Overview
UPDATE, MARCH 13: Due to concerns around the coronavirus, Disney has announced that The New Mutants will no longer release on its initially scheduled date of Thursday, April 9, 2020. At present, a new release date has not been announced — we'll update you when one has been revealed.
When it comes to superhero cinema, quantity doesn't equal variety. A new caped crusader flick hits screens every month, or so it seems, but many of them follow the same formula. You know the drill, because you've seen it in everything from Captain America to Wonder Woman and several different iterations of Spider-Man: someone with special abilities grapples with their powers, learns how to put them to best use, then faces off against an evil nemesis — saving the world from destruction and devastation in the process.
Accordingly, when something dares to break the mould in even the slightest way, it stands out. That's one of the reasons that Marvel's The New Mutants has gathered quite a bit of attention in recent years. Set within the X-Men universe and based on the comics of the same name, it follows a group of young mutants being held against their will in a secret psychiatric hospital, basically plonking them in horror movie territory. There's still plenty that's familiar about the premise, with the titular super-enhanced folks all learning to use their powers while trying to escape captivity — but the tone and approach of the film is definitely a welcome change.
The darker, scarier mood is on full display in the just-dropped latest trailer, which also confirms an important piece of information: five years after it was first announced, four years since it was cast and three years after it was shot, The New Mutants finally looks set to hit cinema screens. That hasn't always been a given, with the long-delayed film originally due to release in April 2018, only to be pushed back to February 2019, then August 2019, and now April 2020. Along the way, it has been through cast member changes, script rewrites, reshoots and the Disney acquisition of Fox — aka the company behind the MCU flicks snapping up the company behind the X-Men movies — so if you were skeptical about it actually seeing the light of day, let this new sneak peek allay your fears.
As well as its ominous tone and plenty of horror imagery, The New Mutants boasts an impressive cast — including Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams, Stranger Things' Charlie Heaton, and Glass and The Witch's Anya Taylor-Joy. Obviously, given how long ago the film was first shot, they all look quite a bit younger than their most recent screen appearances.
And, behind the camera sits director/co-writer Josh Boone, who last helmed teen weepie The Fault in Our Stars.
Check out the trailer below:
The New Mutants was due to open in Australian cinemas on April 9, 2020; however it'll now release on a yet-to-be-revealed date — we'll update you when one is announced.