The New Mutants Updated Trailer Is Scary and “Phenomenal,” Says Bill Sienkiewicz

New Mutants artist Bill Sienkiewicz says a "phenomenal" updated trailer for the long-delayed X-Men spinoff movie of the same name, originally developed under 20th Century Fox before its acquisition by Disney, features new footage that is "absolutely stellar." The Josh Boone-directed New Mutants, filmed in mid-2017 and once scheduled for release in April 2018, was later pushed back to late February 2019. Months later, New Mutants was pushed back again — this time to early August 2019 — and after Disney completed its acquisition of Fox, the studio shifted the film to its current April 2020 date. In its latest update, Sienkiewicz says Boone has cut a new trailer:

"I don't know if I'm even allowed to mention any of this, but I will say that the New Mutants film, if you've heard anything about it the last couple years… two days ago, I heard from Josh Boone, the director. And he sent me a new trailer," Sienkiewicz said on the Dec. 19 episode of the Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin-hosted Fatman Beyond. "They've been working on it, and it is phenomenal. I got chills. It looks like, because of the whole Disney-Fox merger, takeover, whatever … it's got the blessings of Marvel. And it feels more Marvel in terms of what they're doing, but also the horror elements of the film are in place."

"It's really, absolutely stellar, just what I've seen," he added. "I think it's coming out — they haven't mentioned the exact release date, but I'm very excited about it."

In May, X-Men franchise producer Simon Kinberg said the most recent delay on New Mutants was caused by pre-planned reshoots that needed to accommodate the crowded schedules of its young stars.

"With all the actors, I was actually on set a couple of years ago. I'm not a parent, I was the 'crazy uncle,' or the godfather for the kids, but I pretty much told the cast, 'Nobody f—s with you when I'm around,'" Sienkiewicz said. "They're all amazing, from Henry Zaga, to Maisie Williams, to Anya Taylor-Joy, you just name it, everybody's just phenomenal, really phenomenal. So I'm hoping the film does well."

Charlie Heaton, who plays Sam Guthrie, a.k.a. Cannonball, previously described the X-Men spinoff as a "full-fledged horror," a first for the 20-year-old franchise that fizzled out with Dark Phoenix over the summer.

"It's basically about these mutants in a facility for damaged mutants. It's a story about these characters coming to grips with who they are and it's a horror X-Men movie, which we haven't seen before," Heaton told EW. "I feel like, for an X-Men movie, yeah, I think they're going full-fledged horror. Without saying too much — I really don't want to give away too much what it's about, it's very under wraps — but it is, in terms of anything we've seen in the X-Men world, it's definitely a horror film. It's scarier than anything we've seen in that genre."

The New Mutants is currently planned to release April 3, 2020.