‘The New Mutants’ Finally Gets A New Trailer
Remember that X-Men spin-off The New Mutants that was supposed to arrive in 2018? It finally got its second trailer after two years, two months, and twenty-four days.
The New Mutants is based on the comic series of the same name, taking heavy inspiration from the “Demon Bear” story arc that comprises The New Mutants Volume 1, Issues #18-#20. That story, widely considered to be the best in the comic book’s entire run, revolves around one of the team’s members getting interred in a hospital after being seriously wounded by a supernatural entity known as the Demon Bear, which then attacks the facility. The movie is opting to rework the story as part of the team’s origin, with everyone meeting for the first time instead of being an established team of superheroes. The narrative also works as a coming-of-age tale, as our heroes are having to grapple with not just their powers, but the realization that there are threats that they have to deal with without the aid of the X-Men.
Since it’s been so long since the last trailer (which hit on October 13, 2017), here it is for a refresher:
The very first look at the movie significantly downplayed any superhero elements, aside from the word “Mutant” being used to establish that yes, this is an X-Men spin-off. In spite of that date announcement at the end, the movie would be delayed significantly due to internal clashes over the direction of the film. The studio wanted something scarier and director Josh Boone was happy with the movie that had been made, with planned reshoots looking to up the ante at the expense of the more character-driven side of the film. Since the lead producer on the movie (Simon Kinberg) is no longer working at the Fox arm of Disney, Boone won out in the end, and the latest trailer shows more character-focused elements alongside the superhero angle (including, among other things, the Demon Bear itself, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it look at the small dragon Lockheed taking flight). Check it out below:
Prior to Disney’s acquisition of Fox, The New Mutants was meant to encompass a trilogy of films, but with Marvel opting to reboot Mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a few years, the film will instead work as a standalone, possibly disconnected from any of the other X-Men movies that preceded it. (And it will almost certainly have no ties to the MCU, in spite of the premise of the film providing an “in” for them to do so.) I was personally not really all that impressed with the first trailer (which I thought was just competent, but nothing exceptional), but the second makes me think that this movie could turn out to be something interesting, even if it is just a one-and-done.
The New Mutants will be released on April 3, 2020. Directed by Josh Boone, written by Boone and Knate Lee, and produced by Simon Kinberg, Karen Rosenfelt, and Lauren Shuler Donner, the movie stars Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga, and Happy Anderson.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
