After several years' worth of waiting, a second trailer for New Mutants has finally dropped - and here's our full breakdown. Although Fox's tentpole X-Men movies had struggled, they'd seen real success with their spinoffs. Films like Logan and Deadpool proved that there was a real demand for superhero films that deviated from the norm. Joker has reinforced that argument, becoming the most profitable comic book adaptation of all time.
A superhero horror, Josh Boone's New Mutants has been stuck in Development Hell for years, partly because of the Disney/Fox acquisition. There'd been intense speculation that Disney would relegate New Mutants to the Disney+ streaming service, especially after the theatrical failure of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but thankfully those fears seem to have been unfounded. In fact, according to director Josh Boone, the theatrical cut is his original version. New Mutants is due out in April, and as a result Disney/Fox have released a much-anticipated second trailer.
The good news is, for all the delay, the New Mutants trailer is seriously promising. It's a love-letter to Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz's New Mutants comic book, retaining all the supernatural thrills of the original Demon Bear Saga. So here's our full trailer breakdown.
26. The Faces In The Walls
The New Mutants trailer opens with a shot of falling snow, a superb homage to Sienkiewicz's art in the comics' Demon Bear Saga. But the trailer then moves to some very different imagery, with young mutant Dani Moonstar tormented by nightmarish visions of faces emerging from the walls. This looks to be one of Boone's favorite scenes, given it appeared in the first New Mutants trailer that dropped over two years ago as well. It's a clear riff on Freddy Krueger. "Yes, that’s my homage to Mr. Craven, and we did it practically," Boone told SYFY. "They did that stupid remake of Nightmare and they did it with CGI, and I was like, how did they do it in the original? They got rubber walls."
25. The Demon Bear Attacks Dani's Family
Dani remembers the night her mutant powers first manifested, and a horrific attack upon her family. This scene is a pretty straight adaptation from the comics, where Dani received visions warning her of an impending attack; her parents were both believed killed, although in truth they were absorbed into the Demon Bear. The structure of the New Mutants trailer makes it clear that Dani Moonstar (aka Mirage) is the viewpoint character in this film, with viewers introduced to the world of mutants through her eyes. Dani awakens cuffed to a bed, and is soon introduced to another comic book character - albeit one who's been changed substantially.
24. Introducing Cecilia Reyes
Fox's New Mutants sees Dani brought to what seems to be a sort of therapy center for mutants whose powers have just triggered. The woman overseeing it is Dr. Cecilia Reyes, played by Alice Braga. This is something of a strange choice; in the comics, Cecilia is a mutant herself, a doctor who tried to live a normal life in spite of her powers but still wound up drawn into the X-Men's world. New Mutants appears to have dramatically reinvented the character, not least by conducting a race-swap; Reyes is supposed to be a Puerto Rican mutant who was born in the Bronx, with black skin.
23. The "School" For Gifted Youngsters
Josh Boone has described New Mutants as a superhero film blended with a haunted house horror. In the comics, the New Mutants are based at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. While the building design is roughly the same, New Mutants' haunted house is a much more austere and foreboding design, and is apparently an old hospital. This is the main set for much of the film, with only about 10 percent shot on green-screen.
22. "Do You Know What Mutants Are?"
There had been rumors that New Mutants had been edited to make it MCU-friendly, with all mention of mutants removed. Clearly that isn't the case, because the New Mutants trailer features dialogue where Cecilia Reyes tells Dani that she is a mutant. In this world, however, mutants seem to be pretty rare; Reyes describes them as "uncommon." She then introduces Dani to the other young mutants in her care, who are participating in a therapy session. There's a distinct One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest vibe to all this.
21. Wolfsbane Remembers Her "First Time"
Dr. Reyes asks the various New Mutants to remember the first time they triggered. Apparently Wolfsbane - whose mutant power is essentially a form of lycanthropy - actually morphed while in church. This is a suggestive detail, because powers only tend to activate at moments of intense stress or trauma. In the comics, Rahne Sinclair was badly abused by her father, Reverend Craig, so it's entirely possible she's remembering something very dark that's happened in this church hall.
20. Cannonball Remembers Panicking As His Powers Developed
Sam Guthrie, aka Cannonball, avoids telling his origin story in any detail. But the New Mutants trailer does show him upset and grief-stricken, suggesting it follows the comics, where his powers triggered a mine collapse leading to several deaths. The shot reinforces the sense that this is a very different kind of superhero film; note that actor Charlie Heaton hasn't buffed up for the role, and instead has a normal - in fact, possibly slightly malnourished - physique rather than the typical superhero six-pack.
19. Sunspot's Backstory Has Been Radically Rewritten
Comic book readers were taken aback when Henry Zaga (13 Reasons Why) was cast for the role of Sunspot. In the comics, Roberto Da Costa is a Brazilian mutant with the power to channel solar energy. The character has been translated in multiple mediums, ranging from the comics to the X-Men: Evolution animated series, and even appeared in the future sections of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Each iteration seems to have progressively whitened him, and the whitewashing process has culminated in Zaga, a white-skinned Brazilian actor. This means Sunspot's entire backstory has had to be altered, given it originally involved his powers triggering when he experienced racially-targeted violence. It's likely Sunspot's character will have to be adjusted as well, as he he was always desperate to prove himself due to the prejudice he'd suffered.
18. Magik Reveals Her Own Dark Origin
It's easy to miss, but the New Mutants trailer blends two different sequences. It moves to one that was shown to audiences at Brazil's CCXP 2017, in which the New Mutants were hooked up to lie detectors and told to talk about their powers. While all the rest were hesitant, Magik is something of a braggart, boldly revealing that she killed eighteen men. The full scene shows a flashback in which Magik goes on a rampage with her Soulsword, but that's edited down for the trailer, which just shows the bodies.
17. The Force-Field Cage
New Mutants hints that Cecilia Reyes' purposes may not be benign. Dani explores the grounds of the facility the teenagers are staying in, and discovers an impenetrable force-field preventing her from leaving. That prompts Magik to tell Dani that this isn't a school for training - it's a cage. Interestingly, there was a sinister purpose behind the formation of the New Mutants in the comics as well. Charles Xavier was under the influence of an alien Brood Queen, which had been implanted within his body; the Brood were seeking powerful young mutants as potential hosts.
16. Cecilia Reyes Watches The New Mutants
The New Mutants trailer presents Cecilia Reyes in a distinctly sinister light, suggesting that she spends most of the time watching her young charges on security cameras. Again, it feels reminiscent of the kind of security seen in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. In that film, the asylum itself ultimately became the villain; it's entirely possible the same will be true in New Mutants, and that Dr. Reyes will become the big bad.
15. The School Is A Mutant "Conversion Center"
The New Mutants trailer suggests that Cecilia Reyes is basically running a center for conversion therapy. "It's important we find out your power," she tells Dani, "so we can help you get better." There are clear parallels between this and homosexual conversion therapy, which likewise claims to "cure" people of their sexual orientation. Mutants have always been paralleled with the battle for tolerance and equality, and Marvel has explicitly tied anti-mutant sentiments to homophobia since the 1980s. This is, however, the most overt it's ever been on the big screen; until now, the one noteworthy reference was a throwaway line in X2: X-Men United, in which Bobby Drake was asked if he'd "tried not being a mutant."
14. Dani Moonstar Senses Something Is Wrong
There's a reason Dani Moonstar is the viewpoint character; because she begins to see through the institution's facade. In the comics, Dani is a low-level psychic and even a precog to some degree, and this has frequently helped her to break through illusions. According to the New Mutants trailer, she realizes that all is not well at the school, and that the teens aren't here to get better.
13. The Horrific People With No Faces
According to Dani, the New Mutants' fears are coming alive. In the comics, that's Dani's own powerset; she generates illusions representing a person's worst fears, and she eventually learned to make them solid as well. Whether this is being done by Dani herself, or rather by a malevolent psychic entity, it appears to manifest a group of monstrous masked creatures. These beings are pulled straight from the comics, where a group of soldiers were stranded in a Hell dimension named Limbo that's associated with Magik. When they emerged, they'd been transformed - badly mutilated - by their experience there. One of them looked just like this, having had his face burned off and his body mutated by the sorcery of Limbo. While this could just be a visual homage, it's also possible these things are specifically triggered by the interaction of the nightmare force and Magik's fears.
12. A Door Dissolves - What Does That Mean?
It's time for another horror staple, as a door dissolves in front of the New Mutants. Given this is an X-Men film, it could practically mean anything; it's possible this is an illusion, that the teenagers have been transported to a quasi-mystical realm called the Astral Plane, or even that there's an as-yet-unseen mutant hiding behind that door, using their powers to wreck havoc. There is comic book precedent for this idea, which would be reminiscent of the X-Men villain Proteus, who was indeed secretly kept locked away by his mother Moira MacTaggert for much of his life due to his out-of-control reality-altering powers.
11. A Mysterious Figure Drops From The Ceiling
A monstrous, semi-human figure drops from the ceiling to terrify some of the New Mutants. This looks to be one of the Limbo-esque creatures seen earlier in the New Mutants trailer, and note that he's menacing Magik in particular. Where Magik has otherwise been shown to be stoic and in-control, this time she reacts in outright terror, supporting the idea that this is her personal nightmare made flesh.
10. Running Through The Astral Forest
The New Mutants trailer presents an indistinct shot of Dani Moonstar running through a snow-swept forest. This is actually an iconic image from Sienkiewicz's art in the Demon Bear Saga, with Dani transported to a sort of psychic forest - an astral location where the Demon Bear could hunt her. It's reasonable to assume that is exactly what's happening here; that Dani is on the run.
9. Cannonball's Worst Fear - The Mine Collapse
It looks as though Cannonball's origin story is being played straight, because his worst fear manifests in a vision of the mines. This is presumably going to lead to the moment his powers first triggered, causing a collapse in which some of the miners were killed; he fears that he is responsible for nothing more than death and destruction. The New Mutants trailer appears to suggest that Wolfsbane is afraid of being a killer as well, moving to a shot of her in a graveyard.
8. Wolfsbane Is Attacked In The Confessional
The New Mutants trailer then shows Wolfsbane in a church confessional; the stained glass window suggests it's the one her powers first manifested in. She's then attacked by the Demon Bear, which tears through the confessional's roof. This confirms that several of these shots are in an illusory world, akin to the Astral Plane in the comics, because there's absolutely no way Rhane could find her way to this church confessional when she's trapped in Cecilia Reyes' institution.
7. Wolfsbane and Dani Romance
New Mutants is making superhero history with the first major LGBT romance in a Marvel movie. The New Mutants trailer confirms reports that there will be a romance subplot between Dani Moonstar and Wolfsbane. While switch-ups like this always have the potential to be controversial, this is probably the smartest character change in the history of comic book adaptations. Wolfsbane's story in particular is strengthened, given that her arc in the comics involved recovery from an abusive upbringing under a religious fundamentalist named Reverend Craig. More recently, Wolfsbane died in a scene that explicitly mirrored transphobia. Death is a revolving door in comics, of course, so it didn't last long.
6. It's Time For The Team Shot
No superhero trailer is complete without a team shot, and the New Mutants trailer is happy to oblige. While Fox's X-Men films were often criticized for the lack of superhero costumes, in this case it makes perfect sense; these are teenagers, after all, imprisoned in an institution and forced to deal with a possible supernatural threat. They don't have any spandex hanging around, and they don't have time to find someone to make super-suits. Notice that Cannonball is wearing a bandage around one arm; given the trailer suggests his powers are now related to his hands, that may indicate his abilities flared out of control for a time.
5. Sunspot Powers Up
The New Mutants trailer includes a stunning demonstration of Sunspot's solar form. This is pretty much comic book accurate, with Roberto transitioning into a sort of energy being whose body is bleached black and has flares of fire running across him. Visually, note that this is very different from traditional pyrokinetics such as the Fantastic Four's Human Torch; Sunspot doesn't actually generate fire, rather projecting absorbed solar energy as devastating force blasts.
4. Cannonball's Energy Flare Is Very Different To The Comics
Sunspot's powerset may appear to be comic-book-accurate, but Cannonball's looks to have been switched up considerably. In the comics, Cannonball generates a blast field around his body that allows him to propel himself in flight; this kinetic energy field protects him from impact, essentially turning him into a human cannonball. In contrast, the New Mutants' version appears to generate an energy field around his arms. It seems to be explosive, explaining the "Cannonball" name and the havoc he caused when his powers first manifested.
3. Magik's Soulsword And Eldritch Armor
The New Mutants trailer includes a shot of Magik's powers in action. She's summoning a blade known as the Soulsword; in the Claremont era, whenever Magik triggered this it caused a mysterious eldritch armor to cover her body. The armor has been altered a little for the film; there's a distinctive pattern running across it that's vaguely reminiscent of the X-Men's Colossus. In the comics, Magik is Colossus' younger sister, his beloved "Little Snowflake."
2. Magik Leaps From One Of Her Stepping Discs
The final shots of the New Mutants trailer show Magik in action, using one of her stepping disc portals to jump outside the institute and confront the Demon Bear. Boone clearly hopes Magik will be the breakout star, putting her in a place of prominence in the trailer, and even giving her what Deadpool would recognize as a "Superhero Landing."
1. The Demon Bear
Finally, the New Mutants trailer ends with a glimpse of the Demon Bear, a shot that feels as though it's been ripped straight out of Sienkiewicz's art. This astral creature stalked Dani Moonstar, and was responsible for the apparent death of her parents; it pursued her to Xavier's School, and became one of the New Mutants' greatest enemies in the comics. The Demon Bear Saga ended when Magik used her Soulsword against the monster, but no doubt it won't be so easy in the film.
