UPDATE: Director Josh Boone says New Mutants will be scary, telling EW “We are making a full-fledged horror movie set within the X-Men universe. There are no costumes. There are no super-villains. We’re trying to do something very, very different.” 13 Reasons Why actor Henry Zaga is also currently the frontrunner to play Sunspot, while Rosario Dawson is apparently in talks to play Dr. Cecilia Reyes.
The cast of X-Men spin-off New Mutants is slowly but surely coming together, with a Game of Thrones favourite and the hugely talented star of The Witch both landing roles.
Ladies Kicking Ass
Maisie Williams – best known as Arya Stark in GOT – will play Wolfsbane, whom The Hollywood Reporter calls “a girl struggling to reconcile her religious beliefs with her power to turn into a wolf.”
Arya kicks all kinds of ass in Game of Thrones, so expect to see Williams doing the same as a mutant.
Anna Taylor-Joy – so memorable as the lead in The Witch – is Magik, sister of Colossal, and “a girl who has learned sorcery and uses teleportation discs to travel.”
Taylor-Joy also went toe-to-toe with James McAvoy in Split earlier this year (see video below), which will make New Mutants something of a reunion for the pair should he decide to reprise his role as Professor X in the X-Men spin-off.
As well as being incredibly talented actresses, Williams and Taylor-Joy have both frequently played strong, independent, tough female characters. With the pair doing the same here, it feels like New Mutants is already heading in the right direction.
More Mutants to Come
According to THR, the film will focus on “the angst-driven adventures of a diverse group of teens” and the roles that filmmakers are now looking to fill include Native American Danielle Moonstar, Brazilian ladies’ man Sunspot, a Kentuckian code-named Cannonball, and an alien named Warlock.
Josh Boone – director of The Fault in Our Stars – will helm New Mutants, from a script he penned with screenwriting partner Knate Lee. The film shoots this summer, for an April 2018 release.