The New Mutants has been a long time coming, considering that it was originally supposed to hit theaters nearly two years ago. The title is but a remnant of Fox’s twenty-year X-Men franchise that will now be under Disney’s MCU umbrella moving forward. And, according to The New Mutants director Josh Boone, the teen-thriller will also feature “a beautiful love story” between two of the core female characters in the film.
A same sex romance will reportedly be present in The New Mutants between Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams and Blu Hunt. The director called the element of the PG-13 film ”sort of the spine and focus” of the character-driven elements of the X-Men flick. Williams also explained this element further with these words:
Rahne and Dani have a telepathic connection in the comics, and so we just wanted to extend that in the film and put that within reality. If they really could understand each other on that level, then you’d probably end up falling in love with that person.
In the comic books, Rahne Sinclair has the power to transform herself into a wolf and Danielle Moonstar can create illusions and visions based on others’ emotions and worst fears, along with having the ability to speak with animals. The combination of Rahne being a part-time wolf and Dani’s unique ability to communicate with them makes for a strong bond between the characters amongst the larger group of teen mutants.
As Josh Boone also said to EW, he wanted to extend their connection from Marvel Comics and felt a romantic relationship between them was a plausible extension of their characters. The New Mutants director said he was inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s queer representation in the form of Alyson Hannigan’s Willow. He wanted to make the effort because mainstream movies haven’t quite caught up to the added representation on television which Buffy started to make moves toward years ago.
Maisie Williams clarified that the relationship between Rahne and Dani isn’t necessarily spoken about in The New Mutants, but she felt it was handled in a way that didn’t feel like a “gimmick.” In her words:
It's not really a story about these two characters understanding their sexuality. It’s not centered around that and they don’t really necessarily label it. No one else does either and no one really questions it.
The LGBTQ community is understandably skeptical about announcements such as this following more recent more gimmicky depictions in Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker or Onward. Oftentimes queer representation is marketed in high-profile films and their sequences tend to be blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments that don’t have much impact on the rest of the storyline.
Sadly, the release date of The New Mutants has shifted again due to coronavirus concerns. Disney announced earlier today that the movie’s planned April 3 release would be postponed along with those of Mulan and Antlers. It was also announced today that A Quiet Place, F9 and The Lovebirds would be delayed as well. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more updates on The New Mutants.
