If there was any question about whether or not Disney really wants to have a theatrical release for Josh Boone’s superhero film, “The New Mutants,” then today’s news has to be definitive proof. After years of delays, with no fewer than four previous release dates (April 13, 2018; Feb. 22, 2019; Aug. 2, 2019; and April 3, 2020), ‘New Mutants’ has yet another official release date, as the film is now expected to hit theaters in August. Well, maybe it’ll actually hit the big screen. We’ll believe it when we see it.
According to a recent tweet, Disney has moved the much-delayed film from April of this year to August 28 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the most recent date change is out of the control of the studio, previously the film has experienced a rough post-production, with countless rumors about reboots and studio issues leading to the film releasing a trailer in October 2017 but yet the film still hasn’t hit theaters.
But now, it appears that it’s really going to happen. For real. Of course, this is barring a resurgence of the pandemic, which could delay the film (and the industry as a whole) for even longer. However, if the world survives until August and theaters are opened, as they’re forecasted to be, then we might actually see “The New Mutants.”
For those that aren’t aware of what the film is about, “The New Mutants” comes from the writer-director of “The Fault in Our Stars” and tells the story of a group of young mutants (people who are born with superpowers that come to life when they hit puberty) who are seemingly trapped in a hospital against their will. They must band together to figure out what’s going on, while also facing their enemy, the Demon Bear.
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When Disney purchased Fox over a year ago, people just assumed the company would send “The New Mutants” straight to Hulu, as the film seems destined to fail. But the company shocked everyone with a big screen release date and an insistence that the film will hit theaters before streaming. But when the pandemic forced the film to vacate its most recent release date, it seemed only logical to just release the film on Hulu or Disney+. Yet here we are, with another theatrical release date.