Not too long ago, we were rather excited about The New Mutants movie. Despite being delayed, the trailer for the film was good, and we started to look forward to this darker chapter in the X-Men Universe. And then the film arrived in cinemas. Suddenly, our hopes for a decent superhero flick were dashed, as the reviews for Josh Boone's movie weren't kind.
"A film that's all buildup and no bang," said Amy Nicholson in her review for The New York Times. "Boone has made a Frankenstein of a movie, a giant elevator pitch that leads directly to the sub-basement of originality," bemoaned Barry Hertz at The Globe And Mail. And at Total Film, writer James Mottram urged readers to avoid the movie after calling the film "a huge misfire that even the most hardcore X-Men fans will find hard to warm to."
To provide some balance, not every critic has hated on the film. Tracy Brown at the Los Angeles Times praised Boone for trying something different within the superhero genre, and Jim Vejvoda at IGN gave it a perfectly acceptable 7/10 after enjoying the movie.
Still, the film has disappointed many, and that leaves us with one burning question. Will the negative critical response to the film scupper the chances of a sequel? Despite the director's hope for a New Mutants trilogy, we are sorry to announce that a follow-up movie is unlikely, even within the MCU. The critical backlash might be cited as one reason, but the possibility of another chapter in this once-promising franchise was already slim at best.
Why We Don't Think There Will Be A New Mutants 2
The journey to the screen has been a rocky one for The New Mutants. Fox's merger with Disney halted the film's release, and it was rumored that the studio ordered reshoots. Then the world went into chaos when the pandemic took hold, and for a while, it seemed unlikely that the film would ever hit cinemas.
Despite these setbacks, director Josh Boone had been optimistic about a follow-up film.
In an interview with The EW, he said: "In our heart of hearts, we hope [The New Mutants] makes a bunch of money so that we can go make the second one."
He has even discussed what a follow-up film could look like. Boone has suggested links to the infamous Hellfire Club with the inclusion of Antonio Banderas as Emmanuel da Costa (the father of The New Mutants' Roberta, aka Sunspot). He has also discussed the possible inclusion of shape-shifting Warlock as one of the sequel's main protagonists.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Boone's plans for the sequel will come to fruition. In an interview with Games Radar, the director attributed this to the Disney-Fox merger. He said:
"The [Disney/Fox] merger just sort of stopped us in our tracks. Nobody knew that it was coming, and we were sort of making the movie to be the first in a franchise. None of us had any idea it was going to be bought by another studio or any of those things. So we just sort of rolled with the punches."
Because of the merger, the director removed cliffhanger scenes from the end of the movie.
But despite the changes at the studio, the X-Men franchise isn't dead. There are plans for a crossover with the MCU, with a brand new cast of actors and characters. So, this in itself does not rule out a sequel to The New Mutants, as these darker characters within the X-Universe could comfortably exist within the MCU as well.
When asked about the possibility of a sequel happening, Boone told Games Radar:
"Well, Disney and Marvel, they own everything. The cast and us would certainly go and make another New Mutants movie in a second. But I don’t know what Marvel’s plans are, or what Disney’s plans are. I think right now, we just want to get this one out, so that everybody can see it."
Never say never then, right? If the bigwigs at Disney Marvel decide on a sequel, it could still happen. However, we remain less than optimistic.
In terms of marketing, Disney has done little to promote The New Mutants. They declined to screen it to critics, and this might be because they were afraid of bad word of mouth before the movie's release. As we now know, the movie has proven to be something of a disappointment, so it's likely Disney knew they had a potential dud on their hands. Still, box office numbers can do much to sway studio opinion, but this will also be a problem for the film. Despite the movie's release onto the big screen, bums on seats are unlikely, as people are nervous about visiting theaters because of the pandemic.
The future of The New Mutants is bleak, as the bad reviews and projected low box office numbers could signal the end of the franchise. This will be bad news for those who do enjoy the movie, but hey, let's look at the positive. For a while, it seemed unlikely that The New Mutants would be released at all, so at least we finally get to see one adaptation of the comic book, even if it's not the film we hoped it would be.
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