No, The New Mutants Isn't an MCU Movie

A D23.com news briefs article spotlighting the upcoming Fox Marvel movie The New Mutants got fans in a tizzy when it seemingly revealed groundbreaking information connecting the X-Men universe movie to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but we're here to let you know that it was not true. The article referred to The New Mutants as the "seriously electrifying new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe," and while the former very well may be the case, IGN can confirm that the latter is not. No, The New Mutants isn't an MCU movie, though it is the first Fox Marvel movie to be released since Disney's acquisition of the studio. The D23.com article has since been removed from the official Disney fan club website, but you can see the original comment in the screenshot below: [caption id="attachment_228461" align="alignnone" width="864"] D23.com incorrectly referred to the upcoming X-Men universe film as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[/caption] When the purported MCU connection started spreading around social media, fans were intrigued, though doubtful of its accuracy:

From the official D23 site... The New Mutants is the newest addition to the MCU. pic.twitter.com/o8WG0LY1Fo

— Skyler Shuler (@SkylerShuler) January 10, 2020

So the official D23 website is claiming New Mutants is part of the MCU...typo? pic.twitter.com/w0ZzqZlWRp

— TC Lang (@TCLangWrites) January 10, 2020

there is no way this isn’t an error haha... unless? #NewMutants pic.twitter.com/aLyNCmA7wW

— FrostyMac (@TheFrostyMac) January 10, 2020

Directed by Josh Boone, The New Mutants is finally hitting theaters on April 3 in the US (April 8 in the UK) after being delayed for almost two years. While promoting the new trailer's release, Boone confirmed that this was the original version of the movie that he shot for Fox, despite the Disney acquisition. If you haven't already, be sure to watch the recently released trailer for The New Mutants below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/06/the-new-mutants-official-trailer-2"] The New Mutants' release is interesting because, as mentioned earlier in this article, it is the first X-Men universe movie to be released since Disney acquired Fox, and since that acquisition, the future of the X-Men franchise has been unclear. While Dark Phoenix seemingly brought the core X-Men franchise to a close and Gambit is well and truly dead, The New Mutants was designed to expand the scope of Fox's X-Men movies with a more standalone story using other characters from the X-Men comics pantheon -- a move conceived in a pre-Disney/Fox world. Because of its delayed release and the acquisition leaving X-Men's Disney future unclear, there was a concern that The New Mutants might be shelved permanently, though fortunately, that was not the case. This is standalone from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's pantheon of characters, though, which is why the seeming confirmation of its existence within the MCU earlier Friday would have completely recontextualized The New Mutants movie's function and purpose. Even though they haven't been announced, Marvel's Kevin Feige confirmed he does have plans for the X-Men to join the larger MCU. At San Diego Comic-Con, he told IGN, "Whatever we do will be quite different than what’s been done before." You can watch our full interview with Feige below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/21/kevin-feige-on-x-men-plans-no-avengers-movie-in-phase-4-comic-con-2019"] The New Mutants stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane, Henry Zaga as Sunspot, Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie, Blu Hunt as Danielle Moonstar, Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes and Antonio Banderas as the film's villain. While The New Mutants may not be a part of the MCU Phase 4 lineup, plenty of other titles are. Refresh yourself on what's coming for Marvel over the course of the next few years by clicking through the gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-phase-4-official-lineup&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Terri Schwartz is Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.