Marvel and 20th Century Fox have released a new teaser for THE NEW MUTANTS by way of the film's official Instagram account, and it looks to be a nod to the film's villain, the Demon Bear.
You can view the Instagram post for yourself below:
As you can see, there's a necklace strap lying amidst the snow with a bear token attached to it. This appears to be a hint at the film's villain, the Demon Bear. If you dig a little into the character's background, you'll find that the Demon Bear is a spectral antagonist who was created by the mystic who murdered the mutant Mirage's parents. Since the moment of their death, the Demon Bear has hunted Mirage, appearing in the character's dreams until siphoning enough power to achieve a physical form and kill the young mutant. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the character, Mirage's mutant ability is that she's able to manifest other people's greatest fear and use it against them.
Aside from the bear-shaped pendant, the snow-covered forest setting could very well be a nod to the New Mutants comic book story "Demon Bear Saga," written by Chris Claremont with art by Bill Sienkiewicz. Given the Demon Bear's demonic origin, the character would act as a suitable villain for the first in what's planned as a trilogy of horror-related films for THE NEW MUTANTS franchise.
For me, the idea that the creative forces behind the film are willing to coax an unconventional villain out of hibernation to bring something new to the table bodes well for the project. It should be interesting to see if the Demon Bear character is presented in a straight-forward manner, or if some new spin is applied to its origin in an effort to add a little jazz for the villain's big screen debut.
THE NEW MUTANTS is scheduled to arrive on April 13, 2018.