Everyone likes a good rumor, yeah? Well a couple of days ago, a report surfaced in the paper Journal de Montreal that the team behind the X-Men movies would be returning to Montreal—where they shot the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse—in November 2016 to prepare to shoot the next X-Men sequel for release in 2018 with Bryan Singer once again at the helm. This was pretty juicy news and, to be honest, not entirely out of the realm of possibility, so word of this shooting schedule and Singer’s return quickly spread.

However, we have confirmed with a very trusted source that this recent report is absolutely false. No plans have been made to start filming the X-Men: Apocalypse sequel in Montreal in 2017, and Singer has not signed on to direct. The team is still very deep into post-production on Apocalypse, so while there’s likely been talk internally about where the story for the next X-Men film could go, plans are far from being firmed up.


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Image via 20th Century Fox

Not only does it make sense that Singer, his team, and 20th Century Fox would want to, you know, finish X-Men: Apocalypse before scheduling production for the sequel, but the contracts for the franchise’s stars Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Nicholas Hoult are up for renegotiation. Unless Apocalypse just totally bombs (which seems unlikely), Fox will probably make another X-Men movie, but it’s unclear which (if any) of these principal actors will return. So schedules with these incredibly busy performers would have to be worked out before Fox firms up any filming dates, meaning it’s way too early to start slotting in studio time in Montreal.

It also remains unclear if Singer will return to direct the next X-Men movie. He’s signed on to helm a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as his next project, although when announcing it, he made clear he wasn’t “abandoning the X-Men universe.” Whether that means Fox focuses on Wolverine and Deadpool for a bit while they wait for Singer to finish 20,000 Leagues or whether Singer simply produces the next installment is unclear, but this is yet another variable that has yet to be firmed up.

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Image via 20th Century Fox

What is certain is that X-Men: Apocalypse is barreling towards its May 17, 2016 release date, and we’ll see the first trailer for the 80s-set Days of Future Past follow-up next month when it plays in front of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In addition to Lawrence, Fassbender, McAvoy, and Hoult, the film also stars Oscar Isaac, Olivia Munn, Alexandra Shipp, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Evan Peters, Rose Byrne, Josh Helman, Ben Hardy, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Lana Candor.


For more on X-Men: Apocalypse, be sure to check out some of our recent coverage provided at the following links:

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Image via 20th Century Fox