When filming for The New Mutants began in 2017, it was originally scheduled for release the following year. As fans know, however, that release didn’t happen then, nor did it happen on the other several planned premiere dates. Despite this, even the cast, filmmakers and marketing are laughing about it.
The film’s ongoing delays were acknowledged in a tongue-in-cheek fashion during the opening sequence of the movie’s virtual Comic-Con@Home panel this Thursday. Self-parodying the film’s own trailer, the video opens with the now-familiar line, “new mutants are dangerous,” before flashing the original release date of April 13, 2018 out; however, that date is scratched and replaced with February 22, 2019. That date is also scratched out, replaced with Aug. 2, 2019, and then replaced by April 3, 2020.
The video then populates the screen with word balloons filled with various comments reacting to the delays. Some of reactions included, "Glad to know New Mutants will be available for my grandkids when they have their own kids," "I couldn’t even vote when this trailer came out. Now I'm 40 and balding," and "Wait - maybe the New Mutants are actually stuck in limbo?"
A little over a dozen of these comedic comments fill the screen, before one last release date appears: August 28, 2020, the new release date. This date is followed by one last, more hopeful comment, "Fingers crossed."
Having flogged itself enough, the video moves to panel moderator Ira Madison III introducing the film’s director and writer Josh Boone, followed by cast members Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt and Henry Zaga, and the panel then begins in earnest.
The movie’s original 2018 release date was pushed to February 22, 2019 due to a reshuffling of 20th Century Fox's film slate and reshoot plans, but even then the film was delayed again until August of that year, which didn't happen either. However, the reshoots hadn't started, Disney was closing the deal with Fox and Dark Phoenix landed a solid date before The New Mutants.
Disney finally gave its release date for The New Mutants, which was the April 3, 2020 date, but the coronavirus pandemic prompted Disney to push the film back yet again to August. Given that the new release date is only five weeks away and the country is in the midst of a COVID-19 resurgence, fans are still uncertain whether or not this date will stick or be pushed yet again, further feeding into the joke the panel made about scheduling. the film
Directed and co-written by Josh Boone, The New Mutants stars Maisie Williams as Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane, Anya Taylor-Joy as Illyana Rasputin/Magik, Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie/Cannonball, Henry Zaga as Roberto da Costa/Sunspot, Blu Hunt as Danielle Moonstar/Mirage and Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes. The film arrives in theaters August 28.