Last week, 20th Century Fox released the first The New Mutants teaser trailer and fans have had a chance to adjust to the idea that it will be a straight-up horror movie with superheroes in it. Now, director Josh Boone has told IGN that he not only sees this as a horror movie (inspired by the likes of Stephen King and Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors), but the first in a New Mutants horror trilogy.
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“We brought it to Fox as a trilogy of films, really all based on that long run by Bill Sienkiewicz [‘The New Mutants’ vol. 1 #18–31, 35–38], and kind of incorporates some stuff from later issues in the ’80s,” Boone said. “These are all going to be horror movies, and they’re all be their own distinct kind of horror movies. This is certainly the ‘rubber-reality’ supernatural horror movie. The next one will be a completely different kind of horror movie. Our take was just go examine the horror genre through comic book movies and make each one its own distinct sort of horror film. Drawing from the big events that we love in the comics.”
Boone also confirmed that while the story is inspired by the “Demon Bear” arc in the comics, that creature will not be the primary antagonist of the film. He also calmed fans’ fears that despite this looking like a standalone horror flick, it is definitely connected to the X-Men cinematic universe in ways that have yet to be revealed.
With this film, Fox is taking superhero movies into the horror genre, much like they did with the R-rated comedy genre (Deadpool) and also with the Western genre (Logan). Director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) previously stated The New Mutants will be “a full-fledged horror movie set within the X-Men universe,” while Fox’s Stacey Snider has described the film as “a haunted-house movie.”
The cast for the April 13, 2018 release includes Anya Taylor-Joy (Split, The Witch) as Magik, Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who) as Wolfsbane, Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things, Shut In) as Cannonball, with newcomer Blu Hunt (The Originals) as Danielle Moonstar, Henry Zaga (13 Reasons Why) as Sunspot, and Alice Braga (Queen of the South, Predators, I Am Legend) as Dr. Cecilia Reyes. The shape-shifting alien Warlock will also appear as a CGI creation.
The New Mutants adapts the monthly comic book series of the same name that launched in 1982. Created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, The New Mutants follows a group of teenage mutants as heroes in training in the Marvel Universe.
