Perhaps frustrated with his lack of fantastical powers on Netflix's Stranger Things, Charlie Heaton is looking to join up with Josh Boone's NEW MUTANTS, the upcoming X-MEN spinoff which will focus on the angst-driven adventures of a diverse group of mutant teenagers. Per THR, Heaton is currently in negotiations to join the NEW MUTANT cast as Sam Guthrie, also known as Cannonball.
Cannonball is able to generate and use energy in order to propel himself through the air, and, thanks to being surrounded by an impenetrable and virtually indestructible force field, is nearly invulnerable while doing so. Should Charlie Heaton take on the role of Cannonball, he would join Anya Taylor-Joy (THE WITCH) as Magik and Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) as Wolfsbane. Rosario Dawson (The Defenders) is also in negotiations to join the NEW MUTANTS cast as Dr. Cecilia Reyes, a medical doctor and mentor figure with the mutant ability to generate a protective bio-field around herself. Production on the X-MEN spinoff is set to kick off in Boston in July
NEW MUTANTS may represent a departure from the usual X-MEN formula, as Josh Boone has said that his intention is to make the film feel like a full-fledged horror movie as the young mutants deal with discovering their powers while they're at their most dangerous.
We are making a full-fledged horror movie set within the X-Men universe. There are no costumes. There are no supervillains. We’re trying to do something very, very different.
Stranger Things will return to Netflix on October 31, 2017 and NEW MUTANTS is set to hit theaters on April 13, 2018.