Fox making X-Men Spin-Off called The New Mutants. Who are they?

Word is just coming through that Fox has closed a deal with Josh Boone, director of The Fault In Our Stars, to helm the X-Men spin-off The New Mutants. Such a move isn’t a surprise, as Fox is already expanding its X-verse with Deadpool and is going to need a new franchise to carry on the X-Men brand after Apocalypse closes out the First Class character’s story arc.

Is Boone the only one working on the film?

Nope. He’s co-scripting the movie with Knate Gwaltney (Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa). Longtime X-Men producers Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner are also onboard. Kinberg seems keen to get to work on the project, “We’re so excited to explore this new part of the X-Men universe, and so excited to do it with Josh, who is uniquely suited to tell this story about young characters.”

So, who are the New Mutants?

The series started as a spin-off from Chris Claremont’s run of X-Men in the early 1980s. They were a team of teenage students at Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters who, unlike the main X-Men team, had yet to fully develop and control their powers.

Who’s on the team?

The original team consisted of mutants of varying powers:

Cannonball: who’s powers included invulnerability while flying.

Karma: who could possess the bodies of others.

Mirage: who has the ability to create illusions

Sunspot: who could store and release solar energy

Wolfsbane: a mutant with the ability to turn into a wolf-like creature.

Other notable members of the team over the years have been Cypher, Domino, and Warpath. Both Sunspot and Warpath were both featured in the future cast of Days of Future Past. Typically, one of the aims of The New Mutants is to not only feature a younger team, but also a racially diverse cast of characters. The original roster listed above consists of a guy from Kentucky, a Vietnamese girl, a member of the Cheyenne tribe, a Brazilian, and a Scot.

Who is their team leader?

The team has had several leaders and mentors, including Professor X, Cable, and even Magneto.

When will the movie be released?

Not for some time. Work has only just begun and Boon has a lot on his plate, including a reboot of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles and an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand.