Josh Boone, director of The New Mutants, confirms that the once-planned New Mutants 2 had already cast Antonio Banderas in a key role. Following an incredibly long journey to the big screen as a result of the Disney-Fox merger, The New Mutants will finally be released in theaters next month. It stars Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga, and Alice Braga, and will be the last Fox-produced X-Men film. Thanks to the Disney-Fox deal, the X-Men can now join the MCU, something Marvel head Kevin Feige promised would be happening sometime in the future.
The New Mutants follows a group of teenagers being held in a secret facility as they gradually discover their abilities. The film's first trailer, released long ago, teased a scary movie unlike previous X-Men movies. While fans worried studio interference would force Boone to tone down the horror aspect, Boone has insisted the cut being released in theaters is the movie he set out to make. Boone and his co-writer Knate Lee had great plans for The New Mutants, as well as for what could come after.
While talking to EW, Boone revealed some details about what he had planned for The New Mutants 2. Back in 2018, it was reported that Banderas had been cast in a mysterious role and would appear in the post-credits scene for The New Mutants. While that post-credits scene has since been scrapped, Boone has confirmed that Banderas was cast, and that he would have played Emmanuel da Costa, the father of Zaga's character Roberto. In the comics, Emmanuel is a ruthless businessman with a connection to the Hellfire Club.
According to Boone, "We always intended to do New Mutants: Brazil as the second movie." This would have seen Roberto traveling to Brazil with the New Mutants in search of his mother, whom Emmanuel wants to kill. However, Boone does not believe a sequel is likely because of the X-Men now being under Disney's umbrella. While he still hopes Disney could approve a sequel, he acknowledged it's not looking good.
It's disappointing that Boone's plans for The New Mutants 2 and beyond will likely never come to fruition, especially because now fans will never get to see Banderas' performance. When it comes to the MCU, everything is carefully planned out years in advance, so if something doesn't fit, it likely won't get made. While Feige has yet to reveal the MCU's plans for mutants, it's doubtful that it doesn't involve them ignoring the previous films and starting from scratch. Fans will just have to imagine what The New Mutants 2 could have been.
Source: EW
