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''The New Mutants'' is a 2020 American
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...
based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
team of the same name. It is a spin-off film in the ''X-Men'' film series and the thirteenth and final installment overall before the whole series was moved to Marvel. The film was directed by Josh Boone from a screenplay he wrote with Knate Lee, and it stars
Blu Hunt Blu Farias Hunt (born July 11, 1995) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Inadu/The Hollow in The CW supernatural drama series '' The Originals'' (2017) and as August Catawnee in the Netflix science fiction drama series '' ...
,
Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). She ...
,
Anya Taylor-Joy Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy ( ; born 16 April 1996) is an actress. She has won several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2021, she was featu ...
, Charlie Heaton, and Alice Braga. In the film, a group of young mutants held in a secret facility fight to save themselves. Boone and Lee first began work on the film after Boone completed ''
The Fault in Our Stars ''The Fault in Our Stars'' is a novel by John Green. It is his fourth solo novel, and sixth novel overall. It was published on January 10, 2012. The title is inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play ''Julius Caesar'', in which the nobl ...
'' (2014). The pair pitched a potential film trilogy to ''X-Men'' producer
Simon Kinberg Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is a British-born American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film franchise, and has also written such films as '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' and '' Sherlock Holmes''. He ...
, and in May 2015 they were officially signed on to the project. Taylor-Joy and Williams were rumored to be cast in March 2016 and were confirmed over a year later when the rest of the cast filled out. Filming took place in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, from July to September 2017, primarily at
Medfield State Hospital Medfield State Hospital, originally the Medfield Insane Asylum, is a historic former psychiatric hospital complex at 45 Hospital Road in Medfield, Massachusetts, United States. The asylum was established in 1892 as the state's first facility for ...
, with an April 2018 release in mind. The film was then delayed while reshoots were planned and Disney began the process of acquiring production company 20th Century Fox. After the acquisition was completed, Boone returned to work on the film, and it was completed without reshoots in March 2020. ''The New Mutants'' was theatrically released in the United States on August 28, 2020, by
20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics and bombed at the box office, grossing $49 million worldwide against its production budget of $67–80 million.


Plot

Danielle "Dani" Moonstar, a young
Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enro ...
Native American, is hidden in a tree by her father as her entire reservation is devastated by a tornado, leaving her the only survivor. After falling unconscious, Dani awakens in an oddly empty hospital run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes, who comforts Dani, explaining that she is not an ordinary human being but, rather, has unique
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. ...
DNA, and she advises her to remain in the hospital until she learns the effects and how to control them. Dani is introduced to four other teenagers; Samuel "Sam" Guthrie, Illyana Rasputin, Roberto "Bobby" da Costa and Rahne Sinclair. Reyes has brought each of them to the hospital, after they have each either experienced, or accidentally caused, a horrible tragedy. Sam collapsed an entire coal mine on his father and coworkers, killing them all, Roberto accidentally burned his girlfriend to death, Rahne escaped her devoutly Catholic village by killing the priest after he branded her as a witch, and Illyana was enslaved and sexually abused as a child. All of them also possess superhuman abilities due to mutations in their DNA; Roberto can manipulate
solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essen ...
, Sam can fly at jet speed, Illyana has inter-dimensional sorcery powers, and Rahne's
lycanthropy In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...
allows her to turn into a wolf. Reyes herself is also a powerful mutant who can manipulate "plasma-energy" force fields, preventing the five of them from leaving the facility. Collectively, the five teenagers believe they are being trained to join the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
, hence the strict supervision. Reyes warns them that they are considered dangerous and should not leave until they have mastered their superhuman abilities. Dani attempts to escape, but is stopped by a force field surrounding the entire hospital grounds. She then plans suicide from the church clock-tower, but is prevented by Rahne. The two begin to form a romantic relationship, but Illyana antagonizes Dani, who discovers that Illyana has a hand puppet of a purple dragon called Lockheed. Soon, the group all begin to have horrifying real visions of their past tragedies, one of which results in Rahne getting branded on the neck by the same Priest whom she had previously killed. Both Illyana and Reyes deduce that the visions are the result of Dani's powers manifesting themselves: the ability to physically manifest fears, desires or other thoughts from a person's mind into reality as tangible illusions. Reyes consults her employers, the Essex Corporation, who instruct her to collect Dani's DNA and then euthanize her. As Reyes straps her to a gurney, Dani's panic causes her powers to go haywire. Illyana and Sam are attacked by physical manifestations of Illyana's childhood abusers - monstrous humanoid creatures called the "Smiling Men" - while Roberto tries to break through the hospital's outer barrier, which has now contracted in diameter. Dani uses her powers to discover Reyes's true intentions before Rahne arrives in half-wolf form and mauls Reyes, forcing her to flee. The five regroup in Reyes's office and realize that Reyes was training them to be assassins for Essex and that, to escape, they must kill Reyes to deprive the force fields of their power source. They find and confront Reyes, who warns them that Dani is too powerful and will destroy them all. Reyes restricts them all with force fields and tries to again kill Dani by asphyxiating her with a force field, which unleashes the Demon Bear – Dani's own fears manifested through her power, and the true cause of her reservation's destruction – on her; Reyes is devoured and Dani rendered unconscious. Rahne tries to reach through to Dani's subconscious and urges her to wake up, while Illyana uses her powers to travel to "limbo" where she retrieves a glowing sword, armor and a tiny, physical manifestation of Lockheed to battle Demon Bear. Eventually, Sam and Roberto join the fight, as well as Rahne, all to no avail. Dani is visited by her father's spirit, who encourages her to face her fear; she awakens and confronts Demon Bear, calming and thus dissipating it. As day breaks, the group leaves the now unshielded facility to find the nearest town.


Cast

*
Blu Hunt Blu Farias Hunt (born July 11, 1995) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Inadu/The Hollow in The CW supernatural drama series '' The Originals'' (2017) and as August Catawnee in the Netflix science fiction drama series '' ...
as Danielle "Dani" Moonstar / Mirage:
A Native American mutant who can create illusions based on the fears and desires of other people. The film includes a love story between Rahne and Dani, which Williams felt was a natural extension of the comic book characters having a telepathic connection. Boone described this as "the spine and focus" of the film's "character-driven stuff". *
Anya Taylor-Joy Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy ( ; born 16 April 1996) is an actress. She has won several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2021, she was featu ...
as Illyana Rasputin / Magik:
A Russian mutant with sorcery powers, she can manifest the
Soulsword Magik (Illyana Nikolaievna Rasputina) ( Russian: Ильяна Николаевна Распутина) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted most often in relation to the ...
and use teleportation discs to travel. Illyana is the enigmatic sister of
Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * '' C ...
, a member of the X-Men seen in previous films in the series. She has a purple dragon companion, Lockheed. Colbi Gannett portrays Illyana as a child. *
Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). She ...
as Rahne Sinclair / Wolfsbane:
A Scottish mutant who can turn into a wolf and is struggling to reconcile this with her religious beliefs. Williams was persuaded to join the film after discussing the character's religious background with director Josh Boone, who identified with the comic book character due to his own strict religious upbringing. * Henry Zaga as Roberto "Bobby" da Costa / Sunspot: A Brazilian mutant who can manipulate solar energy. * Charlie Heaton as Samuel "Sam" Guthrie / Cannonball: An American mutant who can propel himself into the air, and is invulnerable while doing so. * Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes: A strict mentor to the group and a medical doctor who can generate protective fields around herself. * Thomas Kee as Thomas Guthrie, Sam's father. * Happy Anderson as Reverend Craig, a priest from Rahne's village. * The Smiley Men, Illyana's abusers, are physically portrayed by Dustin Ceithamer while
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
provided their voices. *
Adam Beach Adam Beach (born November 11, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in '' Smoke Signals'', Frank Fencepost in '' Dance Me Outside'', Tommy on ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', Kickin' Wing in '' Joe Dirt'', U.S. Mari ...
as William Lonestar: Dani's father of
Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enro ...
descent.


Production


Development

In 2009, ''X-Men'' film series producer
Lauren Shuler Donner Lauren Diane Shuler Donner (born June 23, 1949) is an American film producer, who specializes in mainstream youth and family-oriented entertainment. She owned The Donners' Company with her late husband, director Richard Donner. Her films have g ...
revealed to
/Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. Podcasts Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, De ...
her interest in a film adaptation of the ''
New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subseq ...
'' comics but that it had yet to be pitched to
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
. After completing work on the 2014 film ''
The Fault in Our Stars ''The Fault in Our Stars'' is a novel by John Green. It is his fourth solo novel, and sixth novel overall. It was published on January 10, 2012. The title is inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play ''Julius Caesar'', in which the nobl ...
'' for 20th Century Fox, director Josh Boone created a comic book with his childhood best friend Knate Lee using panels from
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
and
Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and '' Elektra: Assassin''. Sienkiewicz's work in the 198 ...
's ''New Mutants'' comics to illustrate what a potential film trilogy adapting those comics would be like. The pair had been fans of the characters growing up, with Boone calling the stories "really dark, interesting, and different from the typical
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
stories that we had read". Boone and Lee took the comic to
Simon Kinberg Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is a British-born American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film franchise, and has also written such films as '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' and '' Sherlock Holmes''. He ...
, one of the producers of the ''X-Men'' film series, who "really liked it". In May 2015, Fox finalized a deal to have Boone direct ''The New Mutants'', from a script by himself and Lee, with Kinberg and Donner producing. The film was initially intended to expand the universe of the ''X-Men'' franchise and take place three years after '' X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016). While working on the first draft of the script, Boone sent it and his ideas for the film to Sienkiewicz, who thought Boone "had it figured out" and was not just copying the comics. Updating the status of the film in March 2016, Kinberg said that Boone and Lee were working on the script, and that, like ''
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadpo ...
'' (2016), the film would be different from the core ''X-Men'' films, "maybe not as different as ''Deadpool'', but it has its own unique, original voice to it". Kinberg said that the film would have a
young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
"vibe", and that there was potential for characters seen in previous films to appear, namely Warpath,
Sunspot Sunspots are phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection ...
, and
Professor X Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...
, who all have ties to the New Mutants in the comics. Also at that time, it was reported that
Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). She ...
and
Anya Taylor-Joy Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy ( ; born 16 April 1996) is an actress. She has won several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2021, she was featu ...
were being looked at to star in the film as Rahne Sinclair / Wolfsbane and Illyana Rasputin / Magik, respectively. The rest of the title team was expected to consist of the characters Sam Guthrie / Cannonball, Roberto da Costa / Sunspot, and Danielle Moonstar / Mirage. Sunspot previously appeared in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', portrayed by Adan Canto, who was not confirmed to be returning for the new film.
James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...
, who portrayed Professor X in several previous ''X-Men'' films, was said to have a significant role in this one, alongside
Alexandra Shipp Alexandra Ruth Shipp is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence for portraying singer Aaliyah in the Lifetime television film '' Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B'' (2014) and Kimberly Woodruff in the Oscar-nominated film ''Straight Ou ...
, who was expected to reprise her role of
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
from ''X-Men: Apocalypse''. In May 2016, Kinberg confirmed that the script included Professor X, and he stated his hope for filming to start at the beginning of 2017. By that August, the titular team's roster had expanded to include the character Warlock, while
Scott Neustadter Scott Eric Neustadter (; born 1977) is an American screenwriter and producer. He often works with his writing partner, Michael H. Weber. The two writers are best known for writing the screenplay for the romantic comedy film ''500 Days of Summer ...
and Michael H. Weber—who worked with Boone writing ''The Fault in Our Stars''—were working on a new draft of the script while Boone and Lee were busy on another project. In November, the report of Williams and Taylor-Joy's casting was believed to be accurate, and
Nat Wolff Nathaniel Marvin Wolff (born December 17, 1994) is an American actor and musician. He gained recognition for composing the music for '' The Naked Brothers Band'' (2007–2009), a Nickelodeon television series he starred in with his younger bro ...
was being looked at for the role of Cannonball after working with Boone on ''The Fault in Our Stars''. The character Demon Bear was set as the film's main antagonist, with the project aiming for more of a "'
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high ...
meets John Hughes'-style horror movie". Boone soon noted that the Demon Bear was a very personal villain for him as a child, as he "was raised by very religious parents. They were
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
Southern Baptists The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...
and they believed in the
rapture The rapture is an eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise "in the c ...
; they believed
the devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...
was real; they believed in
demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...
."


Pre-production

The film entered pre-production in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, in April 2017, in preparation for filming to begin in that city. Location scouting took place, including at
Medfield State Hospital Medfield State Hospital, originally the Medfield Insane Asylum, is a historic former psychiatric hospital complex at 45 Hospital Road in Medfield, Massachusetts, United States. The asylum was established in 1892 as the state's first facility for ...
which was previously used as a filming location for ''
Shutter Island ''Shutter Island'' is a novel by American writer Dennis Lehane, published by HarperCollins in April 2003. It is about a U.S. Marshal who goes to an isolated hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient who is ...
'' (2010). Fox scheduled ''New Mutants'' for an April 13, 2018 release. Several weeks later, the studio officially announced the casting of Taylor-Joy and Williams and that it was "making serious efforts to find ethnically appropriate actors" for the rest of the cast, searching for South American and Native American actors to respectively play Sunspot and Moonstar. By then, McAvoy was no longer slated to appear in the film; Wolff was no longer in the running to portray Cannonball; and Karen Rosenfelt was producing alongside Kinberg, who ultimately spent much of production focused on making '' Dark Phoenix'' (2019). At the end of May, Henry Zaga was expected to be cast as Sunspot, and
Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama '' Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include ''He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), '' Men in ...
—who also portrays the Marvel character Claire Temple across the various Marvel Netflix television series—was in talks to join the film as
Cecilia Reyes Dr. Cecilia Reyes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Scott Lobdell and Carlos Pacheco, the character first appeared in ''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #65 (June 1997). She belongs to the subspeci ...
, a mentor to the titular team. It was explained that McAvoy was no longer involved due to Professor X being written out of the script with further drafts, and Shipp's Storm had likewise been written out of the film. Illyana's brother
Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * '' C ...
, another character seen in previous ''X-Men'' films, also does not appear despite being included in early versions of the script, with Boone choosing to save him for future films. Boone confirmed the film would be "a full-fledged horror movie set within the ''X-Men'' universe. There are no costumes. There are no supervillains. We're trying to do something very, very different." He had previously said that he does not like horror films, except for "classic ones" such as ''
The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...
'' (1973), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), and '' The Shining'' (1980), but was looking to "pioneer and champion doing prestige versions of horror films" based on his love for horror novels such as King's works. At the end of the month, Charlie Heaton was in talks to portray Cannonball. Zaga, Dawson, and Heaton were confirmed to have been cast at the start of June, and newcomer
Blu Hunt Blu Farias Hunt (born July 11, 1995) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Inadu/The Hollow in The CW supernatural drama series '' The Originals'' (2017) and as August Catawnee in the Netflix science fiction drama series '' ...
was cast as Moonstar after an extensive and challenging international search that prioritized "ethnic authenticity". The character was believed to be central to the Demon Bear storyline that the film focuses on. At the end of that month, Dawson exited the film, and Alice Braga was cast as Reyes in her place. The final shooting script for the film included contributions from Scott Frank, Josh Zetumer,
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic t ...
and Carey Hayes, Seth Grahame-Smith, Neustadter and Weber, along with a six-person "writer's room" that Fox hired to generate ideas for the film and also "tear apart the script and put it back together". Throughout the development process on the film, the script evolved from the "full horror" film that Boone and Lee initially wanted to make, and which Fox was resistant to, to a compromise version without "excessive blood and scares" and more "young adult"-focused. Boone created storyboards with artist Ashley R. Guillory to plan out all of the shots before filming. The casting of Henry Zaga as Roberto da Costa was met with some controversy. Zaga, while Brazilian in real life, portrays a character who in the comics is of
Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see " preto"). Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. ...
descent. Boone stated, "my goal was to cast a real Brazilian and I saw 300 of myself black, brown, lighter-skinned. I saw every shade of the sun. It was the same case with Blu Hunt...My goal was to find the best actor who, because they've done so little work, was at least the closest to kind of what I saw in my head for the character...maybe if Henry didn't exist, I would have found somebody who was darker skinned who exemplified what I needed. But it was never about the color of their skin for me." He added that he was not concerned with the real life racism that existed in Brazil and that he wanted the character to be a positive representation of the nation.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as act ...
began on July 10, 2017, in Boston, under the
working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
''Growing Pains''. Peter Deming served as cinematographer for the film. The majority of the film was shot on location at Medfield State Hospital, where Boone said every crew member had "weird things happen to them". Boone wanted to use practical effects as much as possible to make the film feel like the horror movies that he grew up with. For example, he had actors push on sheets of
spandex Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether- polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont's Benger Laboratory in Waynesboro, Virginia, US. The ...
to create the effect of figures pushing through the walls of a room, a technique originated by
Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
. Ten percent of the film used
green screen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to ...
. On the film's set, Boone explained that the script had been re-written following the mixed critical response of ''Apocalypse'', so that the plot is set during modern day rather than in the 1980s, which removed Professor X and Storm from the story. Boone felt the film was not largely affected by this change since its confined location and lack of technology meant "it might as well be the 80s in terms of the setting. It didn't change our story very much." Fox chairman and CEO
Stacey Snider Stacey Snider (born April 29, 1961) is an American film industry executive. She previously served as Chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox before its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company. Biography Snider was born to a Jewish family. From 199 ...
described the film's setting as a '' Breakfast Club'' detention crossed with a ''
Cuckoo's Nest Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...
'' institution. She said the film was "a haunted-house movie with a bunch of hormonal teenagers. We haven't seen a superhero movie whose genre is more like ''The Shining'' than we're teenagers let's save the world. Boone was also influenced by '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). He explained that Warlock had been deemed too expensive to portray on the film's budget, but could appear in a sequel, and clarified that the Demon Bear would not be the main antagonist of the film, but would appear since the film was "very much inspired" by the comics in which that character is the main villain. Filming also took place in the Massachusetts towns of Millis, Lynn, and Weymouth, and ended on September 16, 2017. The film's principal photography was described as "stressful" for Boone, who felt "a bit neutered" during the process due to having to tone down the film from his original "full horror" ideas.


Post-production


Initial cut

Boone and his regular editors Matthew Rundell and Robb Sullivan delivered a cut of the film to Fox that they were happy with, and it tested as well as initial screenings of ''Deadpool'' did. Three days of additional photography were planned to complete the "YA movie" that Boone, Lee, and Fox had agreed to make. However, following the successful release of the film '' It'' (2017), the studio cut the first trailer for ''The New Mutants'' to focus on the "scary elements from the film, essentially selling it as a straight-up horror movie". With the positive reception to the preview, Fox decided to make the film more like Boone's original vision rather than completing the version that they had been making during production.


Planned reshoots

In January 2018, the film's release date was pushed back to February 22, 2019. This allowed it to avoid ''
Deadpool 2 ''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American superhero comedy film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the sequel to '' Deadpool'' (2016) and the eleventh installment overall in the ''X-Men'' film series. ...
'' (2018), which had just been moved to a date that would have had both films in theaters at the same time in certain markets. It also allowed time for the reshoots the studio required to make the film more in line with Boone's original vision. When asked about this delay the next month, Williams stated that there had been concerns during filming regarding the short turnaround from the end of photography to the previously set release date, especially with the amount of visual effects still needed to finish the film, so in her opinion the delay was "for the better". The additional photography was scheduled for mid-2018. It was expected to include the addition of several new characters who would appear throughout the film rather than just making cameo appearances. In March 2018, Fox again delayed the film's release, distancing it from the new February 2019 release date for ''Dark Phoenix'', rescheduling its release for August 2, 2019. At this point, the studio believed that the reshoots required were more extensive than previously considered, with intentions to reshoot at least half of the film. The intent was to make the film as distinct from the other entries in the series as possible, looking toward the variety of ''Deadpool'' and '' Logan'' (2017). They believed the film would not endure a similar fate to ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the firs ...
'' (2015) which went through similar production issues and became a "flop", with the issues not being placed on Boone, allowing him to write and direct the reshoots to complete his original vision. In addition to adjusting the tone of the film through reshoots, they also planned to change an antagonist subplot in the film. Originally intended to feature the Essex Corporation, which was first teased at the end of ''X-Men: Apocalypse'', with a
post-credits scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or vide ...
featuring the reveal of
Jon Hamm Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Televisio ...
as the villain Nathaniel Essex / Mister Sinister, Fox requested the reshoots to include a new post-credits scene introducing
Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival ...
as Sunspot's father Emmanuel da Costa. Kinberg later denied that an actor was ever cast as Mister Sinister when he revealed that the character had been intended to be included in the canceled ''Gambit'' film. Hamm later revealed that while there were talks to have him play Mr. Sinister, his scene was never filmed.


Disney acquisition

Reshoots for the film were slated to begin by the end of September 2018, with Kinberg stating: "audiences really embraced the notion of a superhero movie or a comic book movie that was, in its core, a horror film". Following the acquisition of Fox by Disney in March 2019, it was revealed that the additional photography had still not taken place, nor were they "planned so far". The work was dependent on Boone's involvement, and decisions being made to instead release the film on one of the streaming services owned by The Walt Disney Company. A month later at CinemaCon 2019, Disney confirmed that the film will be released, but indicated that its release date could be adjusted to better fit within Disney's existing schedule. A month after that, the studio pushed the film's release back to April 3, 2020, and the reshoots were set to take place later in 2019. Kinberg explained that they had take time to reschedule because the creative team was still deciding what portions of the film to reshoot due to the difficulty of reuniting the cast given their busy schedules. In August 2019, Disney was reported to be unimpressed with the original cut of ''The New Mutants'', believing it had "limited box office potential". Additional work was completed since Disney acquired it to align the film with Boone's original vision, and test screenings with these changes had been positive. In addition to making the film more horror-tinged, these changes also included removing overt connections to the ''X-Men'' films. However, the film as released does make reference to the previous entries, with the inclusion of the Essex Corporation connecting the film to the post-credits scene of ''Apocalypse'' and to ''Logan''. By December of the same year it was confirmed that work on the film had been taking place, while marketing had been adjusted to align with the style of
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...
. Boone stated that the latest version of the film followed his original vision. In January 2020, Disney's official fan club website D23 described the film as a "new addition to the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by M ...
", a statement that was quickly picked up by fans and reporters. Soon after, all mentions of the film were removed from the website, while Disney identified this as an error and stated that the film would not be part of the MCU.


Final cut

On March 7, 2020, Boone stated that the film was complete. Shortly after, he explained that work on the film had halted when Disney's acquisition of Fox had begun and so no reshoots ever took place on the film, even standard pickups that had already been scheduled during initial production. At that time, around 75 percent of the film had been edited while much of the film's visual effects were also not finished. By the time the acquisition was completed, Boone had moved on and was about to begin work on a new television series, '' The Stand''. Before he started production on that series, Disney asked Boone if he would return to finish the film. Rundell and Sullivan were committed to working on ''The Stand'' at that point and could not continue editing ''The New Mutants'', so Boone brought on editor Andrew Buckland to help finish the film. The work required to finish the film when Boone returned involved completing the visual effects and editing alongside co-writer Lee, which took several months. Reshoots for the film could have been scheduled at that point, but Boone found that the cast had aged too much since principal photography had taken place. He also felt it did not make sense to add the post-credit scenes of Banderas since it was unlikely that they would be able to make a sequel now that Disney owned the X-Men rights and was integrating the property into the MCU. Describing returning to the film after so long, Boone said, "we hadn't seen it in a year. We did a bunch of things here and there that we hadn't thought about or noticed a year before." The visual effects that still needed to be finished included Illyana's sorceress abilities, including her
Soulsword Magik (Illyana Nikolaievna Rasputina) ( Russian: Ильяна Николаевна Распутина) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted most often in relation to the ...
that she materializes, as well as her dragon companion Lockheed. Visual effects for the film were provided by DNEG,
Method Studios Method Studios is a visual effects company launched in 1999 in Los Angeles, California with facilities in New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, San Francisco, Melbourne, Montreal, and Pune. The company provides production and post-production services i ...
, and
Moving Picture Company The Moving Picture Company (MPC) is a multinational company providing visual effects, CGI, animation, motion design and other services for the film, TV, brand experience and advertising industries. Their artists have produced Academy Awar ...
, with Olivier Dumont serving as VFX supervisor. After the film was completed, Boone reunited the cast for the first official screening in New York City, after which Williams stated, "The movie is exactly the movie we set out to make." Disney removed ''The New Mutants'' from its release schedule, along with several other films, on March 12, 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, and was looking to reschedule the film's release to a later 2020 date. On May 4, the film was automatically listed for home media pre-order on
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
based on the film's previous April 2020 release date. Amazon took the listing down hours later after it had been widely reported on. At that time, the film was still expected to receive a theatrical release rather than be released straight-to-streaming as other films had been during the pandemic. Shortly after, Disney scheduled the film for release on August 28, 2020.


Music

Nate Walcott Nate Walcott (born March 6, 1978) is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and trumpeter. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's ''The Fault in Our Stars''. He is a member of the ba ...
and
Mike Mogis Michael Riley Mogis (born May 16, 1974) is an American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who, along with his brother A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Studios (previously known as Dead Space Recording and, earlier, Whoopass Recor ...
were confirmed in December 2017 to be composing the score for the film, having worked with Boone on his previous films. In May 2018,
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
announced that their cover of the song " Cry Little Sister"—originally written for the film ''
The Lost Boys ''The Lost Boys'' is a 1987 American supernatural black comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard with a screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jer ...
'' (1987) by
Gerard McMahon Gerard Thomas McMahon, also known as Gerard McMann and G Tom Mac, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who specialises in creating music for films and TV. His gothic rock anthem " Cry Little Sister" was recorded ...
—which Manson debuted during their '' Heaven Upside Down'' tour, had been recorded specifically for the ''New Mutants'' soundtrack, despite appearing in an ad in 2018 for the series ''
Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...
'' and being released as a single in 2018. In February 2020,
Mark Snow Mark Snow (born Martin Fulterman; August 26, 1946) is an American composer for film and television. Among his most famous compositions is the theme music for science fiction television series '' The X-Files''. The theme reached no. 2 on the UK ...
was revealed to have composed the score for the final version of the film, though additional music composed by Walcott and Mogis was still set to be used in the soundtrack, "Cry Little Sister" did not appear on the official soundtrack album.


Marketing

The first trailer for the film was released in October 2017, on
Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same yea ...
, with a horror focus inspired by the success of the film '' It'', which had been released the month before. Sara Vilkomerson of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'' felt that trailer delivered on Boone's promise of a different type of ''X-Men'' film and was "creepy". Vilkomerson also noted the trailer's use of
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
's "
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 "Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera ''The Wall,'' written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a childr ...
"; the title treatment for the film introduced in the trailer evokes the treatment used for that song. Alex McLevy, writing for ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...
'', also felt that Boone had delivered on his promise of a "straight-up horror film" and said, "Congrats to this creative team for trying something different with the superhero genre." Writing for ''
/Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. Podcasts Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, De ...
'', Hoai-Tran Bui said the film looked like a
bottle episode In episodic television, a bottle episode is produced cheaply and restricted in scope to use as few regular cast members, effects and sets as possible. Bottle episodes are usually shot on sets built for other episodes, frequently the main interior ...
for the ''X-Men'' franchise and noted that telling a standalone story led to success for ''Deadpool''. Bui also compared the trailer's tone to ''
Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Pro ...
'' (in which Heaton also stars as Jonathan Byers) and Braga's performance as Reyes to Nurse Ratched. Boone, Lee, Braga, Zaga, and Sienkiewicz promoted the film at a 2017
Comic Con Experience CCXP (originally called Comic Con Experience) is a Brazilian multi-genre entertainment and comic convention. It is based on the San Diego Comic-Con and has attractions and contents about comics, TV series, movies, video games, literature and in ...
panel, where they also talked about their plans for future films. A new trailer, incorporating the changes made to the film following Disney's acquisition of Fox, was released on January 6, 2020. Boone sent the trailer to Sienkiewicz in December 2019, and the comic book artist praised it as "phenomenal". He stated that the horror elements of the film were still present in the trailer, but that it now also appeared to have been influenced by the style of Disney's Marvel Studios who he said had appeared to give the latest version of the film "the blessings of Marvel". Aja Romano of Vox also compared the horror elements of this trailer to ''Stranger Things'' and felt the film looked like "highly entertaining, if predictable, fun". '' io9''s Charles Pulliam-Moore praised the more comic-accurate superhero abilities included in the new trailer, especially Magik's, and felt that the less superhero-like elements could be what saves the film from being a "flop" like ''Dark Phoenix''. Writing about the trailer for ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', Scott Mendelson said the film "seems to be pretty similar in content and tone to what was always promised" and discussed its interesting position as "just a movie" now that the ''X-Men'' franchise had ended and future ''New Mutants'' films were unlikely after Marvel Studios took control of mutant-based films. Weeks before the film's then-set April 2020 release date, Graeme McMillan of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' discussed several television spots released for the film. He stated that the first two, titled "Awaken" and "Escape", followed the tone and style of the previous trailers, while the third one, "Attitude", presented the film more like a traditional superhero film, focusing on action, quips, and superpowers. McMillan felt this was an abrupt shift in marketing given "Attitude" was released just one week after the other two spots and questioned whether the change in tone was to align the marketing to the film or just an attempt to boost interest in the film by reminding audiences of other popular superhero films. A panel for the film was held during the virtual 2020 Comic-Con@Home convention, with Boone and members of the cast. A teaser for the film, to announce the panel, was also released. Ethan Anderton from ''/Film'' felt Taylor-Joy had "a great moment referencing herself" as Magik in the teaser and felt the footage "doesn't look half-bad", though he could not say he was excited for the film because of its extensive delays. Anderton also questioned if the film would hold its then-set August 28, 2020 release date, given higher profile films like '' Tenet'' and '' Mulan'' had shifted back into August, and wondered if the Comic-Con panel would announce a new theatrical release date or a move to Disney+. Germain Lussier at ''io9'' also felt Disney would use the Comic-Con panel to announce new release plans for the films, but the panel reaffirmed the film's August 28 theatrical release date while acknowledging the film's many delays. The film's opening scene was revealed during the panel, which Sienkiewicz joined to discuss a new poster he had drawn for the film.


Release


Theatrical

''The New Mutants'' was released in the United States on August 28, 2020. It was originally set to be released on April 13, 2018, before being delayed to February 22, 2019, to avoid ''Deadpool 2'', and then to August 2, 2019, to avoid ''Dark Phoenix''. It was delayed to April 3, 2020, by Disney after that studio acquired Fox, and then removed from Disney's schedule in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney rescheduled the film for August 28, 2020, two months later. The various delays have led to several online commentators referring to the film as "cursed" and lamenting its bad luck. Boone and the film's cast acknowledged this curse during the 2020 Comic-Con@Home convention, which included a "cheeky teaser trailer" that recounted the film's release dates and ended with a "Fingers Crossed" note beside the August 28 date. Boone also revealed the various contracts signed for the film guaranteed a theatrical release, preventing it from first being released on either
Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television s ...
or
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...
.


Home media

''The New Mutants'' was released on DVD,
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Blu ...
by
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
on November 17, 2020.


Reception


Box office

''The New Mutants'' grossed $23.9 million in the United States and $25.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $49.2 million. Originally tracking to debut to around $20 million in the United States before the COVID-19 pandemic, ''The New Mutants'' was projected to gross $5–10 million from 2,412 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $3.1 million on its first day, including $750,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $7 million, finishing first at the box office. With 62% of theaters in the country open (operating at 25–50% capacity), the audience was 66% male, with 61% being between 18 and 34. In its second weekend, the film fell 59% to $2.9 million, despite adding over 340 theaters, finishing second behind newcomer ''Tenet'', then made $2.1 million in its third weekend and $1.6 million in its fourth. Internationally, the film was released day-and-date with the U.S. in 10 countries and made $2.9 million over its first weekend, including $1.1 million in France, $500,000 in Spain, and $400,000 in Taiwan. Expanding to 30 countries in its second weekend, the film made another $4.2 million.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "Rendering a list of potentially explosive ingredients mostly inert, ''The New Mutants'' is a franchise spinoff that's less than the sum of its super-powered parts." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Writing for ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', Jordan Mintzer said, "Generic and, at its best, straining to be heartfelt, director Josh Boone's adaptation of the Marvel spin-off comic series is a Marvel movie spinoff in its own right, making vague references to the ''X-Men'' franchise but attempting to stand on its own. Unfortunately it rarely does, even if the film's trio of young and tough female leads manages to give your typically male-dominated genre something of a feminine twist." Peter Debruge of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film) ...
'' said, "Despite all the meddling and interference the film reportedly went through, ''The New Mutants'' feels pretty coherent in the end. What it doesn't achieve is a memorable personality of its own." Amy Nicholson of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote, "Directed in 2017 by Josh Boone... ''The New Mutants'' spent three years on ice before being allowed to escape into the slowest summer season in a century. That's fitting for a film that's all buildup and no bang." ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
''s Barry Hertz gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "Instead of funnelling his inspirations into one singular vision that he could call his own, Boone has made a Frankenstein of a franchise movie, a giant elevator pitch that leads directly to the sub-basement of originality." In the days leading up to the film's release, several major publications, including '' RogerEbert.com'', ''
IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holly ...
'', ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...
'', and ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', refused to review the film, citing Disney's lack of
socially distanced In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...
press screenings or digital streaming links and noting that it was not safe to attend a traditional public screening due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Accolades

''The New Mutants'' received a nomination for Best Thriller Poster at the 2018
Golden Trailer Awards The Golden Trailer Awards are an American annual award show for film trailers founded in 1999. The awards also honor the best work in all areas of film and video game marketing, including posters, television advertisements and other media, in ...
. The film was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Comic to Motion Picture Release in
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
.


Comics comparison

The ''New Mutants'' comics co-creator, Bob McLeod, expressed his disappointment with the film for inaccurately depicting the characters, including whitewashing Roberto, a biracial Black character in the comics, stating that the actor portraying him wasn't "short and dark-skinned." He also criticized the film for misspelling his name in the credits as "MacLeod". The spelling was corrected for the home media release. Criticism was also directed to Braga, a Brazilian woman, playing Dr. Cecilia Reyes, an Afro-Puerto Rican character. McLeod further felt that fitting the movie into the horror genre was a mistake and that it most likely would have fared better had it been a straightforward origin film, akin to the
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
that he and
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
created together.


Cancelled sequels

Boone and Lee originally pitched the film to Kinberg as the first in a trilogy. In October 2017, Boone said that the characters Warlock and
Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
would appear in the sequels. In December, Boone and Lee revealed that they were interested in filming the first sequel in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and that Sunspot's father Emmanuel da Costa would play a role in the franchise. Explaining his plans for the sequels, Boone said that he wanted each film in the trilogy to be a different kind of horror movie. The first film is a "'rubber-reality' supernatural horror movie", the second film would have been an alien invasion film featuring Warlock, and the third film would have been an apocalyptic horror film inspired by the 1989 comic book crossover storyline "
Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * ''Inferno'' (1973 film), a German ...
". Boone confirmed that the second film would have been set in Brazil and included Antonio Banderas as Emmanuel da Costa. Karma was to be introduced as the villain of the sequel but would have joined the New Mutants by the end of the film alongside Warlock. Boone added that Emmanuel da Costa's connections to the
Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs ...
would have been explored in the first sequel, and he said the overall tone of that film would still have been inspired by Claremont and Sienkiewicz's run. Boone had wanted
Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
to portray Warlock through motion capture and had discussed the role with Cohen during production on the first film. In March 2019, Disney officially acquired Fox and gained the film rights to several Marvel Comics characters for Marvel Studios, including the New Mutants. The Marvel-based films that Fox had been developing were placed "on hold". In March 2020, Boone stated that while it was unlikely that a sequel to ''The New Mutants'' could be made now that X-Men characters were being integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he still hoped that the film would be successful enough to allow a sequel to be made. That August, Boone confirmed that there were no plans to incorporate the film into the MCU.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:New Mutants (film), The New Mutants 2020 LGBT-related films 2020 horror thriller films 2020s superhero films 2020s teen horror films 2020s American films 20th Century Studios films American horror thriller films American supernatural horror films American teen horror films American teen LGBT-related films Demons in film Films about dragons Films about psychic powers Films about witchcraft Films about Native Americans Films based on works by Chris Claremont Films directed by Josh Boone Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films produced by Karen Rosenfelt Films produced by Lauren Shuler Donner Films produced by Simon Kinberg Films scored by Mark Snow Films set in 2020 Films shot in Boston Lesbian-related films LGBT-related horror films LGBT-related superhero films Superhero horror films Teen superhero films Teen thriller films TSG Entertainment films American werewolf films X-Men (film series) 2020s English-language films Live-action films based on Marvel Comics Disney controversies Race-related controversies in film Casting controversies in film LGBT-related controversies in film