X-Men: The New Mutants Has Entered Pre-Production

It looks like things are finally beginning to take shape for the next generation of X-Men movies heroes.

Josh Boone, the writer/director of 20th Century Fox’s upcoming The New Mutants movie has teased on Instagram that the film is entering pre-production.

The teases began a few days ago, on Boone’s birthday. He shared a photo of his birthday cake which, in addition to featuring a “Happy Birthday, Josh” message, also included the classic The New Mutants logo. The photo was shared to Instagram with the tags #birthdaycake, #prep, #newmutants, and #productionoffices.

Boone followed that photo up with another one yesterday. This photo shows Boone himself, “Staring off into the middle distance on the #foxlot during a break,” as the Instagram caption reads. The post also includes the tags #newmutants, #makingmovies, #makingmovieswithfriends, #xmen, and #clouds.

The New Mutants movie was announced by 20th Century Fox in 2015 with Boone on board to write and direct. Boone directed the YA love story The Fault in our Stars, which makes him a solid fit for The New Mutants, a team of teenaged mutants. Fox is said to be looking to make The New Mutants the YA movie series in its long-running X-Men movies franchise.

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X-Men movies veterans Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg are producing The New Mutants. Knate Gwaltney is co-writing the screenplay with Boone. The writing team is said to have pitched the film as a trilogy. The Fault in our Stars writers Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber were later brought on board to revise the script.

While details about The New Mutants have not been officially announced by 20th Century Fox, Boone has teased with artwork on Instagram that the movie’s team roster will consist of Magik, Wolfsbane, Mirage, Cannonball, Sunspot, and Warlock. Kinberg also stated in an interview that Professor X, the New Mutants’ original mentor, will make an appearance in the movie, presumably played by James McAvoy since Patrick Stewart has retired from the role.

There has been no official casting new yet, but there have been rumors. Anya Taylor-Joy, of The Witch and Split, was said to have been approached to play Magik. Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams was said to be in the running for Wolfsbane, and Boone stoked that fire himself via social media. The Fault in Our Stars star Nat Wolff was rumored to be in the running to play Cannonball.

Demon Bear, one of the classic antagonists from one of the best-loved stories of the original The New Mutants series, has been teased as the film’s villain.

The New Mutants is expected to begin principal photography in May.

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