New Mutants movie

[Totenkindly]

New Mutants Officially Begins Pre-Production | Screen Rant

...Boone’s New Mutants is reported to make its theatrical debut early next year. Based on the comic book of the same name, New Mutants will follow recent Xavier School graduates Magik, Wolfsbane, Mirage, Cannonball, Sunspot, and Warlock as they learn to control their powers and, of course, fight bad guys like Demon Bear. James McAvoy may also reprise his role in the film as a young Professor X. It’ll reportedly be a young adult-style movie but with a twist since it has been described as Stephen King meets John Hughes.

Now Boone on his Instagram has revealed that New Mutants will begin filming very soon and has officially begun pre-production...

Not sure how I feel since X-Men movies are a crapshoot in terms of solidity/quality. Still, New Mutants was one of the first "new series" that I remember starting to collect, I actually bought issues 1 through 80 or more right off the shelf. They're not in the greatest of shape since I actually read my comics, but I own them. What was really interesting is that they went from the art style of Bob McLeod (which was pretty conventional along the lines of the Buscemas of the time period) to freaking Bill Sienkiewicz. I had no idea who Sienkiewicz was at the time, and I was so used to conventional art that I remember not liking it... and now when I look back, guess which artist I think is really rocking? Yup, Bill Sienkiewicz. Once my sense of art had matured, I could recognize what he was doing in the book and look back at it fondly. It was likely one of his first advances into comics. (I have other works he's done since, including the old Elektra graphic novel he did with Frank Miller.)

more info:

In May 2015, 20th Century Fox announced Josh Boone will direct a film adaptation of the New Mutants. Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg will be producing the film, while Boone and Knate Gwaltney are writing the script. Boone and Gwaltney initially pitched the film to Kinberg and Fox by making a comic book mapping out a trilogy of "New Mutant" movies using panels from the original issues.[37] In October 2015,[1][38] Boone tweeted that the first draft for the script is complete.[39] Kinberg has stated that the film will be a young-adult style movie.[40] On March 31, 2016, HitFix reports that Maisie Williams and Anya Taylor-Joy were rumored to be cast as Wolfsbane and Magik.[41]Boone announced on his Instagram account that the second draft for the film is finished.[42] Boone posted a photo on his Instagram page showing that those appearing will include Magik,[43] Wolfsbane,[44] Mirage,[45] Cannonball,[46] Sunspot,[47] and Warlock.[48][49] Kinberg told Collider in an interview that Professor X will appear and filming may start in early 2017 and told That Hashtag Show that the film is very loyal to the comics.[50][51] On August 25, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Boone will re-team with his The Fault In Our Stars writers Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber to write the script.[52] On November 9, 2016, Kinberg announced to The Hollywood Reporter that filming will start in spring next year.[53] At almost the end of the month, Coming Soon.net reports that Demon Bear would be the main antagonist in the film, the site also reveal that 20th Century Fox is currently targeting a Spring 2018 release date, the film's tone is describing as a "Stephen King meets John Hughes-style horror movie" and that Nat Wolff is being eyed for the role of Cannonball.[54] In December 2016, it was announced that the film would begin production in May 2017.[55] That same month, Boone told Creative Screenwriting that the film inspired his script from Chris Claremont's run with Demon Bear.[56] On January 5, 2017, Taylor-Joy confirmed in an interview with Superhero Hype that James McAvoy will be reprising his role as Professor X in the film.[57]

New Mutants - Wikipedia

I do have to say that they did win me over somewhat by casting Anna Taylor-Joy as Magik, seemingly. Magik (Illyana Rasputin) is easily one of my favorite Marvel characters, and Taylor-Joy one of my favorite new actors ever since I saw her in "The Witch" last year. She's been in a few things since, and even when she's in a dog of a movie (like "Morgan" last summer), she elevates the project. (Folks might also recognize her as the female protagonist from Shyamalan's recent "Split" film with McAvoy.) She just has a real presence on screen, kind of how Jennifer Lawrence does, except Lawrence seems far more extraverted in her approach while Taylor-Joy is rather enigmatic. Anyway, ever since I saw Elle Fanning in Super 8, Taylor-Joy's the next young actress I ran across who I felt has the "zing" or whatever you want to call it.

Still, Josh Boone is kind of an unknown quantity. he's been attached to some interesting projects but maybe too fast and too soon, and probably his biggest claim to fame is directing "The Fault in our Stars," which was an okay movie (better than Paper Towns) but pretty much mainly because it starred Shailene Woodley (who is also talented and could carry any inadequacies in the script). Then again, if he is choosing to introduce the New Mutants through the "demon bear" storyline, then that shows more depth to him than just a high-action glitzy surface-level story spinner. It's also got elements of horror in it, or can be spun that way.

 

[Totenkindly]

More casting updates

NETFLIX STARS JOIN SPOOKY X-MEN SPINOFF THE NEW MUTANTS

It was a year ago we first heard that two of the stars of The New Mutants (the long-anticipated X-Men spinoff) would be Maisie Williams (Arya Stark from Game of Thrones) and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) as Wolfsbane and Magik, respectively. (It was finally confirmed last month). In the meantime, we still didn’t know who would play the other three core New Mutants: Cannonball, Sunspot, and Danielle Moonstar. With the release date less than a year away (April 13, 2018), Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) has to start filming really soon, so this week, we finally got our answers. The highest profile of our three new stars is probably Charlie Heaton, who starred in Stranger Things as brooding teenager Jonathan Bryers, and who has now been cast as Southern rocket-fueled teenager Cannonball. Another Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, also gave us Henry Zaga, who will also star as Sunspot. Finally, there’s newcomer Blu Hunt, who won an international search to play Native American mutant Danielle “Dani” Moonstar. Rosario Dawson will also co-star in The New Mutants as onetime X-Men member Dr. Cecilia Reyes.

They definitely are going off the beaten path with Heaton for Cannonball, he doesn't really look or sound or seem similar to the character... but I guess this is what an open mind entails (although they could just be playing off his exposure from Stranger Things to attract viewers). Zaga looks like a believable cast for Sunspot although I didn't see the Netflix series he's gotten exposure for. It's weird seeing Dawson play different characters in the Marvel universe, although this is Fox and she's known in the Netflix/MCU world from Daredevil/Defenders. I don't really know Hunt or how great a casting that is.

X-Men: The New Mutants – Blu Hunt to Play Mirage

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I stopped watching X-Men related films after the Wolverine origins film (unless you count Deadpool). Did they ever get the timeline sorted out? Seems it all got very convoluted and I'm not sure what is a reboot, what continues from the 2000s X-Men trilogy, etc. For instance Patrick Stewart's Xavier dies but it looks like he returns in some other films, so are these more recent films (like the latest Wolverine) prequels, or are they sequels/reboots that retcon some of the events from X-3? Or do people just love Stewart so much that the filmmakers figured to hell with establishing any sense of continuity? I'm assuming Macavoy's presence places this upcoming film as a sort of prequel then? Is there a handy graphic timeline that makes sense of it all? I imagine this is how someone feels who isn't a Trekkie when you try to explain how the Abramsverse fits in with the previous canon (It works sort of, but it's a little messy).

Marvel is overall good at tying their shit together (best in the Avengers and Avengers spinoff films), but some stuff really grates on my nerves, like how many times do we need to reboot Spidey in the span of under 20 years (granted, it looks like the latest reboot at least brings his universe in line with the established Avengers-primary universe).

 

[Totenkindly]

I stopped watching X-Men related films after the Wolverine origins film (unless you count Deadpool). Did they ever get the timeline sorted out? Seems it all got very convoluted and I'm not sure what is a reboot, what continues from the 2000s X-Men trilogy, etc. For instance Patrick Stewart's Xavier dies but it looks like he returns in some other films, so are these more recent films (like the latest Wolverine) prequels, or are they sequels/reboots that retcon some of the events from X-3? Or do people just love Stewart so much that the filmmakers figured to hell with establishing any sense of continuity? I'm assuming Macavoy's presence places this upcoming film as a sort of prequel then? Is there a handy graphic timeline that makes sense of it all? I imagine this is how someone feels who isn't a Trekkie when you try to explain how the Abramsverse fits in with the previous canon (It works sort of, but it's a little messy).

Despite being a huge fan of X-Men books from late 70's to early 90's, I have never really cared for the movies. I remember the first one just being marginal, and things went downhill after that. I liked a few elements of First Class and Days of Future Past but don't even really consider those to be 'great' movies. "The Wolverine" was an improvement, and "Logan" was easily my favorite X-Men movie... and it's just a future-setting one-off so it's already off the time-track rails.

Anyway, the time sequences aren't really clear. Days of Future Past basically ended with Jean Grey and Cyclops being brought back, etc., and then all that got squandered in Apocalypse which was one of the worst X-Men movies (after the initial prelude sequence and a few of the "mutant gathering" sequences). So not only doesn't the continuity seem clear, but I'm not even motivated to try and figure it out...

Anyway, I am not really sure what the time setting is for this. They are doing the Demon Bear storyline, which is from early issues 18 of New Mutants or something, but of course that came out in 1984 or something. (Interestingly, that whole run was penciled by Bill Sienkiewicz.)

Marvel is overall good at tying their shit together (best in the Avengers and Avengers spinoff films), but some stuff really grates on my nerves, like how many times do we need to reboot Spidey in the span of under 20 years (granted, it looks like the latest reboot at least brings his universe in line with the established Avengers-primary universe).

I think they were just really unhappy with how Amazing Spiderman 2 turned out. Although that's their own damned fault, with forced editing and adding way too much stuff to the mix. I mean, Dane Dehaan and Andrew Garfield are great actors, they could have really developed the properties, and instead it just became some degree of glop because Sony was trying to rush to Disney/MCU level of success without properly building their worlds.

 

[Atomic Fiend]

Make sure to bring baggy clothes to hide your food from the five guys across the street from the theater... and a flask. This one is going to be a ride.

 

[Totenkindly]

Sadly, this one might not even hit the theater. As feared, it's been in shooting/completion hell, with supposedly addition of major characters (like Warlock) in reshooting.... I mean, come on, he's so CGI... aren't you gonna plan for that one in advance rather than tossing him in after? Anyway, I have heard rumors this week that the film might not even get a real release... it might go straight to Hulu. Yes, nowadays there's a possibility of streaming services putting out some decent product... but this is scanning more like another example of dump-film, because they see it as too much of a loss to spend money marketing for a regular theatrical release.

New Mutants headed to Hulu this Halloween?

Didn't watch the video, but I assume it is more of same.

Wouldn't surprise me for Fox to have mucked up another film. They just don't have a knack for it (except for Deadpool, it seems) and have screwed up a lot of properties over the years. Even their best stuff tends to be middle of the road (again, aside from Deadpool). Apparently Dark Phoenix could be DoA as well.... and the thing is, this was one of the first comic storylines I ever knew and was invested in; you'd think I'd be excited, but as soon as it was announced, and with Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, I was writing it off.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Continues To Test Poorly With Audiences

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Wow. It's like the X Men and Fantastic Four just seem to have bad luck in the cinema.

 

[Totenkindly]

yeah. funny how that works. I wonder what the connection is.

wait gosh I bet John Byrne is out there somewhere inflicting a curse on all the properties he worked on over the years. I mean, Superman has had only marginal luck. But wait, he did work on the Avengers... or was that just West Coast / Great Lakes Avengers? And I swear he did some Wonder Woman too. (The guy's worked on a buttload of stuff on both sides of the aisle.) So confused...

 

[Totenkindly]

New Mutants Trailer Arriving in January According to Director Josh Boone | Collider

This thing is still alive?

It would be nice to see it actually have a solid landing, although after all the recent franchise bombs (including Dark Phoenix), it's hard to have hope.

 

[The Cat]

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Despite being a huge fan of X-Men books from late 70's to early 90's, I have never really cared for the movies. I remember the first one just being marginal, and things went downhill after that. I liked a few elements of First Class and Days of Future Past but don't even really consider those to be 'great' movies. "The Wolverine" was an improvement, and "Logan" was easily my favorite X-Men movie... and it's just a future-setting one-off so it's already off the time-track rails.

I only really saw Days of Future Past and X1 and X2. Days of Future Past was enjoyable enough, but X1 and X2 were kind of just ok. It seems like they're supposed to be an ensemble, but they seem to mostly focus on Wolverine, because he seemed to be the most popular in the 90s. I assumed the reason I didn't think the first two were anything special was just because I wasn't really into the comics. Interesting to see that you more or less feel the same way.

The thing that set Days of Future Past apart from me is I think a combination of the time travel element and the fact that they seemed to find interesting ways to use the character's powers. Oh, and Evan Peters.

Which, addressing that (in case you didn't see it before):

https://www.typologycentral.com/forums/the-bonfire/32432-laugh-220.html#post3185971

 

[Totenkindly]

First New Mutants Reaction Says It's One Of The Better X-Men Movies

I would say it's lost all of its buzz due to the months/years of delay, but I'm not surprised to hear it could be one of the "better" X-Men films per se. I mean, it helps the bar is pretty much sitting on the ground, so the film just has to step over it; but it's taken from an arc in the very early years of the series back in the early 80's, one that Bill Sienkiewicz was doing art for, it has clearly been trying to do its own thing without doing some hyped up cliche superhero plotline, and some of the casting is decent enough. (I am not surprised to see Anya Taylor-Joy called out as a highlight, playing Illyana Rasputin; I was really excited about that casting when the film was announced, she's great in whatever she does even if the film sucks; but she's so totally true to the character's persona and appearance. My suspicion is that brit Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie is the worst casting, if they wanted to be true to the comic.)

 

[Totenkindly]

I saw this last night on a bad stream, so unfortunately the sound and image weren't great. It's only 90 minutes long.

My overall thoughts -- at least it's no "X-Men: Dark Phoenix." The film is actually coherent. The acting is okay. The main problem is that the result isn't really worth all the effort they put into it (3-4 years), and it feels like some stuff got cut, it feels bare bones.

It does try to track the Demon Bear arc and is basically an awareness of what Dani's powers are. (None of this is spoilery for people who know the comic.) So obviously that's where the horror elements come from.

Maisie Williams feels pretty relaxed as Wolfsbane/Rahne and carries herself confidently.

Charlie Heaton does okay as Cannonball, it's just he really doesn't look much like him and you gotta wonder if a no-name would have resonated more. From what I could hear, his accent was okay, but a southern accent is also the easiest American accent for British folks to pick up from what I know, because it's so pronounced.

Henry Zaga did fine as Sunspot, who is a somewhat rich and conceited Brazilian. The issue here I guess (at least in the public arguments) are about the "whitewashing" of the role. I mean, Zaga IS actually Brazilian (through his mother) but also Italian/Portuguese and pretty light-skinned. Roberto de Costa was the only dark-skinned original new mutant, pretty solidly dark-skinned and featured, so Zaga being cast (and all the white roles being cast as white) in this time and age can again scan as whitewashing. In general, I am pragmatic; aside from the race issues, I'm all for roles going to the best actors for them; the problem is that Zaga is fine but not like you couldn't replace him with someone else, he looks more white than Brazilian, and you rarely see a white-originated role going to a dark-skinned character when these arguments come up, 90% of the time it's about an Asian or black role going to a white actor/actress.) Anyway, aside from that, Zaga does fine and has a sense of Roberto's fragility when young (tough guy exterior, insecure inside).

Blu Hunt is fine but kind of unmemorable. I feel bad saying that because I wanted to like her.

Obviously the stand-out was Anya Taylor-Joy, who is already established and has been mesmerizing in many of her previous roles, and she was giving the "semi-bat-shit crazy" new mutant, Illyana Rasputin / Magik. So she had much of the best lines and best action sequences. Also, she TOTALLY is the look and feel of the comic Illyana. Somewhere I imagine a better movie out there where the rest of the cast + the writing was on a par with what was given to Illyana, she should have been part of an equal ensemble.

The issues with the actors above are not really an actor problem, they each did their best in the role they had; the issues are (1) directing and (2) script, both of which are unmemorable even if there's no glaring issues. The movie just doesn't have much spark.

----

There's an actual same-sex relationship in this film (although maybe "relationship" is the wrong word, since the plot only takes place over a few days, so... more like the "beginning" of a same-sex relationship, versus something established). And it's not on par with a french art film, but compared to the shit Disney is trying to pass off nowadays in Star Wars and its other films as "LGBT inclusion!" it's a world better.

----

As far as adaptations go, I'm not super-keen on changing things that don't have to be changed unless due to the medium or to make the story better. There seems to be a major change to the character of Cecilia Rayez here that I didn't much like, and there's also a change to the setting (why they are there) that does tie into the bigger X universe but that I'm kinda "meh" about. It felt like changes just to make changes, but without a lot of reason.

----

The demon bear is pretty crazy nuts, although I bet it looks even cooler with decent graphic resolution.



Final Summary: Okay film, only 90 minutes, professionally put together, dependable acting with Magik as the best, captures the story arc fine enough, but with some needless changes from continuity and not worth all the time and energy poured into it over 4-5 years. Kind of forgettable, unfortunately. The coolest thing about it is the (1) small budget and (2) a willingness to try something different than typical hero fare.

 

[Vendrah]

I saw this last night on a bad stream, so unfortunately the sound and image weren't great. It's only 90 minutes long.

My overall thoughts -- at least it's no "X-Men: Dark Phoenix." The film is actually coherent. The acting is okay. The main problem is that the result isn't really worth all the effort they put into it (3-4 years), and it feels like some stuff got cut, it feels bare bones.

It does try to track the Demon Bear arc and is basically an awareness of what Dani's powers are. (None of this is spoilery for people who know the comic.) So obviously that's where the horror elements come from.

Maisie Williams feels pretty relaxed as Wolfsbane/Rahne and carries herself confidently.

Charlie Heaton does okay as Cannonball, it's just he really doesn't look much like him and you gotta wonder if a no-name would have resonated more. From what I could hear, his accent was okay, but a southern accent is also the easiest American accent for British folks to pick up from what I know, because it's so pronounced.

Henry Zaga did fine as Sunspot, who is a somewhat rich and conceited Brazilian. The issue here I guess (at least in the public arguments) are about the "whitewashing" of the role. I mean, Zaga IS actually Brazilian (through his mother) but also Italian/Portuguese and pretty light-skinned. Roberto de Costa was the only dark-skinned original new mutant, pretty solidly dark-skinned and featured, so Zaga being cast (and all the white roles being cast as white) in this time and age can again scan as whitewashing. In general, I am pragmatic; aside from the race issues, I'm all for roles going to the best actors for them; the problem is that Zaga is fine but not like you couldn't replace him with someone else, he looks more white than Brazilian, and you rarely see a white-originated role going to a dark-skinned character when these arguments come up, 90% of the time it's about an Asian or black role going to a white actor/actress.) Anyway, aside from that, Zaga does fine and has a sense of Roberto's fragility when young (tough guy exterior, insecure inside).

Blu Hunt is fine but kind of unmemorable. I feel bad saying that because I wanted to like her.

Obviously the stand-out was Anya Taylor-Joy, who is already established and has been mesmerizing in many of her previous roles, and she was giving the "semi-bat-shit crazy" new mutant, Illyana Rasputin / Magik. So she had much of the best lines and best action sequences. Also, she TOTALLY is the look and feel of the comic Illyana. Somewhere I imagine a better movie out there where the rest of the cast + the writing was on a par with what was given to Illyana, she should have been part of an equal ensemble.

The issues with the actors above are not really an actor problem, they each did their best in the role they had; the issues are (1) directing and (2) script, both of which are unmemorable even if there's no glaring issues. The movie just doesn't have much spark.

----

There's an actual same-sex relationship in this film (although maybe "relationship" is the wrong word, since the plot only takes place over a few days, so... more like the "beginning" of a same-sex relationship, versus something established). And it's not on par with a french art film, but compared to the shit Disney is trying to pass off nowadays in Star Wars and its other films as "LGBT inclusion!" it's a world better.

----

As far as adaptations go, I'm not super-keen on changing things that don't have to be changed unless due to the medium or to make the story better. There seems to be a major change to the character of Cecilia Rayez here that I didn't much like, and there's also a change to the setting (why they are there) that does tie into the bigger X universe but that I'm kinda "meh" about. It felt like changes just to make changes, but without a lot of reason.

----

The demon bear is pretty crazy nuts, although I bet it looks even cooler with decent graphic resolution.



Final Summary: Okay film, only 90 minutes, professionally put together, dependable acting with Magik as the best, captures the story arc fine enough, but with some needless changes from continuity and not worth all the time and energy poured into it over 4-5 years. Kind of forgettable, unfortunately. The coolest thing about it is the (1) small budget and (2) a willingness to try something different than typical hero fare.

Wait, they released the movie?
This is still a bad time to release movies... They should had waited for November or December.

 

[Totenkindly]

Wait, they released the movie?
This is still a bad time to release movies... They should had waited for November or December.

lol -- yes, actually it has been in theaters before TENET released (I think it released the prior weekend).

Most of the reviewers refused to see it due to unsafe conditions in the theater.

They had something in their contract to get it out the door before it moves to streaming / VOD. It actually did the best of any movies out at the time, whereas it would have been a total bomb if released with other films in regular release.

I wouldn't pay for it in the theater. It's definitely a redbox/free stream on a prepaid service kind of film, sadly.

I would still love to see Anya Taylor-Joy in a true Magik film. Magik is one of my favorite Marvel characters, along with Kitty Pryde. (It was a bummer to see Magik on the screen without Kitty around.)

 

[Vendrah]

lol -- yes, actually it has been in theaters before TENET released (I think it released the prior weekend).

Most of the reviewers refused to see it due to unsafe conditions in the theater.

They had something in their contract to get it out the door before it moves to streaming / VOD. It actually did the best of any movies out at the time, whereas it would have been a total bomb if released with other films in regular release.

I wouldn't pay for it in the theater. It's definitely a redbox/free stream on a prepaid service kind of film, sadly.

I would still love to see Anya Taylor-Joy in a true Magik film. Magik is one of my favorite Marvel characters, along with Kitty Pryde. (It was a bummer to see Magik on the screen without Kitty around.)

Still, watching it on "bad stream" becomes a matter of health and not a matter of money. This should be out of movie theatres in december or january, which would be perhaps the reasonable months.
If it would be a bomb with others release than that might be a sign that it isnt really a good movie on your opinion.

 

[Totenkindly]

I rewatched this film on home media, on 4K now that it's available.

It's funny how some things are better now that I have a clear image/soundtrack, other things are worse.

IOW, not dealing with unrealistic expectations, I could take the film for what it was. It seems to be strong in trying to forge a band of afflicted teens into a group, they've all suffered tragedy and all had different responses and personality issues over their experience. There's some nice quiet moments between a few characters. And it's kind of cool to see something different in a superhero film, per se. There are also a few decent lines (usually from Illyana).

However, in terms of big picture, the characters still somewhat remain caricatures and extreme in their responses.
There's not a lot of depth or nuance much of the time.
Like, it could have been a lot more, and it's not really a compelling story that we haven't seen before.
The Happy Dudes are kind of a ripoff of a lot of other films -- done worse.

I think Sunspot is the only character whose powers changed a bit (not completely, just some) for the film.
But another cast character is completely the opposite of her comic book persona.
It is like the problems they had with Mystique in the X-Men films -- her film persona is nothing like her comic persona, and the Jennifer Lawrence incarnation just builds off the film version, and is way too emo and nice. The problem with a character in this film is that they went in the complete opposite direction. I think it's a problem in the sense they are almost depending on people to know the comic book characters because the movie versions are so thinly sketched... yet they recast one of the characters as villianous.

It's one of the films that I have watched because I really like my memory of the comic book and the characters, and this is the best I will apparently ever get of them in a film -- but it's kind of a forgettable film and feels more like a prelude than an actual story.