Fans of the X-Men franchise were delivered a body blow back in January when 20th Century Fox announced that they would be delaying the release of writer/director Josh Boone's The New Mutants. The movie has been hotly anticipated for a while, but the decision was made by the studio that the film would benefit from reshoots and a new date in 2019. This was news that met with some backlash from fans, but according to star Anya Taylor-Joy, everybody should actually be looking at the situation as a positive thing. Said the actress,
Josh and I are really close, and he's a really wonderful collaborator, because he really keeps us involved in everything with the movie. He doesn't treat us like, 'You guys act and I make the vision.' He keeps us very involved in it, and incredibly invested. I think we have such a responsibility to the fans that we are going to make this movie right, and if that takes a bit more time, even though it's disappointing for people that we're not coming out at our April 13th slot, I think if we deliver a really great movie overall people will be happier. So we're striving for that! We're trying to make the best movie that we possibly can for the people who care about these characters.
Earlier today I had the immense pleasure of hopping on the phone with Anya Taylor-Joy to chat about her upcoming movie Thoroughbreds, and it was at the end of our conversation that I inquired about the status of The New Mutants. I asked what she made of all the news swirling around regarding the tone of the film -- reports saying that reshoots will help it lean into the horror side of things -- and she explained not only that she's been in regular contact with Josh Boone, but also that everything happening for the film is in its overall benefit.
It's actually very easy to see Anya Taylor-Joy's perspective here. There isn't a year that goes by where we don't see at least one major blockbuster rushed to theaters to try and make a hard release date -- and more often than not you can tell that giving the production more time would have been extremely beneficial. We obviously don't have all of the background details here, but it sounds like 20th Century Fox and Josh Boone saw an opportunity to make The New Mutants a better film than the one it was becoming, and decided to take advantage of it. It's a gamble, because release date delays are generally not viewed favorably in the public eye, but we'll just have to see if it pays off when The New Mutants comes out next year.
Pushed back nearly a full year, The New Mutants is now scheduled to arrive in theaters on February 22nd -- but Anya Taylor-Joy fans will be able to see her back on the big screen much sooner than that. Cory Finley's Thoroughbreds, in which Taylor-Joy stars with Olivia Cooke, will be in theaters on March 9th, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interview with the actresses and the director!
