In spite of the recent Fox deal, Drew Goddard is apparently still attached to write and direct an X-Force movie, according to a report in Discussing Film.
According to the deal made in December 2017, Disney has acquired most of the properties owned by 20th Century Fox, with the exception of its sports and movies divisions, as well as the actual Fox network (though it has acquired shows from the channel, which include the likes of The Simpsons and Family Guy). Among these holdings are the rights to the X-Men franchise, which Fox has turned into a seemingly endless stream of movies since 2000.
Marvel Comics had sold the film rights to the X-Men comics long before Disney acquired the company and launched its wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, so this has proven to be a boon for the Mouse House, which can now add the Merry Mutants to its upcoming films.
However, this has left fans of the existing movies in a state of worried confusion. Though the X-films have been pretty hit or miss over the years, many feel that they have finally hit their stride, having turned into smaller genre flicks that defy normal superhero movie conventions. In particularly, they tend to be darker—Logan was something of a violent Western set in the modern day, while Deadpool was a raunchy, dark comedy. Many fear that the more family-friendly Disney will end the series and put a kibosh on upcoming stories like New Mutants, a horror film, or X-Force, which, going by the comics, would offer a more militant take on the X-Men concept.
Goddard has received acclaim for his films, having written the script for Cloverfield and directed The Cabin in the Woods, both successful horror movies. In terms of Disney/Marvel Studios, he is the original creator of Netflix’s Daredevil and also scripted an episode of The Defenders. He was announced as the X-Force director in September 2017, having replaced Joe Carnahan who in turn replaced Jeff Wadlow. Fans will certainly be happy to know that we will not need to change the head honcho again.
Last we heard, X-Force was set to begin production sometime in 2018.
