“The New Mutants” Latest Trailer Released! Queer Representation and Casting Issues!

The latest trailer for the upcoming The New Mutants live-action film has been released. Time will tell how it ends up performing at the box office when it debuts in the US on April 3, 2020. Until then, there are rumors about it featuring a queer romance. And yes, talk about the Sunspot casting controversy have resurfaced, too.

Who knows what Disney (and, more specifically, Kevin Feige) was thinking when it decided to give The New Mutants a theatrical release? After how X-Men: Dark Phoenix flopped, many thought the House of Mouse would release TNM on a streaming service.

But no. It is getting an actual wide release.

Let’s see how the final live-action film from Fox is able to perform. For numerous fans, it is the last hurdle to be crossed before Feige’s much-anticipated take on the MCU’s X-Men debuts.  

Anyway, coming to the trailer, I have to be honest. I enjoyed watching it. The film is going for a more horror-centric take on the superhero genre and I’m here for it.

The final moments of the trailer really got me all hyped up!

From the shared details, the plot deals with five young mutants being held against their will in a facility.

Apparantly, they are being experimented on and have to relive traumatic incidents from their past. All five need to come together to escape.

Of course, I had to record my reaction video to the trailer!

Now, there are rumors about The New Mutants featuring a queer romance involving Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams) and Danielle Moonstar (Mirage).

If the rumors end up being true, I’m both glad and disappointed about it. Rahne and Danielle would be the second queer couple in Fox’s X-Men franchise.

With Negasonic and Yukio from Deadpool, Rahne and Danielle will serve as another example of how Hollywood feels comfortable showing queer women instead of queer men. Sigh!

Furthermore, there’s also some controversy surrounding actor Henry Zaga playing Roberto da Costa (codename Sunspot).

From what I can tell, comic book Sunspot is a Brazilian of Afro-Latinx descent. However, Zaga, while Brazilian, is not of Afro-Latinx descent.

Of course, some fans aren’t happy about such a casting choice. I understand that. Zaga playing Sunspot is like having Miles Morales be played by an actor who isn’t of Afro-Latino descent.

Alice Braga portraying Dr. Ceclia Reyes isn’t being embraced by the entire fandom either.

For certain fans, the current casting choice is rooted in colorism and how it is better to be as close to looking white as possible when working in media.

Some are asking why a character’s African heritage is the first to go during the casting process. Batwoman recently faced such an issue, too, when The CW show cast Julia Pennyworth.

I don’t expect The New Mutants to do spectacular business at the box office. So, it will be interesting to see how the casting controversy and rumored queer representation impacts the final result. 

Are you excited about The New Mutants? What did you think of the latest trailer?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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