The New Mutants, 20th Century Fox’s X-Men spin-off, has had a long and troubled road, to say the least. April 13th, 2018 was the film’s original release date. But reshoots and the Disney-Fox merger saw it go through several delays. However, things seem to be looking up.
Just a couple of days ago, the movie’s Twitter account revealed a new trailer would arrive in January. Director Josh Boone confirmed the news in response.
There we go: A brand new trailer for #NewMutants is set to debut online in January! pic.twitter.com/091rLTLHP4
— New Mutants Updates (@NewMutantsUp) December 21, 2019
And now, renowned comic book artist Bill Sienkiewicz has revealed that not only has he seen this new trailer, but that it actually gave him chills. Sienkiewicz, who worked on the original New Mutants comic series, recently appeared on director Kevin Smith’s podcast, Fatman Beyond. There, he gave an update on the X-Men spin-off and his thoughts on the footage.
It’s nice to hear that the horror elements remain intact. The original trailer’s tone set The New Mutants apart from the rest of the X-Men franchise. When the Disney-Fox merger occurred, many were excited to see the mutants (as well as the Fantastic Four) eventually make their way to the MCU. But that left the fate of some projects up in the air.
Many were only in the pre-production phase. But Disney inherited two Marvel films: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants. Both had already been delayed for reshoots. The New Mutants took a February 22nd, 2019 spot. Fox delayed it again a couple of months later to August 2nd, 2019. The merger brought upon another delay. And it will now release on April 3rd, 2020.
Disney was reportedly unimpressed when they first acquired the project. But many behind-the-scenes changes have happened since then. In addition to reshoots, The New Mutants were re-edited in order to disconnect the plot with Fox’s X-Men series. This new cut scored well with test audiences. Hopefully, it’s all smooth sailing until the movie releases next April.
Where exactly The New Mutants fits is still up in the air. It sounds like it isn’t part of Fox’s universe. With Marvel’s blessing, it may be part of the MCU. Or it may just be a stand-alone movie. We’ll know more in January when the new trailer drops.
