PSA: The New Mutants is Now Streaming on HBO Max

4 years ago

For those who didn’t catch it in theaters, The New Mutants is now streaming on HBO Max. The Marvel film, which was released in August 2020, has now arrived on a major streaming service. This means it now has the chance to find a new audience after debuting with a whimper last year.

The New Mutants was the final Fox-produced X-Men movie to hit theaters. Directed by Josh Boone, it adapted the comics of the same name. The idea was to follow a group of younger mutants while putting a horror spin on it. The movie is led by a young, talented cast including Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton and Alice Braga.

Here is the synopsis for The New Mutants.

“In this terrifying, action-filled film based on the MARVEL comic series, five young people who demonstrate special powers are forced to undergo treatment at a secret institution — allegedly to cure them of the dangers of their powers. But it’s soon clear that their containment is part of a much bigger battle between the forces of good and evil!”

As for why the movie is on HBO Max instead of Disney+? That has to do with rights deals that were put in place long before Disney+ was launched. And deals that likely pre-date Disney’s purchase of Fox. It will likely arrive on Disney+ at some point down the line.

Boone and Knate Lee penned the screenplay. Boone’s film finished production in 2017, with the first trailer released in October of that year. Unfortunately, disagreements behind the scenes resulted in Fox shelving the project. Following the Disney/Fox merger, Boone was ultimately allowed to finish it.

Dark Phoenix, which Disney also inherited in the merger, had bombed in 2019. That left The New Mutants on uncertain ground. After several delays, the studio decided to release it in August, right around the time Tenet was looking to bring theaters back to life after the pandemic closure. That didn’t pan out all too well.

Not only were critics generally unkind to it but The New Mutants grossed just $48 million worldwide. Many comic book movies, even smaller ones, end up earning much more than that on opening weekend. One could view it as a sacrificial lamb. A way for Disney to dump the movie and right off its relative failure as a result of the circumstances. Whatever the case, the Fox era of the X-Men died an unceremonious death.