Latest trailer for long-delayed The New Mutants ratchets up the horror, Ars Technica

The next generation –

“This place takes your greatest fear and makes you live through it. Until it kills you.”

Jennifer Ouellette –Jan 6, (9:) PM UTC **************************

************** Despite a long and bumpy road, (th Century Fox’s) ************************ (The New Mutants) is finally coming to theaters this spring.We were starting to think we’d never get to see it, but 20 th Century Fox has dropped the latest trailer for (The New Mutants) , director Josh Boone’s horror-inspired film originally developed as part of the
The X-Menfranchise. Slated for release in April, the film haswas describedas a “Stephen King meets John Hughes” Ya horror film, with a dash ofThings
for good measure.The New Mutants

does indeed feel very different tonally from prior films inThe X-Men
cinematic universe.

It’s been a long road for Boone, who first pitchedThe New Mutantsas a potential standalone trilogy to the studio after wrapping his (film) ********************************************** The Fault in Our StarsFrom the start, Boone wanted to bring a different vibe toMutants (************************, much likeDeadpool did in 2020. But whileDeadpool

went for raunchy R-rated comedy, Boone wanted to explore horror in the vein of classics like (Rosemary’s Baby) ************************ and The Shining“There are no costumes, there are no supervillains. We’re trying to do something very, very different,”he told Entertainment Weeklyin 2020. But Boonlater confessedto some frustration at the “neutering” of his original vision by the studio, which wanted more of a YA focus.

Early screenings of Boone’s original cut were positive, and the success of IT**********************in************************************************************************************** convinced the studio to play up the horror elements it had previously wanted to de-emphasize. Several reshoots were planned but never happened, in part because of conflicts in the actors’ schedules, but also because Fox kept changing the planned release date to avoid competing with other films in its stable: (Deadpool 2) ************************in 2018 and last year(Dark Phoenix) ********************** (*************. ************

Then Disney acquired Fox last year, and studio executives purportedly thoughtThe New Mutantswouldn’t have a strong box office potential. They changed their mind when Boone presented an updated cut of the film, which met with Disney’s approval. And that’s why the movie is finally, at long last, coming to the big screen.

Per

the official synopsis: “Five youngmutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves. ” Boone’s cited influences includeDemon Bear, a major villain inThe New Mutants comics, as well as the slasher filmA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, which features kids in a psychiatric hospital being trained to control their dreams, the better to fight off main monster Freddy Krueger.







                      Danielle “Dani” Moonstar (Blu Hunt), aka Mirage, wakes up in a psychiatric hospital after a tragedy.


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                      Alice Braga (channeling Ken Kesey’s Nurse Ratched) as Dr. Cecilia Reyes, a mentor to a group of emerging mutants. Or is she?

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                      Much of the film was shot on location at Medfield State Hospital in Boston.

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                      Dani meets her fellow mutants.

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()
                      Roberto de Costa (Henry Zaga), aka Sunspot.

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                      Maisie Williams plays Rahne Sinclair, aka Wolfsbane.

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                      Charlie Heaton plays Sam Guthrie, aka Cannonball.

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                      Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy ofSplit, Glass (**************************, andThe Witch
), aka Magik, is sister to Colossus, one of the X-Men.

                                               (th Century Fox)





                      Dani discovers they are actually prisoners.

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                      Under surveillance.

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                               (****************************

                      Dani sees something Dr. Reyes did not intend her to see.

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                               (********************************

                      Wolfsbane finds herself in a cemetery.

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                      A nightmare scenario.

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                      Sunspot channeling solar energy.

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                      New mutants, assemble!

TheMutants

Trailer opens with a shot of Dani Moonstar (Blu Hunt) rubbing a drop of blood between her fingers as Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga) asks in a voiceover about the last thing she remembers. We get a nightmarish flashback to Dani and a man (likely her father) running away from a fire. Dani wakes up in a psychiatric hospital, hand-cuffed to her bed, while Dr. Reyes tells her the reason she survived is because she’s “a very uncommon girl” —a mutant, in fact. And she’s not the only one. Reyes introduces her to a group of young mutants, all part of a therapeutic support group in the hospital. Each of them is haunted by strange nightmares and visions.

Rahne (Game of Thrones‘Maisie Williams), aka Wolfsbane, can turn into a wolf, which clashes mightily with her religious beliefs. Sam (Stranger Things‘Charlie Heaton), aka Cannonball, is invulnerable when he propels himself into the air. Roberto (Henry Zaga), aka Sunspot, has the ability to manipulate solar energy, and his inability to control that power seems to have led to the demise of his girlfriend. Illyana (Anya Taylor-Joy), aka Magik, can teleport and is sister to X-Man Colossus. She’s also known in the comics for her sword, which makes a brief appearance here, emerging from her arm. As for Dani, aka Mirage, she has the ” (power to createillusions drawn from the fears and desires of a person’s mind. “

Dani’s power is of keen interest to Dr. Reyes, who explains they must explore Dani’s power in order to help her get better. But as Illyana tells her, “This isn’t a hospital — it’s a cage.” When Dani “sees” something during the tests that Dr. Reyes likely didn’t want her to see, she concludes that none of them are in the hospital to get better. “This place takes your greatest fear and makes you live through it,” we hear Reyes say. “Until it kills you.” And the mutants resolve to combine their powers to escape.

Filmmaker Boone has vacillated in interviews over the years about whether or not Demon Bear will actually appear inThe New Mutants

, but the character is listed among the cast. We see a shot of Dani in the trailer wearing a bear-shaped pendant, and we possibly catch a glimpse of Demon Bear toward the end. So we’ll go out on a limb and predict that this will be the primary antagonist for the film. There’s also a rumored post-credits scene featuring Antonio Banderas as an as-yet-unnamed villain, setting things up for a potential sequel shouldThe New Mutantshit it big at the box office.

The New Mutantsis slated for theatrical release on April 3, (******************************************************************************************************.

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