The X-Men cinematic universe isn’t known for its scares (save for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, though that’s a story for another day), but with The New Mutants, director Josh Boone is about to steer Fox’s mutant juggernaut into relatively uncharted, and very dark territory.
Forget the costumes, the supervillains and the plans for world domination, New Mutants is a horror-oriented oddity that largely takes place within the ice-white walls of a governmental research facility, where five young mutants are being held against their will. They’re hormonal, they’re powerful, and they’re ready to wreak havoc on just about anyone who crosses them, as today’s first-look teaser proves.
Similar to how Logan scaled back all of the grand, apocalyptic story elements scattered across Fox’s core X-Men franchise, Josh Boone’s spinoff sets itself apart as an intimate, relatively self-contained pic about five gifted teenagers who aren’t trying to save the world so much as they’re trying to save themselves. Not only that, but for those expecting a comic book movie in the vein of what we’ve seen from the X-Men franchise thus far, think again, as this is a straight-up horror film, one which looks to offer up plenty of scares, chills and disturbing imagery. And quite frankly, we absolutely love it.
On the casting docket for The New Mutants are The Witch breakout Anya Taylor-Joy (Illyana Rasputin/Magik), Maisie Williams (Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane), Charlie Heaton (Sam Guthrie/Cannonball), Alice Braga (Dr. Cecilia Reyes), Henry Zaga (Roberto da Costa/Sunspot), and Blu Hunt (Danielle Moonstar/Mirage).
It’s an enviable lineup by anyone’s standards, and following tonight’s reveal, we can hardly wait to learn more about what Josh Boone and his team have rustled up. For now, here’s the official, all-too-brief logline:
Held in a secret facility against their will, five new mutants have to battle the dangers of their powers, as well as the sins of their past. They aren’t out to save the world — they’re just trying to save themselves.
The New Mutants is the first of three big-name X-Men films to release in 2018, with the other two being David Leitch’s Deadpool sequel and X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which has franchise veteran Simon Kinberg behind the lens. April 13th, 2018 is the date for your diaries when it comes to Boone’s offshoot.
