There will be one less mutant in this summer’s highly anticipated X-Men: Days of Future Past, which combines the casts of the original X-Men trilogy with those of 2011’s First Class. Director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) has revealed to EW exclusively that a rescue sequence — shot early in the film’s production and featuring Magneto (Ian McKellen), Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Rogue (Anna Paquin), and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) — has been cut from the final film. Sadly, this means that Rogue’s screen time has been significantly chopped down as well.

“Through the editing process, the sequence became extraneous,” explains Singer. “It’s a really good sequence and it will probably end up on the DVD so people can see it. But like many things in the editing process, it was an embarrassment of riches and it was just one of the things that had to go. Unfortunately, it was the one and only sequence Anna Paquin was in, the Rogue character was in. Even though she’s in the materials and part of the process of making the film, she won’t appear in it.”

Singer emphasizes that the decision had nothing to do with the Oscar-winning True Blood star, who was on set for only week of Days of Future Past, or with her performance. “She did a fantastic job,” says the director. “She was awesome in the sequence. She’s a brilliant actress. I would work with her in a heartbeat.”