THE NEW MUTANTS

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comments on your average Marvel movie trailer and you’ll find a mixture of gushing excitement and nerdish pedantry. The October 2017 teaser for X-Men spin-off The New Mutants , however, is a different story. This page appears to have become a training ground for stand-up comedians.

“Can’t wait to watch this...in 2030,” chuckles one wag. “I quit smoking to live longer so I can see this movie in 2060,” snickers another. A few lines down, the conceit is stretched to breaking point: “2079: Spider-Man retired, Snyder Cut released, Keith Richards still alive... New Mutants pushed back to 2080.”

Yes, if you’ve been following the trajectory of The New Mutants — the 13th and final instalment of the X-Men film series, concerning a group of troubled teens struggling to control their powers

— you’ll know that its unique-sounding premise

(the first Marvel horror movie) has long been overshadowed by its tumultuous journey to the big screen. It’s blown straight past three slated release dates (April 2018, February and August 2019).

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was written before The New Mutants was removed from the April release schedule last month due to the coronavirus crisis. Disney hopes to release it later this year.]

In a rain-battered New York City hotel in January 2020, the film’s director and co-writer, Josh Boone, laughs wearily when Empire brings up the protracted delay.

“We were in limbo for a long, long time,” he sighs. “We didn’t know ifcome out. I was reading stuff online about how we were reshooting half of it, or it was going straight onto Disney+... I’d be calling my agent, like: ‘What the fuck?!’”