New Mutants writer/director Josh Boone teases the beginning of pre-production on 20th Century Fox's upcoming X-Men series film. Logan is just the latest movie in the X-Men franchise, but it definitely won't be the last. Even though Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, as Wolverine and Professor X, have now said goodbye to the characters they first portrayed almost 17 years ago, a whole new set of actors are now ready to take the series in multiple directions. An X-Force film guest starring Deadpool is currently in development under Ryan Reynolds and co-writer/director Joe Carnahan. Meanwhile after many years in limbo, Gambit starring Channing Tatum may finally begin filming in 2018.

Yet before both of those movies grace our screens, Boone's New Mutants is reported to make its theatrical debut early next year. Based on the comic book of the same name, New Mutants will follow recent Xavier School graduates Magik, Wolfsbane, Mirage, Cannonball, Sunspot, and Warlock as they learn to control their powers and, of course, fight bad guys like Demon Bear. James McAvoy may also reprise his role in the film as a young Professor X. It'll reportedly be a young adult-style movie but with a twist since it has been described as Stephen King meets John Hughes.

Now Boone on his Instagram has revealed that New Mutants will begin filming very soon and has officially begun pre-production. In the first image below, the production offices rang in Boone's birthday on April 5 and the start of their work on the film with a double celebration. It's full speed ahead now, as in the second image the director stares off into the distance, deep in thought, on the Fox lot in Los Angeles. There's a lot of prep to be done before production can even begin.

#birthdaycake #prep #newmutants #productionoffices A post shared by Josh Boone (@joshboonemovies) on

Staring off into the middle distance on the #foxlot during a break. Thanks @knatelee #newmutants #makingmovies #makingmovieswithfriends #xmen #clouds A post shared by Josh Boone (@joshboonemovies) on

Filming is rumored to start in May, so there may only one month left to go to finalize all the details and nail down the actors. It's now time to break down the script into individual scenes, create storyboards, identify all the locations, acquire props and costumes, decide on all the visual and special effects and finally hire the cast and crew. Of course, a lot of this may already be done, but it just hasn't been revealed yet.

For instance, there's been rumors already that Anya Taylor-Joy and Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams have already been cast as Magik and Wolfsbane, respectively. Boone is also reportedly eyeing Nat Wolff for the role of Cannonball, which makes sense since the actor previously worked with him on the films Stuck in Love and The Fault in Our Stars. For now though, it seems Boone is keeping everything very top secret. But as we get closer to the start of filming, expect more and more details to be revealed.

Next: Will Logan Create Dual X-Men Timelines?

Source: Instagram

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