The New Mutants is set in a secret facility of some sort which appears to be controlled by a villainous version of Dr. Cecilia Reyes (the prevailing theory, however, is that Mister Sinister is pulling the strings). Some fans are curious as to why this group of mutants don't reside in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, especially when that would make such a great setting for a horror movie like this one.
Now, director Josh Boone has shed some light on why they're not in the same mansion as the rest of the X-Men, and it sounds like these mutants have slipped through the cracks due to the fact that they're unable to control thier abilities.
"They're very much in a place that's like a psych hold for mutants who are too dangerous to be at the mansion," he explains.
"You know. I'd tell you more, but there's twists and turns and all that. But yeah, there's a doctor there who helps them and they do that stuff. Like I said, a little Girl Interrupted and Cukoo's Nest and a horror movie."
This secret facility is, in fact, the real-life State Hospital in Medfield, Massachusetts and set designer Molly Hughes has explained how that location proved to be the right fit for
The New Mutants and a play on Xavier's School.
"We settled on here because it's beautiful and it's isolated and we could have kind of the run of it. We did a lot of demolition to create our interiors because we couldn't just walk into our interiors and shoot them. Most of them were falling down. We kind of came here for the shell. I love the windows and the trees and the old red brick. It has that New England, Salam Witch Trials, possibly English, playing on the X-Mansion, kind of turning that on its head. That's how we ended up here."
We don't know what, if any, changes Disney has made to The New Mutants since acquiring Fox, but the movie is now set to arrive in theaters as planned this April. It certainly sounds like those involved have tried to take the right approach, but time will tell whether it all comes together to be a great film.
Are you excited for The New Mutants?
Hit the "Next" button to check out a breakdown and some
hi-res screenshots from the latest trailer for The New Mutants!
Blu Hunt plays Danielle Moonstar/Mirage in
The New Mutants and seeing as she has the power to bring people's fears to life, something tells us her out of control powers might be terrorising her at this point in the movie.
That might be blood but this won't be a gore fest by any means; director Josh Boone recently confirmed that the movie always has been and always will be PG-13 and not R-Rated.
If you're locked in an asylum, it's fair to say that people trying to tear through the walls to get at you would definitely freak you out and it could be that these people died because of Dani's actions (we'll get to that a little later).
There's clearly something not quite right about this facility but Dani's powers causing things to go horribly wrong for the New Mutants makes more sense than some sort of outside supernatural force.
That ties into the source material too as it was there that we saw the team targeted by the monstrous Demon Bear, a villain who infiltrated her mind and used her powers to enter our world.
It seems as if Dani was being pursued by some unknown force here and it could be that her powers manifest at this point and the Demon Bear attempts to kill her for the first time.
Given the world's hatred for mutants, it's hardly a surprise that it leads to her being blamed for the attack because, let's face it, who would believe her story about a demonic bear?
The mutants in this facility are clearly there against their will but what would the government want with young mutants and is it work kidnapping them and risking the wrath of Charles Xavier and the X-Men?
Alice Braga plays Dr. Cecilia Reyes, a character who serves as a mentor to the team in the comics. She's also a mutant but seems to be serving as an antagonist given her sinister presence in this trailer.
It's not exactly Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, eh?
It's possible that Reyes is trying to help the mutants who she's studying and that she fancies herself the next Charles Xavier. They all certainly seem to have something in common anyway and that's an apparent lack of understanding of their powers.
There were rumblings that Disney had removed any references to "mutants" in the film (an odd move given the title) but this trailer makes a point of establishing that this is what these youngsters are.
And here they are: Wolfsbane (Maisie Williams), Sunspot (Henry Zaga), Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy), and Cannonball (Charlie Heaton). There's no sign of any other characters who have been added courtesy of reshoots.
As you may recall, Fox was at one time considering reshoots to add another character from the comics and to alter the movie's tone but Disney either didn't want to spend money doing that or decided it wasn't necessary.
Now, it appears as if
The New Mutants is being released as director Josh Boone hoped and time will tell whether that's a good thing or if Fox wanting additional photography was warranted.
The New Mutants marks Maisie Williams' most noteworthy big screen role to date but when she shot the film, she was still in the midst of working on
Game of Thrones (it's really been that long).
It feels like the actress has been perfectly cast for this role and she certainly doesn't appear to be struggling with the Scottish accent if this latest footage is any sort of indication.
In the comics, Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane struggles to come to terms with her powers and the fact she's a mutant due to her religious beliefs. Thanks to this trailer, we see that it's something the movie will definitely touch on.
The question is, is the tattoo on her neck "W" for Wolfsbane (it's feasible she was branded by someone at some point for being a "freak") or "M" for mutant similar to what happened to Bishop on his face?
The transformation effects look great and while it was a good three years or more ago now, don't forget that Boone released artwork of a comic accurate Wolfsbane in
The New Mutants.
The
Stranger Things star plays Sam Guthrie/Cannonball in this movie but there's no sign of him taking flight so perhaps that's being saved for the big screen.
Like the other mutants here, Sam is clearly struggling to control his powers and it sounds like his explosive nature caused a lot of innocent people to get hurt.
Sunspot is an incredibly powerful mutant and a fan-favourite character fans have been anxious to see in live-action for a while now. This version has clearly been through a lot by this point in his life, though.
Sam reveals that the emergence of his abilities led to him burning his girlfriend but this sequence clearly isn't depicting that. Instead, it seems as if Mirage may have brought one of his nightmares to life.
Really playing into
The New Mutants' horror vibe, we see the hero being pulled underwater by charred hands and based on imagery like this, it seems Boone will really push that PG-13 rating.
Reyes is certainly something of an anomoly here as there are certainly similarities to her comic book counterpart but it's still hard to escape the feeling that she might be up to no good.
The only mutant here who appears to be completely comfortable with their powers is Illyana Rasputin. The younger sister of Colossus, she has the Russian accent but we have no clue if that familial tie will be referenced in any way.
Magik seems quite happy to have killed eighteen men and while they probably had it coming, it seems as if she's the only one here who probably deserves to be after using her powers in a nefarious way.
There have been hints for years now in the X-Men Universe (R.I.P.) that Mr. Sinister might be pulling the strings and this facility belonging to the Essex Corporation honestly wouldn't be a surprise.
Alas, with this serving as the final
X-Men movie from the studio, that's a plot thread which we'll never get to see play out (not a bad thing based on their track record of screwing up great villains).
Regardless of who holds the keys, it's certainly a fitting setting for a movie that's taking cues from the horror genre and it does appear as if this lot are the only "patients" there.
Remember us mentioning that Reyes is a mutant too? Well, she can create protective bio-fields around herself and, in this instance, it seems she's using those to keep the New Mutants stuck in her facility.
Illyana points out that this is a cage and not a hospital so it seems likely that Reyes is trying to convince them that she's there to help when, in reality, she's probably just studying their powers.
It seems inevitable that the team will somehow escape but what does that mean for their jailer? Well, for all we know, she could help them...or be the one they have to kill to get out of there!
The way Reyes is watching these kids certainly seems like the kind of thing a villain would do so we're going to go ahead and place money on her being a villainous presence in the film.
"It's important we find out your power so we can help you get better," the doctor says here, pointing to her wanting to cure these mutants of their abilities or to unlock them for nefarious means.
It's also possible that she needs their help to escape as we hear her talking about "this place" making them live through their greatest fears but surely that's what's Dani's powers are all about?
Yes, we are indeed going to be getting a romantic relationship between Wolfsbaine and Mirage, a major step forward for the superhero genre and something that happens here long before a Marvel Studios movie!
Exploring that dynamic promises to be a lot of fun and given the type of films Boone has worked on in the past, we can likely expect a respectful and realistic take on this relationship.
That hopefully won't be too controversial (it certainly will among some narrow-minded fans) but an even bigger issue the movie has faced is the apparent whitewashing of Sunspot.
In case it wasn't already clear, his backstory has been changed in
The New Mutants (his powers originally emerged in response to a racist attack) so here's hoping Mirage gets to keep her Native American background.
Who are the creepy bald guys in masks with skeletal fingers? We don't know but they're clearly terrorising one of the mutants here so are probably part of another nightmare sequence.
Unlike the last few
X-Men movies,
The New Mutants is clearly set in the present day...well, maybe 2016/2017 based on how long the movie has been delayed since it was actually in production!
One of the coolest parts of this movie is going to be seeing these mutants working together. What's up with the cast on Sam's hand? It probably has something to do with the fact his powers appear to radiate out of his arms.
This is classic horror imagery but your guess is as good as ours when it comes to what exactly it is the mutants are seeing. Something or someone is clearly toying with them in this "hospital."
Fox has made a lot of changes to the comics over the years so it's feasible that this building really is possessed by some sort of demonic force and that the Demon Bear manifests itself through a host like Dani. It's hard to say for sure.
Another bald "creature" of some sort, these mutants need more than just a building to fight so it makes sense that there will be cannon fodder for them to test their newfound abilities out on.
Of all the actors cast in
The New Mutants, it's fair to say that Anya Taylor-Joy taking on the role of Magik is what has fans most excited. Since being cast in this role, she's stole the show in a number of films, including
Glass.
The "Demon Bear" comic book had a snowy forest setting and it looks like that's something we can expect to see here as well as Mirage runs through the woods while being chased by...something!
This is a throwback to Cannonball's origin story as he worked in the family's coal mine and it was during a collapse that his powers first manifested themselves so he could save his co-workers.
However, this appears to be a twist on that as the men in the tunnels seemingly turn their weapons on him either because he's a mutant or because this is another nightmarish illusion.
Could these be all the mutants who have previously been brought to Dr. Reyes' facility? That's one possibility but it's clear that
The New Mutants is going to take us to some unexpected places.
Once again, this screams classic horror. As Wolfsbane takes shelter in a church confessional, something outside stalks the young mutant and it's hear we get perhaps the coolest reveal in this trailer.
Wolfsbane is a character with a huge amount of potential but will Marvel Studios utilise her as that character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or recast her as someone else?
That is indeed the Demon Bear and while it appears to be quite a bit different to the source material in some respects, there's no mistaking that ferocious looking face.
Demon Bear draws its powers from negative emotion and it's fair to say that there will be plenty of that in the hospital these mutants find themselves trapped in.
In the source material, Demon Bear stalks Dani Moonstar for years until finally brutally attacking her, something which brings the New Mutants together to try and stop it once and for all.
It's interesting that Fox/Disney isn't shying away from showing this romance in the trailers, especially as
The Rise of Skywalker featured an easily cut lesbian kiss which J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm have come under fire for.
The mutants assemble! They may not be wearing costumes (which is always a shame for comic book fans) but it's awesome seeing them together for the first time in a live-action setting.
Sunspot fully unleashes his powers here and that makes for an awesome visual. In this respect, Boone is clearly going to be sticking to how he appears in the source material.
The biggest change with Cannonball appears to be the fact he won't be propelling himself around like a, well, cannonball. Instead, his powers look like they will radiate out of his arms and hands.
Yes, that is indeed the eldritch armor which is spreading down Magik's arm as she summons the Soulsword. Interesting, it appears to have been changed to that it resembles Colossus to at least some extent.
It also looks like Magik will have access to Limbo as she can be seen jumping through a portal here and it looks like somewhere hellish is above her. Interestingly, it looks like this may be the church Wolfsbane was attacked in (part of the hospital, perhaps?).
The Soulsword is an incredibly powerful weapon which has become a trademark of Magik's arsenal over the years. While she is a mutant, her powers have a basis in magic, so it will be interesting hopefully seeing that explored as well.
We get a slightly better look at the Demon Bear here but does he look a little dog-like to anyone else? Either way, it's great that this is something Boone decided to include as its synonymous with this team.
If we had to hazard a guess, Magik will be fully in control of her powers by this point and that should make her a true force to be reckoned with alongside her fellow teammates.
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!