Twentieth Century Studios has announced that advance tickets for the long-awaited and long-delayed, The New Mutants have gone on sale today. The movie was initially conceived as part of Fox's X-Men universe, where it would introduce the new characters as part of the same convoluted timeline as previous movies in the franchise. In fact, at one point, Storm was going to appear as one of the main characters, but that idea was scrapped during the early stages of writing. Despite filming in 2017, the movie was pushed back by Fox multiple times to undergo reshoots that would adjust the tone of the film.
Unfortunately, when Fox was bought out by Disney, The New Mutants was one of the movies the studio wasn't impressed with, and it was pushed back again, for director Josh Boone to spend more time tweaking it. But finally, after years of delays, the movie will see the light of day, releasing in theaters on August 28. The stars of the film are a veritable whos-who of young Hollywood talent and include Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga.
Now, Twentieth Century Studios has announced that fans can buy tickets for The New Mutants as of today. Advance tickets are available for screenings starting next Friday, August 28. This on the same day new posters and a new video teasing more story details have been released. After being delayed for years, the fact that audiences are finally able to buy tickets to see their work up on the big screen must be a significant relief for the cast and crew.
However, the news isn't all good. One of the reasons for the delay of The New Mutants was the coronavirus pandemic. The movie was delayed for a final time in March, this time because of the pandemic shutting down theaters across the world. Eventually, the film was given an August 28 release date, with studio sources saying it wouldn't change. And while several countries have done enough to let theaters open again, there is still doubt about audiences' desire to watch movies in crowded theaters without a vaccine for the virus.
That means that no matter how desperate audiences may be to see The New Mutants finally, it is unlikely to do big business, or at least not the kind of business Twentieth Century Studios and Disney would have expected. And with a contractual obligation not to release the movie on VOD or streaming, studio executives are banking on audiences putting aside their fears and making their way out to see the first major release post-coronavirus.
And it's not just the studio behind The New Mutants who will be anxious to see how it performs, especially in the USA. With Christopher Nolan's Tenet set to debut in the US a week later, Warner Bros. will be watching to see just how keen audiences are to return to theaters. If The New Mutants does manage to pack theaters, Tenet will almost be guaranteed to succeed, given that anticipation for that blockbuster is reportedly much bigger.
Source: 20th Century Studios
