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"The New Mutants": Screenwriter Comments on the Original Delays

Published Sat, 21 Mar 2020 10:45:58 -0500

The New Mutants has had quite a journey trying to get to the big screen. It was originally supposed to be released in 2018 where Fox was gearing up to have a very interesting year of X-Men movies. There were three, The New Mutants, Dark Phoenix, and Deadpool 2, and they all looked completely different from each other. Not only in style and aesthetic but tone. It was the kind of variation Fox had needed from the X-Men movies for years. By the time 2018 ended only one of those movies made it to the big screen, Deadpool 2, while the other two kept getting delayed. Dark Phoenix stumbled into theaters last summer only to get critically mauled and bring in a weak $252 million at the box office.

The New Mutants just kept getting delayed but it looked like it was finally going to get released this year. They got a big spread in Empire (via Digital Spy) but that was before coronavirus and the most recent delay. And because there isn't enough irony in the world screenwriter Knate Lee even commented on the original delays [because at the time of the original interview the most recent delay hadn't happened yet] and how he thought it was a good thing.

"In a weird way, I think the delay's been good for us," he stated. "Last year, I saw the most epic, grand-scale superhero movie ever [Avengers: Endgame]. You can't go bigger than that. So, it feels like the perfect time for a superhero movie that's more intimate and claustrophobic. And we still have so many 'firsts': we're the first Marvel horror, we're the first to feature a gay relationship. Even though we're late… we still beat everybody."

Lee isn't entirely wrong. It would be hard for just about any movie to follow Avengers: Endgame and this year the scope of superhero movies is much smaller with big three being Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984, and Eternals. There very well could be a place for a smaller more character-focused superhero movie and this would be the time to do it. However, Black Widow has also been delayed and who knows if Wonder Woman 1984 won't be next. If the latter part of this year ends up filled with releases there might not be room for The New Mutants which would be a shame. At this point, critical and commercial acclaim would be poetic justice and the X-Men could go out on a high note before their inevitable reboot within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Summary: Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.

The New Mutants, directed by Josh Boone, stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Alice Braga, Maisie Williams, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga. It currently doesn't have a release date.

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