Fox’s biggest superhero franchise is taking a break from multiplexes this year before the arrival of its next instalment, X-Men: Apocalypse. With production gearing up shortly, over the next few months we’ll likely see a crop of images on director Bryan Singer’s Twitter, as is customary during his shoots. Apart from that – and a brief viral video that landed a few months back – the year ahead is relatively mutant-free. Well, except for a brand new cut of X-Men: Days Of Future Past that promises to reinstate one key character that was practically absent from the completed film.
During the entire post-production process on the movie, Singer expressed his unfortunate regret at having to axe the majority of Anna Paquin’s scenes. The X-Men alum, who plays Rogue, saw the bulk of her scenes hit the cutting room floor. Reportedly excised to keep down the running time, she wound up making the briefest of appearances at the film’s end.
As was reported last year, the powers that be are planning to release the Rogue Cut, which is set to completely reinstate all of Paquin’s scenes – said to total ten minutes running time – for a brand new version of the movie. At that time, writer Simon Kinberg had this to say when he offered his two cents on the alternate cut:
“It’s a big chunk, a substantial part of the movie. We want to give fans the fullest picture of the film — behind the camera, and in front of it, with the “Rogue Cut” and provide more of the process we went through to make the film… Every movie has scenes that are cut out, but not every movie has scenes cut out with such a beloved character.”
Now, more details on the film have emerged via Twitter courtesy of James Finn, Fox Home Entertainment’s Executive Vice President of Marketing Communications. When asked by a fan, he revealed info on the format of the film, and a few other tidbits:
@DOFPXmen Summer 2015.
— James Finn (@FinnJ) December 15, 2014
@DOFPXmen no. Distinct film. Distinct extras. Complimentary to DOFP Blu-ray but not repetitive. — James Finn (@FinnJ) December 15, 2014
@meStevo @DOFPXmen Digital HD too. Same day. — James Finn (@FinnJ) December 31, 2014
Later on, another DoFP aficionado then inquired about Bryan Singer’s input, and the director’s cut debate commenced. Finn’s answers suggest that while Singer was chiefly responsible for cutting Rogue’s scenes, both version of the movie are “his”:
This might be seen by many as a blatant cash-in to bridge the financial gap caused by this year’s mutant-free multiplexes. But, the promise of distinct extras and an entirely separate, new version of the movie ought to soften the blow.
Tell us, will you be shelling out for the X-Men: Days Of Future Past Rogue Cut?