The New Mutants will feature an appearance from Lockheed, who in the comics is a companion to Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat. However, don't expect the little purple dragon's origins to be comics accurate.
During a press conference for The New Mutants, director Josh Boone revealed that, while he's a big fan of the original comics and the movie adheres to the essence of the characters, changes were made for the purposes of making the film more grounded. One such change involved Lockheed's origin and his relationship to Illyana Rasputin/Magik.
"I'd say [The New Mutants] are very much like the characters in the comics. But I'd say we had to make sense of a very convoluted Marvel history that a lot of these characters had and their entanglements with other books and everything else. Lockheed would be a prime example. We made Lockheed much more tied to [Magik] directly in terms of her backstory and everything, because the way she gains this dragon in the comic is, you know, this dragon came from space. Kitty Pryde got it. Eventually it really became Illyana's [...] For us, it was just like, I don't know how to do the space backstory."
First appearing Chris Claremont and Paul Smith's Uncanny X-Men #166 in 1983, Lockheed was found by Kitty on a planet colonized by an alien race known as the Brood. Since then, the two have been virtually inseparable.
The revised synopsis for The New Mutants can be found below.
In this terrifying, action-fueled film based on the MARVEL comic series, five young people who demonstrate special powers are brought to a secret institution to undergo treatments they are told will cure them of the dangers of their powers. Included are Danielle Moonstar aka Mirage (Blu Hunt), who creates illusions from other people’s fears; Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams), who transforms into the werewolf Wolfsbane; Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton), who, as Cannonball, can fly at jet speeds protected by a force field; Roberto da Costa aka Sunspot (Henry Zaga), who absorbs and channels solar power; and Illyana Rasputin aka Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy). The younger sister of Colossus, Magik becomes encased in armor at will and wields a soulsword that amplifies her multiple superhuman and psychic abilities. Invited by Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga) to share their stories about when their powers first manifested, the five “patients” come to understand that they are in a class of people called mutants, who have historically been marginalized and feared. As they relive their origin stories, their memories seem to turn into terrifying realities. Soon, they question what is real and what isn’t, and it becomes clear that the institution isn’t what it seems. Now the question is — why are they being held captive? And who is trying to destroy them? The tension and horror mount in this white-knuckle thrill ride directed by Josh Boone and co-written by Boone and Knate Lee.
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 Aug. 28.