Written By: Danielle Broadway
Ready or not, The New Mutants is the new Marvel horror movie that is coming for you.
The film was directed by Josh Boone from a screenplay by himself and Knate Lee. The film stars Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga.
This isn’t your light-hearted sassy Deadpool, my children; instead of fourth-wall breaking quirkiness, we’re more likely to get quite a few jump scares. These teenage mutants (not the turtles!) are trapped in a psychological prison. The secret facility in which they meet could very well be their undoing. This film has total Freddie Krueger vibes and seems like it’s going to place viewers right in the center of a mind trap.
While fans are thrilled about the supernatural horror awesomeness that audiences have been promised with this movie, many of us wonder what the 20th Century to Disney switchover will mean for our new team of superhero teens. Fans are mystified by how Disney plans to incorporate the X-men and other mutants into its painfully mutant-less MCU. There are also questions about if the Scarlet Witch origins will be changed for the upcoming Doctor Strange 2. With so many questions arising, one thing seems for sure — it’s gonna be one heck of an MCU phase.
Like most things lately, the film’s release has been postponed (so sad!). Instead of the originally scheduled release date on April 3, 2020, we’ll have to wait until later in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the good news is, we’ve got plenty of time to prepare for the scare. And I don’t just mean the movie! With comic book conventions being postponed left and right, it’s not looking like we’re getting our usual teasers and Easter eggs. However, as fans, we can still put some pieces together and speculate on the big changes coming up in the MCU.
So let us begin! There was much debate, as Disney suggested that it may add The New Mutants to Disney+ or Hulu, instead of having it released through 20th Century. This would potentially give Disney the ability to break away from previous 20th Century MCU films, making this new cast of mutants official members of the Disney MCU. However, plans were dropped for Disney to adopt these teens, and Fox has completely taken charge. It seems that The New Mutants won’t be added to the epic mainstream MCU anytime soon. It’s important to remember that the film was designed prior to the 20th Century to Disney switch’ o’roo and making adjustments were quite tricky — so tricky, that the film was actually completed in 2007. But, due to the eventual change in legal rights and the production of other films, our young friends have been waiting on the sidelines for some time.
With that said, don’t worry, it looks like we’re still going to get the X-Men in our beloved Disney MCU, it just most likely won’t start with The New Mutants. Disney chief Bob Iger has mentioned there are plans to introduce mutants eventually with Marvel President Kevin Feige taking the lead. However, not all fans know that we already have a mutant among our Disney MCU, and she’s magical. I’m talking about the one and only Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch. The MCU depicts her as a human that has gained powers after being used for a genetic experimentation with the Mind stone. However, the Marvel comics lore tells a different tale. Wanda is actually the child of Magneto (So is Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a Quicksilver, a.k.a very much dead in the Disney MCU), and thus a member of the mutant world. I’m a total Scarlet Witch fan, so whether it happens on her Disney+ show WandaVision or her role in Doctor Strange 2, one thing is for sure, they better bring it!
While many questions are still up in the air, we do have some solid info to add to the mix. So, let’s not sugar coat it, the 20th Century movie, DarkPhoenix really bombed. After killing off a great deal of mutant characters, the Disney MCU is eager to create their own version of characters like Mystique, Red Lotus, and Jean Grey. For some fans, the consequences of the movie’s fail was costly, as the Disney MCU decided not to reboot Deadpool after DarkPhoenix’s failure. But to be honest, for many fans, Deadpool is the only thing 20th Century actually got right. I don’t know about you all, but I’m glad Deadpool is staying put at 20th Century.
There are a few possibilities for how they may plan on introducing mutants to the Disney MCU. One is through the Multiverse. Fans have been teased with little Easter eggs cluing us in on the Multiverse, but it seems we won’t get answers until Doctor Strange 2. If there are several co-existing universes, as Spiderman: Far From Home suggested, there may be a way to access them. Multi-dimensional discovery is nothing new for Marvel, as it would be a good segue into explaining why we haven’t seen our mutant friends thus far.
Also, there is the concept of mutants being constantly in hiding from a malicious government set on exterminating on them. Perhaps, in the Disney MCU, mutants have always existed in hiding.
Finally, there’s my least favorite theory, the “Snap Effect,” which is the idea that somewhere between the Thanos snap of death and the Iron Man snap of life, things got a little mutated — oooh snap! If those that were brought back after Tony’s snap began to experience new mutant power, that could explain their sudden occurrence. I’m not wild about this theory, as it seems to undermine what mutants actually are. It sounds more like a magical accident than a genetic anomaly.
Right now, we are a bit stuck in one long round of musical chairs, but never fear because without a doubt we know that the Disney MCU mutants will eventually be here. Disney has the rights; they are pretty much wielding the Infinity Gauntlet of Marvel now. No matter what happens, we get to see Maisie Williams grace the screen again (OMG, I love Maisie Williams, she’s the best!). After movie theaters open up again, get in nerds, we’re going to see The New Mutants.
