First ‘New Mutants’ Teasers Feature Wolfsbane and Cannonball

Director Josh Boone’s horror movie approach to The New Mutants will distinguish it from every other movie in the X-Men franchise (for better or worse). With the release of some new motion-poster teasers it’s already becoming clear that the marketing for the film will also play up the horror angle, over the superhero one.

Check out first New Mutants Teaser Posters below, and we’ll discuss which characters they each represent:

Wolfsbane

Rahne Sinclair will be played by Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams, and this motion poster above is clearly meant to represent her dark and disturbing origin story. 

In the comics, Rahne was an Irish orphan raised by the abusive Reverend Craig (who is played in the film by Mindhunter star Happy Anderson). The mix of religious fanaticism and abuse in Rahne’s life culminated with two traumatic events: the discovery that Craig was actually her father (her mother a prostitute); and the manifestation of her mutant power to transform into a wolf (or Werewolf). 

Cleary the religious imagery in this poster is a tease of the dark and terrible flashbacks to Rahne’s past that we’ll see in New Mutants. It also remains to be seen if the film will follow the comics into full dark horror of Rahne and Reverend Craig’s story… 

Cannonball

This poster is a clever reference to Sam Guthrie, who is played by Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton. 

In the comics, Sam Guthrie was a Kentucky country boy trying to step up as the man of the house after his father died working in the coal mines. Sam takes up his father’s job, and one day finds himself in peril danger when the mine shaft collapses with him and a family friend both trapped inside. The threat of death activates Sam’s mutant power to generate thermo-chemical energy, which he most often uses to propel himself through the air like a human missile. Using that newfound power, Sam is able to save himself and his friend from the mine collapse, but simultaneously outs himself as a mutant. 

The canary in the poster is clearly a reference to the bird’s use in mining operations, as an early detector of harmful gas or fumes. However, the caption (“Some things can’t be caged”) and image of the canary laying dead or dying from presumably flying into the window, are ominous foreshadows of the dangers that come with Cannonball’s power.

New Mutants will be in theaters on April 13, 2018.

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