The New Mutants director throws shade at Dark Phoenix amid COVID-19 delay

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Out of all the releases delayed by the growing coronavirus pandemic, I feel absolutely bad for THE NEW MUTANTS. This is a film that has had a long three-year road to the big screen with release date changes, rumors or reshoots and being caught in the shuffle of the Disney/Fox merger. The long-awaited teenage superhero film was finally going to see the light of day on April 3 but, along with many other films, has been delayed indefinitely as studios grapple with rescheduling various films as the deal with COVID-19 concerns. At this point, director Josh Boone is probably used to the setbacks and he has a thick enough skin to just roll with it. Boone clearly isn't afraid to talk about another fellow 20th Century Studios Marvel film that saw an unceremonious release year. We're coming up on a year in June since DARK PHOENIX was released to near visceral disapproval but Boone thinks the failure of DARK PHOENIX works in favor of THE NEW MUTANTS & he's not afraid to say it.

During an interview with "Empire" (via CBR), Josh Boone believes that all the delays and separation from the release DARK PHOENIX will work in the film's favor in the long run:

"Look, you can only go up after Dark Phoenix. THat's not to say anything bad about the people involved, but it was what it was. Honestly, I feel less pressure now than I did ahead of the first slated release date. Because we've tested our movie so many times, and audiences have loved it."

Boone isn't exactly wrong to think it's best for THE NEW MUTANTS to keep some distance from DARK PHOENIX, although this much distance wasn't what anyone was exactly planning on. Directed by Simon Kinberg, DARK PHOENIX was ravaged by critics with a 23% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes & box office wasn't any kinder with $252.4 million earned worldwide on a $200 million production budget. Disney also wasn't afraid to throw DARK PHOENIX under the bus when they reported losses between $100-200 million, pointing the finger almost squarely at its box office performance. 

At this point, I just want to see THE NEW MUTANTS. When I saw it was delayed again due to the coronavirus I just threw up my hands and thought maybe a theatrical run for this film is cursed and they should just release it on the Disney+ streaming platform. The film has been delayed four times and I honestly think the film could perform well on streaming because I know a lot of people who are just curious to see what the film even is. The movie is different from its comic book film adaptation counterparts, taking on a more horror-centric route that is rare for the genre. The film follows a group of young mutants being held in an isolated hospital for psychiatric monitoring. Strange occurrences begin to take place and they have to use their new mutant abilities to battle and try to make it out alive. The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Henry Zaga, Blu Hunt & Charlie Heaton.

Do YOU think DARK PHOENIX gets too much hate? Will WE ever get to see THE NEW MUTANTS?