New Mutants is shaping up to be a different kind of comic book movie.
What’s more, it won’t feel like a superhero film, according to reports.
Director Josh Boone a “full-fledged horror movie set within the X-Men universe.” In an interview, he calls it “a darker and more surreal and impressionistic X-Men.”
“You can’t have a bigger nerd or fan making this. It’s so important to me,” he says. “I’m not the 12-year-old who decided to write Stephen King a letter and loved Marvel Comics anymore, but I try to hold myself accountable to that kid. Because that kid is what keeps me from becoming a Hollywood whore. I look back and think: Would he think this would be cool? Would he proud of me? Did I fulfill the dream we had when we were kids?”
In fact, the movie isn’t going to feature the team’s uniforms. “There are no costumes. There are no super villains,” Boone says. “We’re trying to do something very, very different.”
From these details, it is clear New Mutants won’t feel your traditional X-Men movie. Rather, it will be like a coming of age film akin to many YA stories. No doubt this will make for a nice change of pace.
For his part, Boone is looking forward to the “Stephen King meets John Hughes” direction of the movie. “We love that Fox wants to make all these different X-Men spinoffs as drastically different as they can,” Boone says.
A new synopsis is as follows: “Held in a secret facility against their will, five new mutants have to battle the dangers of their powers, as well as the sins of their past. They aren’t out to save the world — they’re just trying to save themselves.”
The cast includes Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane, Anna Taylor-Joy as Magik, Charlie Heaton as Cannonball, and Henry Zaga as Sunspot. Rosario Dawson is also in talks for a role.
New Mutants is set for release on April 13, 2018.