The X-Men Universe Will Expand With New Spinoff Movie, Get The Details

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The X-Men franchise is set to have a gigantic year in 2016, with Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Gambit all scheduled to arrive in theaters, and in 2017 we will get to see the end of Hugh Jackman's run as Wolverine. But what's the plan beyond that? Most of it is a mystery, but now new reports are saying that 20th Century Fox is now developing a new spin-off title, The New Mutants.

Deadline got the scoop on this story, and adds the bonus information that a director is already attached to helm. Josh Boone, who earned 20th Century Fox a nice chunk of cash last year thanks to his adaptation of The Fault In Our Stars, has signed on to direct The New Mutants, and he will also be co-writing the script alongside Knate Gwaltney, an up-and-coming writer who was a notable contributor to the Jackass franchise as an associate producer, camera operator, unit manager and cinematographer. X-Men franchise producers Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner are attached to shepherd the film through development.

Unfortunately, the report doesn't actually have any other details about the project - outside of saying that the film will explore a new part of the X-Men universe - but it's probably not too much of a leap to assume that the movie will be in some way related to the New Mutants comics, which followed a group of mutant superheroes in training to become superheroes. The original group, formed by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, included characters like Cannonball (who could rocket himself through the air), Karma (who could mentally possess other bodies), Mirage (who could generate illusions), Sunspot (who was seen in X-Men:Days of Future Past and can absorb solar energy), and Wolfsbane (who is basically a werewolf) - but you shouldn't necessarily bank on those being the central After all, X-Men: First Class also took its name from a pre-existing series, but replaced the entire central lineup with the exception of Professor X and Beast.

This development definitely sounds exciting, but there is a catch: it seems that it is still a few years away from actually happening. Deadline says that Josh Boone is currently committed to making the Anne Rice adaptation The Vampire Chronicles as his next film, and he will be following that up with what's said to be a rather epic adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. That being said, apparently New Mutants has lured the filmmaker away from Marvel Studios, which reportedly has been interested in him as a potential candidate to direct the new Spider-Man movie coming in 2017.

Do you like the idea of a New Mutants movie being made, and do you think Josh Boone is the right choice to helm it? Hit the comments with your thoughts.