchise: Ryan Reynolds is playing Deadpool with Tim Miller directing, and Bryan Singer is directing X-Men: Apocalypse for 2016. Lastly, James Mangold and Hugh Jackman are also doing another Wolverine installment with Hugh Jackman.
