The New Mutants, Fox's last X-Men film, originally included cameos for Professor X (James McAvoy) and Storm (Alexandra Shipp). Moviegoers might be hard pressed to find a film that has had worse luck than The New Mutants. Originally slated for release in 2018, the horror-tinged superhero movie kept seeing its release date bumped as a result of the Disney-Fox merger. After being held from the release calendar for so long that fans wondered if it would ever see the light of day, The New Mutants was finally scheduled for April 3, 2020. However, the coronavirus pandemic gave the long-awaited film just one last obstacle, forcing it to flee April for a new, hopefully permanent, August date.
Luckily, however, The New Mutants still has its fair share of supporters who are eager to see what director Josh Boone has planned. The New Mutants follows five troubled teens with mysterious abilities who are being held in a secret facility. As they grow into their powers, they must work together to free themselves from the facility, which is far more nefarious than it seems. Fans were largely thrilled by the horror elements Boone introduced into the story, as they differentiated The New Mutants from Fox's other X-Men films. The New Mutants feels separate than everything that came before, though that wasn't always the case.
According to New Mutants Updates, Boone confirmed reports that early drafts of The New Mutants featured scenes set at the X-Mansion and cameos from Professor X and Storm. Xavier's potential presence in the film stretches back to 2016, before production began.
Fox initially wanted The New Mutants to be set within the same timeline as X-Men Apocalypse, but that was later scrapped so The New Mutants could be a standalone story. Last year's Dark Phoenix marked the final appearances of McAvoy's Xavier and Shipp's Storm; with the X-Men being rebooted for the MCU, it's unlikely that they'll get the chance to return.
Including Professor X and Storm in The New Mutants would've been an interesting way to bring that movie into the X-Men timeline, and it could've provided an opportunity to craft a better story for Storm (seeing as Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix didn't give her much to do). However, many fans are excited for The New Mutants purely because it'll be a standalone and is markedly different than the movies that came before. The New Mutants doesn't need any ties to the larger universe; it can be a thrilling tale all on its own.
Source: New Mutants Updates/Twitter
