Fox is busy trying to expand the X-Men universe. They’ve already has success with stand-alone films featuring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and First Class took us back into mutant past.
There’s also been talk of X-Men Origins: Magneto, which never came off, as well as a Deadpool film. Now new reports suggest that not only is Deadpool still in the works, but X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner says in EW that she has her eye on a Mystique film, with the hope that Jennifer Lawrence will star in her own spin-off adventure.
She says, “There was a regime [at the studio] that didn’t see the worth in [spin-offs], and the current people who run Fox understand, embrace it, and we’re going to do right by it. I’d like to do Gambit. I’d like to do Deadpool. We’ll see. There’s a lot of really great characters.”
However things are obviously at a very early stage, and it’s difficult to know when a spin-off would come (or if Jennifer Lawrence would agree to star), especially as X-Men: Apocalypse is already in the works for 2016 and a third Wolverine should be out the following year.
How soon will a spin-off happen? That’s hard to tell at this point, with director Bryan Singer already in pre-production on the next franchise sequel X-Men: Apocalypse, which will hit theaters two years from now in 2016.
Producer/writer Simon Kinberg adds his thoughts to the possibilities of the future, saying, “I love what Jennifer Lawrence has done with her, and I feel like because she is in such a crowded ensemble, there’s so much more opportunity if you were to follow her solo.”
As for Deadpool, Director Tim Miller suggests the only holdback now is a greenlight from Fox. “We will never give up!” he says, “Deadpool is still alive and we’re just waiting for the studio to embrace what an amazingly f***ing awesome film this would be. Ryan [Reynolds] is ready, I am ready, the fans are more than ready, we just need that elusive green light.”