The wait for The New Mutants, the horror-oriented X-Men spinoff, has grown even longer. Last night, it was announced that both X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants have been pushed back to February 14, 2019 and August 2, 2019, respectively. The New Mutants had already been pushed from April 13 to February 22, 2019 back in January, and with this newest scheduling change, that means it'll be a little under a year and a half until we see director and co-writer Josh Boone's contribution to the X-Men franchise fully realized. So why was The New Mutants delayed yet again? Apparently it's because the movie is undergoing massive reshoots that are overhauling a decent portion of the movie.
While X-Men: Dark Phoenix being delayed three months is reportedly due to scheduling conflicts, apparently the situation with The New Mutants is more complicated. Following the movie's first delay, we learned the cast would be returning for reshoots. A new character is expected to be added, while one rumor claimed the extra filming is being done to make the story scarier. Now sources who spoke with Collider say that Josh Boone delivered a cut of The New Mutants that he liked, but 20th Century Fox wants the movie to be more tonally distinctive, akin to what Deadpool and Logan were like. As a result, apparently The New Mutants' reshoots have been expanded, with potentially as much as 50% of the movie being redone, as well as a character or two being added to the cast who will be major players, not just cameos.
Reshoots have become a common step in the blockbuster filmmaking process. Sometimes that extra filming period is only needed to redo a few scenes, other times it's intended to make significant changes to the story. Assuming this update about The New Mutants is legitimate, the horror movie definitely falls into the latter category. I can understand Fox wanting to ensure that The New Mutants feels unique giving how successful Deadpool and Logan were, and obviously if these reshoots ensure that the final product is better, then the cast and crew should take that extra time. Nevertheless, this does sound particularly drastic, and it will be interesting to learn later down the line exactly what has changed for this movie compared to what was being prepared for release next month.
The New Mutants will follow a group of five mutant teenagers who are locked in a creepy facility against their will, requiring them to use their are abilities to fight for survival. The main cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy as Illyana Rasputin, a.k.a. Magic; Maisie Williams as Rahne Sinclair, a.k.a. Wolfsbane; Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie, a.k.a. Cannonball; Henry Zaga as Roberto da Costa, a.k.a. Sunspot; Blu Hunt as Danielle Moonstar, a.k.a. Mirage; and Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes.
Once again, The New Mutants is now scheduled to hit theaters on August 2, 2019. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news on how the movie is developing, and you can learn what other X-Men movies are in development by browsing through our handy guide.
