Set Visit: Chatting with the cast of New Mutants

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

With its supernatural horror overtones, isolated location and small cast of characters, THE NEW MUTANTS may end up being one of the most unorthodox superhero movies yet.

Filmmaker Josh Boone's twist on the genre starts with the basics of the X-Men franchise by introducing another group of young mutants with incredible abilities. But rather than contending with intolerant humans or a powerful mutant threat like Apocalypse or the Hellfire Club, these teens must deal with an entirely different kind of menace: themselves.

(NOTE: This set visit took place in 2017, before Disney's acquisition of Fox and the movie's continued release delays.)

Alice Braga (I AM LEGEND, PREDATORS) plays Dr. Cecilia Reyes, the doctor who is treating the mutants at the remote facility. The comic version of the character could create psionic shields and was mostly affiliated with the adult X-Men, but her abilities and motives in THE NEW MUTANTS aren't quite as evident.

What drew her to a mutant movie:

"I'm a big fan of X-Men, so as soon as the phone rang I was super excited. I think it's a type of hero that are so truthful and real in the sense that they are kind of broken characters. They are still trying to find their place in the world, and how to overcome shame and rejection. I always connected with that."

On working with the young cast:

"The X-Men all have their past that haunts them, and each of these [New Mutants] characters are the same, but these characters are young. In normal life, all of us when we're 15 or 16, we're still trying to figure out our place in the world. And this film goes through that, and on top of it all they're mutants, so it's interesting to have the relationship to try to guide them through the experience they had with their powers and how they develop. The chance to work with this group, all these actors from different places, they're all 10-14 years younger than me and it's refreshing to be with them on camera because I feed off their energy."

English actor Charlie Heaton ("Stranger Things") puts on his best Kentucky accent to play Sam Guthrie, the mutant also known as Cannonball, who is awkward and uncertain of his volatile self-propulsion powers and came to the hospital to learn control.

On the group dynamic:

"You have these five characters in this facility, they're all kind of damaged and they're all here because they can't belong in real world and can't quite control what they have. They also all have their demons, so to speak. They're all very different personalities who have to live in this place together. These are not superheroes, they're outsiders and that feels very real."

Sam's "blasting" powers:

"For a lot of the movie I have a cast on my arm and a lot of bruises, so hasn't quite worked out how to do this. He can take off, he just can't land [laughter]. He's trying. They all have their feelings about being at this facility, Sam himself feels like he belongs and wants to get better and we'll see him take on this responsibility and own up to what he is. There's a lot of resentment about this power, he's almost afraid of it and wants control."

His relationship with Roberto:

"That's a friendship that comes together. In the real world I don't think that's the most obvious pair. Roberto is very rich and somewhat vain but self-conscious, Sam is quiet and from a low-class family with different morals. It's that unlikely pairing, deep down they both have similar problems and they handle them differently, but they end up helping each other."

After establishing herself in movies like SPLIT, MORGAN and THE WITCH, Anya Taylor-Joy continues her career in genre material playing Illyana Rasputin, a young Russian mutant also known as Magik.

On interacting with the other young mutants:

"It's a really nice change and it's interesting because although we all have superpowers, we're all just kids having to interact with each other, and we're all such specific characters that you can't compare us to one another. But Illyana is pretty spiky and keeps to herself unless she's causing trouble. The boys and her have a nice bond, Rahne passes along without consequence and Dani is an unsettling presence for her."

About working with director Josh Boone:

"When I first got the role I read the comics and I think Josh has done an incredible job of making sure fans won't be disappointed while keeping it firmly rooted in the real world. He's a superfan and you feel good having someone with such a deep respect for these characters as your director. Although Josh has tried to scare me a couple of times and I don't appreciate it [laughter]."

Best known as Arya Stark on HBO's "Game of Thrones", Maisie Williams (one of the first cast members to join in the movie) trades daggers and dragons to play Scottish mutant Rahne Sinclair, the shape-shifting Wolfsbane.

On the wolf transformation:

"We had a few weeks before shooting to figure it out, and there were a lot of prosthetic meetings. Fingernails, teeth, facial hair, body suits… and then they ultimately decided they were going to do most of it in post [production]. But it was really interesting to see how it would feel and look, what I'll be like when she's changed. And she really does struggle with her transformation, so it was nice to see that before it was just dots [for facial tracking]."

Rahne's Personality:

"She far more animalistic [in wolf form]. But even when she's Rahne and not Wolfsbane, she has a heightened sense of hearing and smell. She's kind of the eyes and ears of the hospital and doesn't play a big part in the dynamic of the group, but has a big role in the hospital and knows what's going on. In her backstory she's very repressed and ashamed of her powers. Now that she's here where she's learning that using her powers is a good thing, she has her powers and temper under control unlike the others, so she much prefers [being in wolf form]. She's very at peace when she's a wolf but she does still have a tug-of-war inside about her religious upbringing."

Henry Zaga of "Teen Wolf" and "13 Reasons Why" plays Roberto da Costa, the mutant code-named Sunspot. Although the character briefly appeared in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (played by Adam Canto), the version in THE NEW MUTANTS is being considered a "fresh start".

On Sunspot's Powers:

"Very faithful to everything the comics have done, he absorbs and emanates solar energy and heat. And you'll see a very interesting depiction of that in this movie, normally when he's over-stimulated or afraid, very specific high emotions trigger it and he has a hard time controlling it. It's related to his experiences, and how his powers revealed themselves was very traumatic — that's why he was put away."

Horror tone and PG-13 rating:

"Well, THE DARK KNIGHT was PG-13 too. I think you can do so much without having to put in cuss words or show gratuitous bloody scenes. You can tap into interesting thrills and horror that comes more from the trauma in the storytelling. [Josh Boone] isn't trying to sell the horror, we're doing something very honest to these characters' trauma that can only be depicted in horror. I think it's more drama with a touch of horror, with a touch of all genres, really — fantasy, drama, romance, you'll see a lot of colors."

After appearances on the vampire series "The Originals", actress Blu Hunt makes her feature debut playing Danielle Moonstar, the mutant also known as Mirage.

On playing Dani:

"I always wanted to play a superhero and to be able to play a Native American superhero and get to look like myself. She's very strong and doesn't back down, she's so cool and complex, never "girly" — she's just really a cool character."

Being the audience surrogate:

"Dani is totally new to this place, so I basically am the audience. It's a weird dynamic, we all come from different places and some have been here longer than others. She's constantly discovering new things and figuring out herself and her relationship to the others and how she fits into this place. She's learning as the audience does too. There's all these "hauntings" going on. Everyone's got really difficult pasts, and these hauntings and their pasts are all aligning and happening all at once."

 

CHECK OUT PART 1 OF OUR NEW MUTANTS SET VISIT RIGHT HERE!