X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants are reportedly undergoing significant reshoots, which may explain their recent release date delays. Twentieth Century Fox has been building and expanding their X-Men movie universe since Bryan Singer's first film debuted in 2000. Since then, the studio rebooted the continuity with a prequel series that rewrote the original timeline. The prequel saga last left off with X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016, but was set to continue with X-Men: Dark Phoenix this year.
However, both X-Men: Dark Phoenix and New Mutants were delayed recently, with the latter film being pushed back for a second time. New Mutants was initially delayed earlier this year, and reports have since stated the reason was for reshoots that would make the film scarier and add a new character. Though New Mutants star Maisie Williams shot down certain rumors about the reshoots, a new report in light of the release date delays indicates Fox has planned significant reshoots for both X-Men movies.
Related: Why X-Men: Dark Phoenix’s Release Was Delayed
ComicBook reports that Fox is putting Dark Phoenix back into production after screening the film for test audiences. However, since Jean Grey actress Sophie Turner is tied up with filming the final season of HBO's Game of Thrones, her schedule seemingly won't accommodate reshoots with enough time for the film to have made its late 2018 release date. As a result, Dark Phoenix was pushed to February 2019. As for New Mutants, ComicBook's report confirms the rumor that the reshoots will make the movie scarier, and further states the film will add "a few new characters." UPDATE: THR is further reporting that Dark Phoenix's reshoots will focus primarily on the film's third act and are expected to cost less than $10 million.
Collider further reports that scheduling conflicts lead to the release date delay on Dark Phoenix, which is undergoing relatively routine reshoots to tweak the film after screening for test audiences. As for New Mutants, Collider reports at least 50 percent of the movie will be reshot in order to make it scary and add one or two more characters. Additionally, as many fans guessed, Fox wants New Mutants to be as tonally different to other X-Men movies as Deadpool and Logan were.
In terms of Dark Phoenix, it appears fans shouldn't be too worried about the film's delay. The upcoming X-Men installment was written and directed by long-time franchise producer Simon Kinberg, and it serve as his theatrical directorial debut. According to these reports, though, Fox is still confident in Kinberg's script and direction. However, since the film features a number of high-profile stars, scheduling reshoots proved difficult. So as Collider reports, it seems the release date delay was simply to do with scheduling conflicts, not any significant issue with X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
New Mutants seems to be a different case, but fans are no doubt hoping Fox manages to pull it together. Unfortunately the delays on both Dark Phoenix and New Mutants mean fans will only get one X-Men movie in 2018 - Deadpool 2. But, at least two X-Men movies will arrive in 2019, and hopefully they'll be the best they can be with the help of these reshoots.
Next: Why I’m Worried About X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Update Source: THR
