The New Mutants

Five teenagers with emerging mutant abilities are confined in a remote medical facility that says it's treating them, but the therapy sessions feel experimental and the staff's motives are unclear. Dani Moonstar, Samuel Guthrie, Rahne Sinclair, Roberto da Costa and Illyana Rasputin are all coping with painful histories while their powers surface in unpredictable ways. As relationships form and old wounds are stirred, unsettling visions and physical threats begin to test their trust in one another. The film keeps the action close-quarters and tense, mixing superhero action with psychological horror as the group tries to understand who they are and why they were taken.

Directed by Josh Boone and developed from Marvel Comics characters, The New Mutants was written by Boone with Knate Gwaltney. The 2020 release went through multiple delays before finally reaching theaters, and it features performances from Blu Hunt, Charlie Heaton, Maisie Williams, Henry Zaga and Anya Taylor-Joy.

The film's theatrical run was limited and it didn't become a mainstream hit, with release timing and the pandemic reducing its box office exposure. That constrained visibility meant many viewers encountered the movie through staggered theatrical windows and later digital availability rather than a prolonged cinema presence.

Marketing pitched the movie as a darker, horror-tinged offshoot of the X-Men world, which drew fan attention and online debate about its tone. Its long road to release spawned memes and conversations about studio decisions, and a small but vocal fanbase has defended the film's genre blend and the cast's commitment to the material.

Reviews were mixed; critics tended to praise individual performances, especially Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams, and the film's tense atmosphere, while some pointed to uneven pacing and crowded plotting. The New Mutants leans into themes of trauma, identity and fear manifesting as physical threats, using horror tropes to highlight internal conflict. Audience responses were split as well, the film holding about a 6.1/10 vote average from user ratings, and many viewers admired the ensemble chemistry and the movie's willingness to mix scares with superhero stakes.