Fox's long-delayed New Mutants movie reportedly features a queer romantic relationship between two of its main characters: Moonstar and Wolfsbane, as played respectively by Blu Hunt and Maisie Williams. It feels like eons ago when Fox set writer-director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) to adapt Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod's New Mutants comic books as part of the studio's X-Men movie franchise. Boone had initially compared his vision for the film to horror movies like The Shining and Nightmare on Elm Street, but was reportedly forced to tone things down during production.
Hunt and Williams are joined in the New Mutants cast by Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), Henry Zaga (Looking for Alaska), and Anya Taylor-Joy (Split) as young mutants being held captive at a secret facility overseen by Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga). The film was originally scheduled to open in April 2018, but was later postponed to February 2019 and then August that same year after the positive response to the New Mutants trailer - which was edited to emphasize its horror elements - prompted Fox to order reshoots to bring the movie closer to Boone's original pitch. Of course, this was all before Disney finalized its purchase of Fox last March and moved New Mutants back again to April 2020.
A source informed Fandomwire the second New Mutants trailer would arrive this month on January 6, shortly before Boone made the news official with a post on his Instagram account. They're since learned (from the same source) Moonstar and Wolfsbane will be dating in the film - something that's even hinted at in the above photo, which shows Williams' character cradling Hunt (who's been knocked unconscious for as-yet unknown reasons).
In New Mutants lore, Danielle Moonstar aka. Mirage is a Native American mutant who has the ability to create illusions based on a person's worst fears, but was shunned by the community she grew up in out of fear of her powers (which she had little control over when they suddenly manifested during puberty). The Scottish mutant Rahne Sinclair aka. Wolfsbane had to endure an equal amount of abuse growing up due to her strict religious background, which prompted those around her to presume her lycanthropic powers were a gift from the devil. Assuming this report is accurate, it's possible their similar traumatic upbringings will lead these characters to bond and eventually become romantically involved upon encountering one another in the New Mutants film.
New Mutants having two main characters in a queer relationship would be a significant step forward for a mainstream tentpole, and especially a superhero movie. The best representation the queer community has gotten from a Marvel movie so far came in the form of a cameo in Avengers: Endgame, where co-director Joe Russo played a gay member of Captain America's support group. This report suggests New Mutants will do much better than that, so here's to hoping it proves true.
Source: Fandomwire
