Disney officially dropped their version of The New Mutants trailer today, which previews the horror-heavy mutant action to come later this year. While the long-awaited X-Men spin-off will be going the horror route, the filmmakers are sticking to a PG-13 rating for this one, instead of opting to go the Deadpool route and push for an R-rated comic book movie.
R-rated movies, especially horror movies, can deliver at the box office. So it’s somewhat reasonable to wonder if The New Mutants was going to push the envelope in that way. The PG-13 rating was confirmed by director Josh Boone on social media just ahead of the movie’s trailer release. Replying to a fan on Instagram, Boone had the following to say.
“The movie has always been and will always be PG-13. There was never a plan for an R-rated movie.”
This project was developed at Fox long before the Disney merger took place, or was even being seriously talked about. Disagreements between Josh Boone and the studio delayed the project for nearly two years. As fans may recall, a teaser trailer was originally released way back in October 2017. Fox had plenty of success with Deadpool and Logan. So surely if Josh Boone had felt this would be better off as an R-rated, mutant-centric horror movie, they would have entertained the idea. But that wasn’t the case. And now that Disney is in control, it makes a lot more sense for them to get behind a PG-13 release.
The trailer truly plays like a PG-13, haunted house horror flick, with moments of comic book spectacle mixed in amongst the terror. Typically, when a movie is delayed for this long, it’s presumed to be a train wreck. However, the trailer doesn’t give off that impression. Comic book artist Bill Sienkiewicz, who worked on The New Mutants comics, shared Josh Boone’s response on Twitter and praised the movie, indicating that he’s seen it.
“Scary film at PG-13. The atmosphere, mystery, & tone of Josh’s direction makes it work. The cast is stellar, not horror tropes who split from the group 1 by 1 like idiots only to get offed. They’re a team united; forged by the horror, and that’s new take. Bravo Josh & Co.”
The cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy (Glass) as Magik, Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) as Wolfsbane, Henry Zaga (Teen Wolf) as Sunspot, Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things) as Cannonball, Blu Hunt (The Originals) as Mirage and Alice Braga (I Am Legend) as Cecilia Reyes. This will be the final X-Men movie of any kind that was produced by Fox, even though it doesn’t feature any of the core characters. Last year’s Dark Phoenix} was the last proper entry in the series and bombed dramatically at the box office. Marvel intends to reboot the X-Men within the MCU in the coming years. The New Mutants is set to hit theaters on April 3 from 20th Century Fox.
Scary film at PG-13. The atmosphere, mystery, & tone of Josh’s direction makes it work. The cast is stellar, not horror tropes who split from the group 1 by 1 like idiots only to get offed. They’re a team united; forged by the horror, and that’s new take. Bravo Josh & Co. https://t.co/HDpCZNp9Ro
— Bill Sienkiewicz (@sinKEVitch) January 5, 2020
