The New Mutants Director Claims There Were Never Plans for an R-Rated Cut

After The New Mutants was initially delayed for a reported series of reshoots, some rumors claimed [...]

After The New Mutants was initially delayed for a reported series of reshoots, some rumors claimed that the new take on the X-Men spinoff would lean more heavily into the horrifying nature of the premise, but director Josh Boone recently confirmed that there were never any plans to take the concept into R-rated territory. At a time when X-Men: Dark Phoenix was just over the horizon, it had appeared that 20th Century Fox wanted to delve into new territory for the franchise and, while the upcoming film will still lean more towards the horror genre, there appear to have never been talks about offering R-rated material.

the new mutants r rated josh boone pg-13
(Photo: Instagram, joshboonemovies)

When discussing the film with his fans on his Instagram account, Boone confirmed, "The movie has always been and will always be PG-13. There was never a plan for an R-rated movie."

Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was established, 20th Century Fox delivered audiences X-Men in 2000, which quickly became a major success and proved to studios that comic book movies could be made that didn't rely on characters that were household names. Including spinoffs, the franchise ended up earning 12 films, most of which stuck with a PG-13 tone.

In 2016, Deadpool landed in theaters and totally revolutionized what could be done with a comic book movie, as it fully leaned into its R-rated source material and became both a critical and financial success. In 2008, Punisher: War Zone attempted a similar thematic approach, which wasn't as well received.

With Logan and Deadpool 2 both becoming successes thanks to their embrace of R-rated subject matter, it's easy to see why some audiences would think that The New Mutants was delayed to offer a darker take on the source material. With Disney purchasing a majority of 20th Century Fox's properties amidst the film's many release date delays, the film is set to land in theaters with Boone's original visions.

Due to the number of delays, fans have been doubting if the film would ever land in theaters, given the variety of streaming service possibilities, but New Mutants artist Bill Sienkiewicz previously shared his excitement about the adventure.

"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," Sienkiewicz shared on Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin's Fatman Beyond podcast. "And he sent me a new trailer. 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. I think it's coming out — they haven't mentioned the exact release date, but I'm very excited about it."

The New Mutants is set to land in theaters on April 3rd.

Are you glad the film won't be rated R? Let us know in the comments below!

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