I Still Can’t Get Over How Bad 2020 Fumbled A Perfect X-Men Movie Setup

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Marvel has handled the introduction of many superhero teams effectively, but 2020"s The New Mutants was not one of them, with the movie and its reception only becoming more notable in some aspects as time has gone on. There have been many X-Men movies, and under Fox"s stewardship, the series was set to include spinoffs and crossovers, including a "Civil War" film that included X-Men and Fantastic Four characters. Instead, the series focused on two timelines, a Wolverine trilogy, and a disappointing new team pulled right from the comics.
I have loved so many X-Men characters over the years that have not yet been able to be put on the big screen. Underrated heroes with unique powers like Armor would be so much fun to explore, as would a comic-accurate Kate Pryde with her dragon Lockheed. When the MCU timeline adds the characters to its series, I want to see an unusual X-Men team that does not include Wolverine but instead focuses on some other exciting characters from the comics. This was arguably the intent of 2020"s The New Mutants, although the audience reception for the release shows it left much to be desired.
The New Mutants' Premise Was A Perfect Recipe For An X-Men Movie The Fox Film Released In 2020 During The COVID-19 Pandemic Close The New Mutants could have been a perfect X-Men spinoff. The film saw an incredible cast of talented stars playing exciting new characters that had never been put on screen, including Wolfsbane and Cannonball. These heroes were trapped in a facility and had to work together to escape alive. With tinges of horror and a cast that included Game of Thrones" Maisie Williams and Stranger Things" Charlie Heaton, the film seemed poised to be a big hit. Instead, it did not resonate with audiences or critics, and was a flop at the box office.
It is hard for me to even express how perfect a choice Anya Taylor-Joy was to play Illyana Rasputin, and I"d argue that her performance as Magik makes the film worth watching. Some have wished for her character to be brought back to the MCU. Still, this was clearly not enough to warrant positive reception from audiences. Despite the potential for big action moments, the film instead felt small. The character"s powers and visuals found within the movie did not live up to their potential, and for the most part, the film did not connect.
Why The New Mutants Didn't Live Up To Its Promises The Disney-Fox Merger Caused Production Issues Close The New Mutants was an exciting prospect that didn"t seem to live up to any expectations for the film, even from the studio itself. The film was pitched as a horror film in the X-Men universe, but little of the horror was effective, and there were plans to make changes to the film after production. The film was scheduled for reshoots, although details of the Disney-Fox merger at the time complicated things. The reshoots were unable to happen then, and by the time they could do them, the cast had aged too much.
Pushed from an originally planned release in 2018, the film did not wind up debuting until 2020 in its unfinished state, during a time when few people felt comfortable going to the movie theaters. Following the years of production and delays, the studio wound up releasing a version of the film, according to reports from Vulture, the studio itself was "displeased" with. Due to the Fox-Disney merger, and the ending of the Fox X-Men universe as a result, it seemed that going back to fix the film was not a priority, and they released it as it was.
How The MCU Can Make Up For The New Mutants' Mistakes Much Of What The New Mutants Tried To Do Could Work In The MCU Close The MCU can make up for what didn"t work in New Mutants by telling stories about characters beyond the major X-Men roster. As has been shown in many X-Men comics over the years, X-Men stories do not have to center around the central team at all times. While I would love to see a comic-accurate Cyclops fighting beside Marvel Girl and Angel in their classic uniforms, I also want to see the other mutants from throughout the comic book history shown in exciting new stories.
Characters like Magik and Wolfsbane need to be a more important part of X-Men storytelling in the MCU. Lesser-known characters like Sunspot have appeared in the cast of X-Men "97, showing some progress, and while this was an excellent move, the whole team deserves better. I want to see a focus on highlighting the lesser known roster of characters, including figures like Mirage, in the upcoming MCU films. This would be a fresh way to reimagine the roster and create a new, satisfying lineup for the upcoming films.
The New Mutants was not a success for Fox. Unfortunately, this might cause Disney to avoid using some of the wonderful characters from the film in their X-Men reboot. I hope that this is not the case. While I admit New Mutants had many faults, it also had many unrealized potentials. Focusing on the excellent characters that the film decided to use would be the perfect way to differentiate the X-Men reboot. I sincerely hope that the disappointment of The New Mutants does not mean that we have seen the last of these incredible characters.

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*Availability in US The New Mutants is a horror superhero film directed by Josh Boone. It follows a group of young mutants held in a secret facility against their will as they discover their abilities and confront their fears. The film features Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Charlie Heaton in leading roles, intertwining supernatural elements with the traditional superhero genre.
Director Josh Boone Release Date April 2, 2020 Cast Blu Hunt , Maisie Williams , Anya Taylor-Joy , Charlie Heaton , Henry Zaga Upcoming MCU Movies