When "The Fault in Our Stars" director Josh Boone signed on to direct the X-Men spin-off movie "New Mutants," many fans assumed it would be a teen angst movie. However, that seems to be far from the truth. While Boone has only made two movies - the romantic dramedy "Stuck in Love" and the teen cancer movie "The Fault in Our Stars," it seems like Boone is going way outside his wheelhouse for this one. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Boone said they are making "New Mutants" as a full-fledged horror movie.
Who are the New Mutants?
For fans who don't read comic books, the New Mutants were created back in the '80s as a teenage version of the X-Men.
The group was basically a group of teens that were training to one day become full-fledged X-Men members but ended up with pretty tough enemies of their own. Their comic storyline also introduced the world to Cable, who will be introduced in "Deadpool 2" and then lead the "X-Force" team in a future X-Men spin-off movie.
The "New Mutants" movie will include most of the original members of the mutant team. That includes Majik (the sister of Colossus), Wolfsbane, Moonstar, Cannonball, Sunspot, and possibly Warlock. Rosario Dawson, who stars in the Marvel Netflix universe, has been cast to play Dr. Celia Reyes, a mentor to the mutants. There have also been rumors that James McAvoy will reprise his X-Men role as Professor Charles Xavier in the movie.
The horror of 'New Mutants'
For fans who might be curious about the horror elements of the New Mutants, the movie is supposed to be based on the 1984 run of the comics by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz. Josh Boone said there would be no superhero costumes and no supervillains. Instead, he said they want this to be very different and a straight horror film.
These comics were very different from the X-Men comics at the time and featured mysticism and psychic boundaries.
It also included trips to demonic dimensions, alternate futures, and more. It sounds like this might be where Josh Boone will get his inspiration from. There were later issues where the New Mutants battled the Hellfire Club's teenage apprentices in the Hellions.
However, that doesn't seem to be something this movie will approach.
In the comics, the New Mutants also dealt with the death of their leader, so that is also something fans might consider with the dark themes that Josh Boone is considering. "New Mutants" is scheduled for April 13, 2018, release.
