The New Mutants Director Takes Shot at X-Men: Dark Phoenix

The New Mutants may be a movie with one of the most complicated roads to release ever and it’s one that isn’t likely to become less complicated anytime soon thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean the director of the film is particularly concerned about how the film will be received once it finally arrives for audience consumption. Josh Boone told Empire that he didn’t really feel a lot of pressure about the film — especially with it being the first X-Men movie after the lackluster Dark Phoenix.

“Look, you can only go up after Dark Phoenix,” Boone told Empire (via Digital Spy). “That’s not to say anything bad about the people involved, but it was what it was. Honestly, I feel less pressure now that I did ahead of [the first stated release date]. Because we’ve tested our movie so many times, and audiences have loved it.”

Boone may have a point when it comes to his comment about the only way to go us up following Dark Phoenix. Released in June 2019, Dark Phoenix had a dismal performance at the box office, bringing in $65.8 million at the domestic box office and $252 million worldwide. And it isn’t just that the film is the lowest-grossing X-Men movie ever. The film has also been poorly received by both fans and critics, currently sitting at a 23 percent Tomatometer and a 64 percent Audience Score.

Even with the dramatic under performance of Dark Phoenix, though, how The New Mutants will land is something that remains a mystery for a bit longer. The film has had its release date changed numerous times — it was originally expected to hit theaters on April 13, 2018 — only to finally get an April 3, 2020 release date that looked like it was going to stick at least until the COVID-19 pandemic led to sweeping delays, cancellations, and overall changes not just to the entertainment industry, but day to day life generally. At this point, it is anyone’s guess when fans will have a chance to see for themselves how The New Mutants stacks up as compared to Dark Phoenix, though given the shift we’ve seen to films being released on VOD earlier than expected, it’s not out of the question that Disney could use the disruption to release The New Mutants directly to Hulu or VOD — something that could be very lucrative for the film.

“The first new release film that decides to go straight to VOD is going to make a gabillion dollars,” New Warriors showrunner Kevin Biegel said on Twitter earlier today. “This country is stressed and worried, and all we want is to curl up in our homes, plunk down our hard earned money, and watch some s–t — any s–t, even dumb s–t. I’m telling you studios, please — as silly as it sounds people are looking for SOME kind of joy right now. Watching a movie at home — especially one that feels special bc it’s new — is a joy we will pay for. I love the theater experience but right now? Shoot. Gimmie.”

For now, The New Mutants does not have a release date.

What do you think of Boone’s comments regarding Dark Phoenix? Let us know in the comments below.