The New Mutants is an upcoming superhero-horror movie. It’s the latest installment of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film franchise, based on Marvel Comics’ X-Men spinoff series of the same name.
The film is centered on a younger generation of mutants, representing an expansion of the X-Men film franchise. The younger crop of mutants is set to replace the older and aging generation of Professor X’s mutants, including Cyclops, the Wolverine, and Jean Gray, aka Marvel Girl.
Although The New Mutants takes place in the same universe as the X-Men film series, it is unlike the previous films of the franchise. It breaks the mold by being a horror movie that just happens to be centered on a group of young Marvel mutant superheroes.
In the upcoming film, the young mutants are being held against their will at a secret facility managed by Dr. Cecilia Reyes. The sinister institutional setting is unlike the incubating atmosphere of Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters.
The youngsters are struggling mentally and physically in captivity as they explore and discover their superhuman powers. They face a terrifying threat in the form of the Demon Bear and eventually band together to escape from the facility where they are being held.
The film is inspired by Chris Claremont and artist Bill Sienkiewicz’s popular 1980s comic book series, and horror classics, such as The Shining (1980) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987).
The New Mutants has seen multiple release date delays since it was first announced for release in April 2018, and fans are hoping there will be no further delays.
Meanwhile, we have compiled everything you need to know about upcoming The New Mutants, the first Marvel superhero-horror movie.
The New Mutants release date
The New Mutants was initially planned for release at cinemas on April 13, 2018, but the date was pushed back to February 22, 2019. Fox later delayed the release date again, pushing it back to August 2, 2019.
The reason for the release date delays is due to the need for editing and reshoots. Filming ended in September 2017 but there have been massive reshoots required. The reshoots were intended to enhance the films’ horror tone and make it into a “full-fledged horror” movie.
A brand new promotional photo for ‘THE NEW MUTANTS’ has been officially released with Anya Taylor-Joy’s Magik, Maisie Williams’ Wolfsbane, Charlie Heaton’s Cannonball and Henry Zaga’s Sunspot coming to the aid of Blu Hunt’s Mirage (via @USATODAY) pic.twitter.com/LmtcNOCF1N
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) December 29, 2017
The New Mutants: Who are the New Mutants?
The New Mutants Marvel Comics book series is a spinoff of Marvel’s X-Men comic book series.
The X-Men were originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963 as teen superheroes. The comic book series first gained popularity after the original Lee and Kirby X-Men series was rebooted in May 1975 with the Giant-Size X-Men #1, a special issue of Marvel’s X-Men series written by Len Wein and illustrated by David Cockrum.
The rebooted series featured adult X-Men superheroes and introduced new characters, such as Storm and Nightcrawler.
The New Mutants comic series, first published in September 1982, was a spinoff of the X-Men comic books, created by Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, with Bill Sienkiewicz later replacing McLeod as artist.
The series featured a fresh and young crop of mutants recruited from around the world to train under the supervision of Professor X.
The New Mutants details
The New Mutants is written by Josh Boone and Knate Lee, and is directed by Boone.
Boone is known for his work on The Fault In Our Stars (2014), while Lee is known for his work on Bad Grandpa (2013) and Kidnap (2017).
Boone and Lee grew up together as fans of Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz’s 1980s New Mutants comic series. They were also Stephen King horror fans.
The pair pitched the idea of a New Mutants superhero-horror film trilogy to X-Men film producer Simon Kinberg who was impressed with their pitch and signed them on in May 2015 to write the screenplay.
Filming of The New Mutants, under the working title “Growing Pains,” began on July 10, 2017, at the Medfield State Hospital in Boston, and ended on September 16, 2017.
Boone and Lee had originally pitched a horror movie, but Fox was nervous about doing a superhero horror and got Boone to agree to have the writers tone down the horror element in favor of a PG-13 movie that would be “more like a cross between John Hughes and Stephen King.”
But after the enthusiastic response to the trailer which looked more like a horror movie than like a traditional superhero movie, Fox decided to return to Boone and Lee’s original plan to make an R-rated horror movie. This required reshooting about half of the film to make it scarier.
The reshoots, which began late in September 2018, forced Fox to push the release date forward from April 2018 to February 2019, and finally August 2019. Many fans were upset about the repeated delays, and rumors began circulating that the studios might eventually kill the movie.
Anya Taylor-Joy, who portrays the New Mutants character Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, responded to the rumors. She tried to reassure fans that the reshoots were being done to make the movie better.
“I don’t find [the delay] frustrating because when the film comes out, we want it to be something that will make the fans truly happy,” she told Collider. “Taking the time to do it, whilst people might find it a little bit frustrating to wait for it, when we deliver it, it’s going to be fantastic.”
Why The New Mutants Reshoots Are A Good Thing, According To Anya Taylor-Joy: Actress Anya Taylor-Joy will play Illyana Rasputin / Magik in the upcoming blockbuster, and recently revealed what the reshoots are focusing on. https://t.co/GY7HWrgU3G
— Marko Stankic (@MarkoStankic) September 8, 2018
Fox had confirmed in December 2017 that the score for the film was being composed by Nate Walcott and Mike Mogis. Later in May 2018, Marilyn Manson revealed that his cover of Gerard McMahon’s Cry Little Sister, first written for The Lost boys (1987), had been recorded for the soundtrack for The New Mutants.
Anya Taylor-Joy Promises THE NEW MUTANTS Delay & Reshoots Will Be Worth It – https://t.co/qd3RCd2UuP pic.twitter.com/q7hNb2qMPX
— Dread Central (@DreadCentral) September 9, 2018
The New Mutants cast
The New Mutants stars Game of Throne’s star Maisie Williams, who portrays the shape-shifting Rahne Sinclair, also known as Wolfsbane.
Sinclair, a Scottish girl, is able to transform into a werewolf creature that is half human and half wolf. She was raised by religious parents who made her believe that her ability to transform into a werewolf was the result of her sinfulness.
Maisie Williams In The 'New Mutants' Trailer Is The Scariest Thing You'll See Todayhttps://t.co/XSU4S3iA0F pic.twitter.com/fGsHAEcJjQ
— Elite Daily (@EliteDaily) October 15, 2017
ICYMI: THE NEW MUTANTS Star Maisie Williams on the Film's Long Delayhttps://t.co/PTIhdmD1k6 pic.twitter.com/xv1S0GR2xm
— ComicBook NOW! (@ComicBookNOW) February 15, 2018
Anya Taylor-Joy, who played Thomasin in The Witch (2015), and appeared alongside James McAvoy as Casey Cooke in Split (2016), will play Illyana Rasputin, the Russian sorceress also known as Magik.
Illyana is the sister of X-Men’s Piotr Rasputin, aka Colossus. She is able to open portals to another dimension (Limbo) and teleport to any location. She also wields the magical Soulsword which she uses to disrupt magic spells and magical beings.
Colbi Gannett plays a younger Illyana Rasputin. Colbi previously appeared alongside Frances McDormand in HBO’s Olive Kitteridge (TV Mini-Series 2014).
Others members of the New Mutants cast include Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie, aka Cannonball. Cannonball is a young mutant who is able to propel himself at tremendous speeds and is invulnerable while propelling.
Charlie Heaton Promises "Full-Fledged Horror" In 'The New Mutants' https://t.co/zF90ncMxhX pic.twitter.com/8yJEDOevAr
— ScienceFiction.com (@ScienceFiction) April 14, 2018
Teen Wolf and 13 Reasons Why star Henry Zaga plays Brazilian rich kid Roberto da Costa, aka Sunspot. Sunspot is able to manipulate solar energy.
'Henry Zaga' reportedly being lined up for the role of mutant Sunspot, in upcoming 'New Mutants' #NewMutants pic.twitter.com/PmkOkOL8iI
— X-Men Updates (@XMenUpdates) May 25, 2017
Zaga portrayed Josh Diaz in the Season 5 of MTV’s Teen Wolf (TV series 2011-2017), and appeared as Brad in 13 Reasons Why (TV series 2017- ).
Originals star Blu Hunt portrays Danielle Moonstar, aka Mirage. Mirage, a Cheyenne Native American, has telepathic abilities and is able to make people see scary visions of their worst fears and dark desires.
Blu Hunt (@bluefacee) Officially Becomes One Of The 'New Mutants' https://t.co/QEJv3W8TAY pic.twitter.com/WNPCYRpKd6
— ScienceFiction.com (@ScienceFiction) June 2, 2017
Alice Braga, who appeared as Teresa Mendoza in Queen of the South (TV series 2016- ), plays Dr. Cecilia Reyes, a character from Marvel’s X-Men comic books series, who first appeared in X-Men #65 (1997) as a brilliant trauma surgeon.
In the film, she is in charge of the young mutants at the detention facility.
Dr. Reyes is also a mutant who is able to create a protective “psioplasmic bio-field” around herself.
Although many fans had hoped that some of the X-Men characters will appear in The New Mutants, it seems that the film will exclusively feature the young mutants.
Anya Taylor Joy, Henry Zaga, Blu Hunt, Bill Sienkiewicz, Maisie Williams, Josh Boone, Charlie Heaton and Alice Braga on the New Mutants set pic.twitter.com/Qqyug3UqOa
— best of maisie (@bestofmaisie) October 13, 2017
The New Mutants teasers and trailers
20th Century Fox released the first trailer for The New Mutants on October 13, 2017. Writer and director Josh Boone had taken to Instagram on October 12, 2017, to announce that The New Mutant’s first trailer would be released on October 13.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaJpp6djUTu/?utm_source=ig_embed
The trailer shows the young mutants as inmates in a creepy facility, with lots of spooky haunted house goings-on.
The clip focuses on Illyana Rasputin/Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy), Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams) and Danielle Moonstar/Mirage (Blu Hunt). And although it was released before the reshoots in 2018, it retains a strong element of its horror genre inspiration.
Fox also released a series of teasers on Twitter and Instagram, introducing fans to each of the five youngsters who make up the New Mutants. The series of spooky trailers set a creepy tone for the upcoming film as a horror movie in the superhero genre.
Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams) aka Wolfsbane
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/918929592508858368?
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/940280664884236288?
Rahne is a Scottish teenager with a troubled background. She was raised by very strictly religious parents. Her father Reverend Craig Sinclair is played by Happy Anderson.
Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton), aka Cannonball
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/923640644186210304?https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/941368004931215362?
Guthrie is from Kentucky where he worked as a child in a coal mine to help support his family after his father died. He manifested his mutant powers when he and his father’s friend were trapped underground.
Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), aka Magik
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/928366775716134912?
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/944266831719747584?
Roberto da Costa (Henry Zaga), aka Sunspot
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/933032527891070976?
Roberto is the son of wealthy Brazilian business tycoon. He has the power to manipulate solar energy.
Danielle Moonstar (Blu Hunt), aka Mirage
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/937744057262059526?
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/943940734255812610?
Danielle Moonstar/Mirage will play an important role in the Demon Bear storyline of the movie. It was her family that was attacked and killed by the Demon Bear, which also tried also to kill her.
Dr. Cecilia Reyes
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/942817587871780871?
Dr. Cecilia Reyes, portrayed by Alice Braga, is the doctor in charge of the young mutants at the detention facility. Reyes is also a mutant and a skilled surgeon.
She is able to generate a protective force field around her body. The force field is described in the comics as a “psioplasmic bio-field.” It extends from her body and protects her from physical and psionic harm.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcsSMnRBfh2/?utm_source=ig_embed
Although she will likely play antagonist to the young mutants as they plan to escape from the facility, it is unlikely that she will be portrayed as a villain. She is probably keeping them in the facility under the belief that it is in their best interest.
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/950548390487777280?
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/949098787901005825?
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/948374087847555072?
https://twitter.com/NewMutantsFilm/status/946561990188847105?
The New Mutants plot
The New Mutants storyline is set in the present day. It focuses on a group of young mutants who are being held at a creepy and sinister facility under the supervision of Dr. Cecilia Reyes. The facility is clearly not Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
They are discovering and exploring their superhuman powers in the detention facility, which explains why The New Mutants was originally filmed under the working title “Growing Pains.” The young mutants struggle physically and mentally under the austere conditions of captivity.
The youngsters are being held at the facility apparently because they are considered to be troubled and dangerous teenagers whose terrifying powers make them a threat to the world. But life inside the facility proves dangerous and unpredictable.
“New Mutants is about these teenagers who are just coming into their powers,” 20th Century Fox chairman and CEO Stacy Snider told Variety. “It’s like watching mutants go through adolescence and they have no impulse control, so they’re dangerous.”
“The only solution is to put them in a Breakfast Club detention/Cuckoo’s Nest institutional setting. It protects the people on the outside, but it’s strange and combustible inside. The genre is like a haunted-house movie with a bunch of hormonal teenagers.”
The young mutants plot and eventually escape together from the facility. They face a terrifying threat in the form of a powerful foe, the Demon Bear.
Boone confirmed in October 2017, in an interview with IGN, and later during the Fox panel at the December 2017 CCXP (Comic-Con Experience) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, that The New Mutants is not conceived as a typical superhero movie where costumed superheroes go on a mission to save the world. Instead, it is conceived as a dark and surreal teen horror movie, with supernatural elements.
According to Boone, the storyline takes inspiration from Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz’s The New Mutants comic book series (The New Mutants Vol. 1 #18-31, 35-38) from the 1980s, specifically the Demon Bear (The New Mutants #18-20, 1984) story arc.
In the comic series, the New Mutants confront a powerful and evil metaphysical force in the form of a bear. The Demon Bear attacks and kills Mirage’s family. The bear also tries to kill Mirage and she has to fight for her life with help from her New Mutant teammates.
The New Mutant movie also takes its inspiration from horror classics, including The Shining (1980) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987).
“We are making a full-fledged horror movie set within the X-Men universe,” Director Boone told Entertainment Weekly in a May 2017 interview. “There are no costumes. There are no super villains. We’re trying to do something very, very different.”