By Bradley Burgess Published Aug 8, 2026, 12:19 AM EDT Bradley is an experienced and award winning journalist and all around entertainment fanatic. He is a passionate film and TV fan and long time attendee of San Diego Comic Con. Sign in to your Collider account Add Us Add on Google Preferred Source Google News Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Listen Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap With the upcoming release of Avengers: Doomsday, featuring many characters returning from Fox's X-Men universe, fans are turning to the past to prepare for the highly anticipated superhero blockbuster. X-Men marathons are surging up the Disney+ charts in preparation, but one such film featuring the merry mutants didn't have the success of the films preceeding it.
2020's The New Mutants, based on Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz's iconic comic book run, despite massive fan hype during its whopping four delays over two years, didn't quite land with many moviegoers and comic book fans. While the casting was fantastic, as is the norm for Fox's X-Films, the film's horror elements took over far too much of the narrative and the short running time meant that new viewers couldn't connect with the characters as much as they'd like to. Even so, the New Mutants deserve a second chance on the big screen, especially with multiple mutants coming out of the woodwork to join the MCU.
Earth's Mightiest Heroes need to take a backseat.
The cast of The New Mutants standing together outside their school. Image via 20th Century Studios Claremont and Sienkiewicz's New Mutants comics are a favorite among die-hard X-Men comic fans, most notably the "Demon Bear" storyline, which the film adapted. At the time of the comics' publishing in the early 80s, the X-Men had been running the same mutant members for several years and the franchise was in need of fresh blood. Claremont introduced a young cast of, well, new mutants, who were designed to eventually take up the mantle of the mainline X-Men.
With all the legions of mutants from the X-Men universe, it's hard for certain characters to become fan favorites in the ocean of countless characters to choose from. Which is why Claremont's characters standing the test of time is an impressive stat. The cast of the comics were not only new in terms of their powers and skill sets, but in terms of their personalities as well. Illyana Rasputin AKA Magik , for example, was delightfully unhinged and off kilter, which carried over to Anya Taylor-Joy's performance in the film.
Anya-Taylor Joy holding a sword in The New Mutants Image via 20th Century Studios When it comes to casting comic book characters, very rarely does Marvel miss. Even before the rise of the MCU, Marvel films always nailed casting great actors in the roles of famous superheroes. And that started with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in 2000's X-Men, which millions to this day hail as a perfectly cast character. The New Mutants continued that tradition with a promising young cast, some of whom are now superstars.
One thing fans will agree on when it comes to the movie is the pitch perfect casting of Taylor-Joy as Magik. She's never given a bad performance and doesn't start here, perfectly embodying Illyana's loose screws while still making her likable and entertaining. But even beyond Magik, other characters in the film shine, namely Blu Hunt as…