The New Mutants panel at Comic-Con@Home gave viewers a new look at the movie - with New Mutants' opening scene and another tantalizing, exciting trailer. Josh Boone's New Mutants has become perhaps the unluckiest superhero movie of all times. It's been subject to constant delays, and worse still most have been completely beyond anyone's ability to control. The online panel at SDCC 2020 acknowledged that fact from the outset, with an amusing intro reminding viewers of all the times the film has been pushed back, before ending with a reminder it's currently due out on August 28, 2020. A speech bubble promptly popped up on the screen; "Fingers crossed."
The delays are all the more frustrating because New Mutants actually looks tremendously promising. It was a labor of love for director Josh Boone, who pitched a straight adaptation of a classic Chris Claremont/Bill Sienkiewicz story to Fox. What's more, some of the casting choices are absolutely inspired; Anya Taylor-Joy was frankly born to play the Russian teleporter Magik, while Maisie Williams so embodies Wolfsbane that X-Men artists have taken to making the comic book character look like her. What's more, in spite of the countless trailers and TV spots that have been released at various points in the history of New Mutants, there are still plenty of unanswered questions about the plot. Boone has always promised the trailers would conceal as much as they reveal, and he's managed to maintain that, which is impressive given the sheer length of time audiences have been awaiting this movie.
The Comic-Con@Home panel gives viewers their best look yet at New Mutants, complete with the film's opening scene and an extended trailer. It was positioned as a gift to the most patient fans in the world - and it's one that is gratefully appreciated. Here's our full breakdown of the New Mutants opening scene and the new clips in the trailer.
The title credits for New Mutants are a loving homage to Bill Sienkiewicz's art in the original comic book story called the Demon Bear Saga. There, he repeatedly returned to a stunning visual of monsters and mutants roaming through a winter snowstorm. Right from the outset, it's clear Josh Boone's New Mutants should be seen as a love letter to the comics. Even the ominous dialogue read by Blu Hunt is lifted straight from that run as well:
"There's an old Native American proverb that says: Inside every person there are two bears, forever locked in combat for your soul. One bear is all things good; compassion, love, trust. The other is all things evil; fear, shame, and self-destruction."
In the original Demon Bear Saga, this dialogue pertained uniquely to Dani Moonstar. Trailers for New Mutants have hinted it will be true of every member of the team in the film.
New Mutants begins with Dani Moonstar jolting awake. In the comics, Dani's power is to make fear come alive, and the placement of the dialogue appears to suggest whatever horror is happening here is actually her mutant powers triggering; hence the emphasis on "self-destruction." There's been speculation Boone has crafted a Dark Phoenix-style story, with Dani's powers acting independently from her conscious mind, and lashing out at all those around her. Certainly that's how this scene appears to be set up, but frankly that in itself makes it feel suspiciously akin to misdirection. When Dani awakens, her community is already under attack, and her father rushes in to her rescue.
In the comics, Dani and her family were attacked by the Demon Bear, just as shown in these opening scenes. Here, Dani's father drags her away from the community and into the forest; as she looks behind, Dani sees unbridled chaos, with a blizzard raging and mysterious explosions. The havoc is indescribable, with a burning car tossed around like a toy. Dani's father is a hero; once he believes his daughter is safe, he insists on going back to rescue others. Again, the individual images here are evocative of Sienkiewicz's chilling, disturbing style. The celebrated artist's influence can be felt in every shot.
To Dani's horror, her father's body crashes into the ground of the forest soil nearby. It's unclear what has happened; the body is frosted over with ice, and there's a visible blood stain. This is very different to the original Demon Bear Saga, because while Dani's parents were attacked by the Demon Bear, in the comics they were absorbed into the demonic entity. Magik's Soulsword successfully freed them from it; there were no bodies, because they weren't truly dead. This scene should serve as a reminder to viewers that a PG-13 certificate leaves a lot more room to maneuver than many moviegoers remember; you can still do creepy and dramatic on a PG-13 rating.
A terrified Dani Moonstar races through the forest, and she appears to be hunted by the Demon Bear, as it crashes through the woods; she can hear its heavy, monstrous breathing. Panicked, Dani slips and falls, ultimately rendered unconscious. The movie carefully avoids revealing what happens next; how does Dani survive the Demon Bear attack? Why does the creature not prey upon her now she's out cold, and cannot run away?
Dani awakens with a jolt, and though she does not know it she is in the institution for mutants run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes. She is looking straight up at an air vent - and straight into the eyes of Wolfsbane, who is looking down upon her in curiosity. Air vents are a common horror and sci-fi trope, and in the comics, Wolfsbane - who naturally has a smaller physique - has frequently used them to surreptitiously explore hostile environments. There have been consistent reports New Mutants will feature a prominent lesbian relationship, and trailers have heavily implied the couple in question will be Dani and Wolfsbane. If so, this early encounter is an appropriate one, and it also foreshadows another tender moment seen in trailers where Wolfsbane lays on top of Dani, cupping her head in her hands.
Dani Moonstar is a prisoner, handcuffed to a bed in Cecilia Reyes' institution. It's easy to miss, but notice the strap around her arm, which clearly holds some sort of sophisticated equipment to monitor her life-signs - things like her heart-rate, perhaps even her mental activity as well. The theme of imprisonment has been highlighted in the New Mutants trailers, and it seems to be introduced early on in the film. The New Mutants opening scenes now come to an end, replaced with an extended version of the recent trailer. Several of these have been seen before, but there is still new footage; this trailer breakdown will now only focus upon that.
Key members of the New Mutants are introduced, along with Cecilia Reyes' disturbing narration that these mutants have all killed someone. One scene featuring Cannonball is particularly interesting, because it shows him in a park, attaching a strap to his chest. Anyone familiar with the character from the comics can easily deduce what this means; Cannonball's power is to project a blast field that allows him to fly through the air like a projectile, but it's very difficult for him to aim himself. Such a strap would ground him, essentially forcing him to simply fly in circles; he has been shown doing just that in a couple of previous clips, and this is why. It's interesting to note that Cecilia Reyes does appear to be allowing the New Mutants to use their powers, and to practice with them.
Cecilia Reyes' narration continues, and viewers are shown an ominous graveyard; although Reyes suggests this would be the New Mutants' fate if not for her, that may well be misdirection. The film appears to be an intense psychological horror, which means this may well be on the grounds of the institution; the next shot shows Cecilia Reyes zipping up what looks to be a body bag. Notice that mutants are unnamed, referred to by mutants. It's unclear whether the numbers are Easter eggs, but they may reference specific issues of Uncanny X-Men. Uncanny X-Men #126, for example, saw the X-Men travel to the Muir Isle Mutant Research Facility, where they learned a mutant named Proteus had been kept for years. The others don't appear to have any direct connection, although a couple of the issues were part of the Dark Phoenix Saga.
Cecilia Reyes spends the night watching her charges, and this shot shows what she can see. It appears the rooms - or cells - house a lot of sophisticated sensors, and they can detect elevated levels of psionic energy emerging from Dani Moonstar. In the comics, psionic energy relates to the mind; thus Dani's powers are triggering. The next shot shows faces pressing through the walls, terrifying Dani, in a homage to A Nightmare on Elm Street. The clear implication is that Dani is the one generating the nightmare - but, again, that may be misdirection.
The Comic-Con@Home trailer features an extended version of a scene that's been previously shown, where a hand slams against the surface of a washing machine. It seems that the washing machine explodes, with what appears to be a manifestation of Sunspot's ability. This raises the intriguing possibility Sunspot's powers are his own greatest fear, and that he winds up being haunted by some sort of monstrous version of himself. It would make sense; a handsome, attractive guy with something of an ego would be horrified at the idea of morphing into a fire-creature.
Previous trailers had teased what appeared to be a sweet scene where Wolfsbane lay over Dani's body, but it may not be quite so tender. Dani had always seemed strangely immobile in those shots, and the new trailer reveals why; she appears to be unconscious, and Wolfsbane is terrified. It seems several of the New Mutants have been trapped in a specific room by a force-field - recognizable as one of those summoned by Cecilia Reyes in one photo - and Wolfsbane is terrified, while Sunspot is attempting to break out of the room.
Sunspot and Magik are shown battling against the ethereal form of the Demon Bear. Sunspot's powers are truly spectacular, but sadly ineffective, and he simply winds up making the Demon Bear glow a little. Fortunately, Magik goads the creature into pursuing her; previous trailers have shown Magik engaging the Demon Bear in pretty spectacular combat, and indeed she may be the only one who can hurt the creature. In the comics, Magik's Soulsword is itself a mystical blade, and it is particularly effective against magical creatures like the Demon Bear.
The Comic-Con@Home trailer shows more of the climactic battle between Magik and the Demon Bear, with Magik demonstrating tremendous bravado. Anya-Taylor Joy's Magik is generally expected to be the breakout character in New Mutants, and she's been featured prominently in all the marketing. This extended trailer has given viewers their best look yet at Magik in action, and it's fascinating to see Josh Boone has deviated a little from the traditional Sienkiewicz designs when it comes to Magik. The Russian teleporter's general demeanor is more heavily influenced by modern versions, particularly the artwork of Kris Anka, who redesigned Magik in 2014. Certainly the Soulsword is far broader than Sienkiewicz's iteration, in keeping with modern comics. Visually it's far more striking, and it will be fascinating to see just how effective the Soulsword is against the Demon Bear.
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