Henry Zaga and Blu Hunt to be members of the New Mutants

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Director Josh Boone continues to assemble the titular NEW MUTANTS for his X-MEN spin-off that takes the franchise into horror territory. Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams have long been attached to play Illyana Rasputin, a.k.a. Magik, "a girl who has learned sorcery and uses teleportation discs to travel" and Rahne Sinclair, a.k.a. Wolfsbane, "a girl struggling to reconcile her religious beliefs with her power to turn into a wolf", and within the last couple weeks Charlie Heaton signed on to play Sam Guthrie, a.k.a. Cannonball, "a mutant who uses the ability to fly at jet speeds while encased in an impenetrable force field", with Rosario Dawson being cast as Dr. Cecilia Reyes, a mentor to the New Mutants and "a medical doctor who has the ability to generate a protective bio-field around herself." 

Two more mutants have now been added to the cast. Henry Zaga, who can be seen in the recently released Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, has closed his deal to play Brazilian mutant Roberto da Costa, a.k.a Sunspot, who has "the ability to manipulate solar energy". Also joining the cast is Blu Hunt, who horror fans may have seen in the CW vampire show The Originals. Hunt will be playing Danielle Moonstar, a Native American telepath who is also known as Mirage.

There are conflicting reports as to whether or not this casting completes the New Mutants group. Some say it does, while other sources say there may be one more New Mutant to cast: a shape-shifting alien called Warlock.

Boone has said that NEW MUTANTS will be a "full-fledged horror movie" with a "Stephen King meets John Hughes" tone and style. There will be no costumes or supervillains in the film, but there has been some indication that the screenplay by Boone and Knate Lee draws inspiration from the New Mutants comic book series' 1984 Demon Bear story arc.

The film will introduce us to 

a diverse cadre of teens learning to cope with their superpowers. These new mutants find themselves held in a secret facility against their will and must battle the dangers of their powers, as well as the sins of their past.

NEW MUTANTS will begin filming in Boston next month and is scheduled to reach theatres on April 13, 2018.