The New Mutants director Josh Boone has opened up about his "traumatic" experience filming the X-Men spin-off that almost immediately became shorthand for modern-day superhero flop.
Speaking to The Direct, Boone revealed that Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox (which reportedly led to planned reshoots being stalled) and the COVID-19 pandemic (that shunted New Mutants towards an unfavorable August 2020 slot) worked against his movie.
"It's so hard because it was so traumatic," Boone recalled. "The studio was sold during the shooting, and then the pandemic happened when they decided to release it. I had a wonderful time. I love the cast so much, but making that... It took so many years, and it was so unfulfilling, ultimately."
When pressed on whether he would direct a mutant-centric film again, Boone offered up a compelling reason why he would be steering clear: "We didn't really get to make the movie we wanted to make. We made half the movie we wanted to make. And the release was so compromised by the pandemic... I'd rather just never do it again, just to be honest."
The New Mutants, a film based on the X-Men comics team, saw the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy's Magik, Charlie Heaton's Cannonball, and Maisie Williams' Wolfsbane harness their abilities at a sinister hospital. The film ended up grossing under $50 million at the box office and was skewered by critics, garnering only 36% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Marvel Studios' own plans for X-Men are slowly coming together, with Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier on board for the mutant team-up movie. Several X-Men legacy actors, including James Marsden and Alan Cumming, are also set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday.
For more, check out the upcoming Marvel movies heading your way very soon, plus all the latest on Marvel Phase 6.
