The cast and director of 20th Century Studios’ The New Mutants discussed the upcoming and long-awaited film in a press conference ahead of this week’s theatrical release.
- The press conference, which was moderated by Entertainment Tonight’s Ash Crossan, included:
- Director Josh Boone
- Maisie Williams
- Anya Taylor-Joy
- Charlie Heaton
- Alicia Braga
- Blu Hunt
- Henry Zaga
- The group was asked about the support they’ve received from fans throughout the many delays this film has seen over the past couple of years, to which Williams replied, “It’s so wonderful, I think. Like, you know, we had, there was a lot of uncertainty with this film and when it was going to get released.”
- “And, to know that there was an audience that was still willing to-to wait as long as it took, and-and even through this pandemic have been so supportive and, um, yeah, it’s just been really exciting,” Williams continued. “I can’t wait for people to finally see it.”
- Boone jumped in and praised the artwork they’ve seen from fans, saying “They’re my favorite fans because they – they actually don’t complain. They just do really cool artwork, uh, of the characters. So, there’s probably, like, 100 plus pieces of artwork that fans have done that, uh, I’d still like to figure out a way to do a book of. Uh, go get permission from everybody and do a book.”
- Crossan then asked Boone about reshoots that were done for the film, which began production well before the pandemic and even Disney’s acquisition of Fox. “We never ever had a, we never did reshoots,” Boone said.
- “Uh, we were – we were supposed to do reshoots,” Boone continued. “People in general, movies do reshoots or pickups, or things like that. But, because of the merger, once it was done, it was done. So, we did, never went back and did reshoots. So, we were always using, uh, the same footage and the same material, uh, from the start of editing and all the way to the end of it.”
- With The New Mutants being a horror/thriller, the group was asked about filming on location in an old psychiatric hospital. “Filming at night was kind of scary,” Braga said. “I wouldn’t walk by myself. There was no way.”
- “There were several crew members who had weird experiences there, had to be walked to their car at night because they were scared to walk there by themselves after they’d be in the buildings all day,” Boone added. “Uh, yeah, it was, people definitely had weird encounters.”
- Taylor-Joy was asked about playing the role of a teenager and how this movie might resonate with young audiences. “I mean, I think, any opportunity to go back to teenagedom is not necessarily the most fun experience, but you definitely learn a lot about yourself afterwards,” Taylor Joy said.
- “It’s interesting because I think we all came into this knowing that whilst we were making a superhero movie, we weren’t really making a superhero movie,” she continued. “We were making a film about people who were having a tough time understanding themselves and figuring out their place in the world.”
- Heaton was asked about the cast’s isolated filming experience and what stood out in his memory. “It really made us bond, you know, as people,” Heaton said. “Like, and learn about each other like these characters do. So, kind of, you know, it was like life was meeting art in the same – in the same moment, which was nice.”
- Hunt was asked about the romantic relationship between her and Williams’ characters as well as the real-life friendship between the two actors. Hunt admitted to being a fan of Willams prior to her audition, saying “I watched Maisie’s show, you know. I was like going to this audition all the way across town.”
- After Boone joked about not knowing what show to which Hunt was referring (Game of Thrones), Hunt continued, saying “I like couldn’t believe that I was even there when it was happening, you know. But, it was, like, um, yeah. It was-it was-it was fun.”
- “Our whole relationship between our characters and then us as friends on set was really amazing,” Hunt continued. “Like, it really got me through making the movie, like, our friendship and like that character relationship was really important to me. It was, like, probably my favorite part of Dani, honestly, is like her relationship with Rahne.”
- Hunt was also asked if she would like to play her character – Dani Moonstar – again, to which she replied “Yeah, I think so. I mean, of course.”
- “he was, you know, the first character, real character I ever got to play,” Hunt went on. “I think, like, she’s really close to my heart or something. Like, it would be really fun to play her again as an adult, you know. Like, Dani as an adult now and not a teenager. Like, maybe her powers aren’t all negative and bad. Maybe she can, like, you know, make some dreams come true and not just nightmares or whatever. So, that would be cool.”
- Zaga shared that sentiment and talked about the discomfort in playing these distraught teenagers, saying “I think all of our characters have some sort of physical discomfort, coming either from our powers or just from, you know, growing pains.”
- “I was feeling like, you know, I have to live up to a role. And, uh, I should have used that fear, that insecurity for Roberto, because he is trying to live up to a facade, to a pretend, uh, confident 17-year old who’s actually just, like, craving love and is really sensitive,” Zaga said. “He just can’t face that because it causes so much pain. So, I think we can all relate to that discomfort.”
- Boone was asked about the comic story he chose to adapt and why he went with that specific one. “They really captured my imagination, and I thought about them really for years,” he said about Bill Sienkiewicz’s “Demon Bear” saga.
- “I remember being in L.A. when I first moved out, in like an apartment, like, 10 years before I even made a movie,” Boone continued. “I had a stack of New Mutants comics, and I was like, ‘eh, maybe one day.’ And I was lucky enough to have made a movie for Fox that was successful, and uh, went and begged them to-to let us take a crack and, uh, these comics we liked when we were young.”
- The New Mutants will finally hit theaters on Friday, August 28.
- “It’s a real movie guys,” Zaga said, celebrating the long-awaited release. “It exists, it’s there.”
- Be sure to check back soon for our review of The New Mutants.
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