‘New Mutants’ heads to reshoots, make it a horror film and Jon Hamm was Mr Sinister

It’s been months since director Josh Boone spoke about the PG-13 rating and tone of New Mutants, an X-Men spin-off, billed as a horror flick. The latest shifts include delays, reshoots, a harder R-rating and the Jon Hamm rumor.

According to TTB, the original pitch for The New Mutants was straight horror, but when it came time to make the film, Fox was little reluctant, and had a whole squadron of writers tweaked the script to tone it down. The studio wanted a PG-13 movie that was more like a cross “between John Hughes and Stephen King”, and co-writer/director Josh Boone was a good soldier who agreed to that compromise. But then two important things happened: It became worldwide hit at the box office, and people really dug the trailer that Fox cut where The New Mutants looked like a straight-up horror movie.

TTB continues: “At that point, Fox decided that instead of doing the three days of additional filming required to complete the YA movie that everyone had initially agreed to go make, the studio would change course and make a new version of the movie that was straight-up horror, which was what Boone and Lee originally wanted to do in the first place. It’s a little like a diner sending back a meal at a restaurant — not because there was something wrong with it, but because they simply changed their minds and wanted to order a different entrée, or movie, in this case.”

Rumors from The Tracking Board point to tie between the last X-Men film and this “Meanwhile, remember the Essex Corporation that was teased at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse? Well not only was New Mutants going to feature that mysterious company, but The Tracking Board has learned that Jon Hamm was originally going to appear as Mr. Sinister in a tag at the end of New Mutants, and Boone filmed material that led up to that reveal, only for Fox to change their minds after shooting had been completed.”

Rumored delay HERE

The film stars Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) as Wolfsbane, Anya Taylor-Joy (Split) as Magik, Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things) as Cannonball, Henry Zaga (Teen Wolf) as Sunspot, Blu Hunt as Mirage, and Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes.

New Mutants arrives in theaters on August 2, 2019.