Last Summer the internet exploded when I was the first to report about the possibility of the X-Men movies getting canceled, and now that is a possibility for New Mutants.
Longtime Fox Studios and X-Men producer, Lauren Shuler Donner, addresses the upcoming Fox-Disney deal and how it relates to pending X-Men movie releases, which also includes Gambit, X-Force and Kitty Pryde.
Regarding Dark Phoenix, it appears to be on the safe side as it is scheduled for a June 2019 release.
X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner attended the recent Television Critics Association press tour for Legion, which is getting canceled, and was asked about the fate of the X-Men films.
On Gambit:
“That is up to Disney, that is really up to Disney. I hope so, but that’s up to them. The problem is, you cannot have too many Marvel X-Men superhero movies out there, otherwise we will cancel each other out. Each one has to be distinctive and yet you’ve got the Avengers to follow through, you’ve got so many distinctive story canons to follow through and yet you want new ones. But I don’t think you can have more than four – four is a lot, cause people are gonna get sick of them, so we have to be careful. He has to be careful, Kevin [Feige].”
On the Kitty Pryde movie, which I recently said is doubtful will happen or new movies such as X-Force:
“This is all now in Disney’s playground and they get to decide,” she said. “At least we know it’s in good hands, everybody’s worked really hard up til now on our Fox side, but now it’s gonna be Disney’s call.”
Lauren Shuler Donner admits she isn’t involved with the movies as much anymore:
“I haven’t really been hands-on in terms of Apocalypse and New Mutants and Dark Phoenix. Kevin and I started the first one, he worked for me; he’s got a great story sense, he’s got a great ability to weave each world and weave those worlds together. I trust him and I trust that he will take care of the X-Men.”
Lauren Shuler Donner says she is presently being told New Mutants will be released in theaters, but interestingly enough, she echoes the Fox leaker who said it could be released on a streaming service. Update: Deadline confirms there are New Mutants Hulu release rumors, and that it is up to Disney.
“I’m being told” that the long-delayed New Mutants movie will still receive a theatrical release, but she can’t definitively speak to the film’s fate. “I took a step back, so that was under Simon [Kinberg]’s purview. I hope so, they worked on it hard, I do like the idea. We started off as more of a teen movie and the decision came to make it more of a horror film, I think it’s a good idea. I wanna see it be released. I’m hopeful that it will, I’d hate to see it thrown to Hulu.”
As has been previously reported, Lauren Shuler Donner basically confirms Marvel Studios will use a new Wolverine:
“Yes, because Hugh, just the physicality of it all, just to bulk up, this man worked so hard to bulk up… his natural state, they used to call him ‘worm’ when he was a kid, his natural state is a very skinny guy. And once you reach a certain age, the body just won’t go anymore, and I think he was wise to say, ‘I’m at that point, I can’t do it.’ That doesn’t mean he can’t come back as older Wolverine – you never know. Future Wolverine, you never know. I don’t know what Kevin’s thinking, honestly. I don’t even think Kevin knows yet, I think Kevin’s still dealing with this wealth of characters and trying to make sense of it all.”
The Fox-Disney deal is set to go through within the next few months with the X-Men properties coming over to Kevin Feige and getting rebooted at Marvel Studios. As it stands, Dark Phoenix gets released June 7, 2019, with New Mutants on August 2.
(via IGN)
