The New Mutants cannot catch a break.
On Thursday, Disney announced that three of their upcoming films have been moved off the release schedule. Sandwiched between Mulan (March 27), and Antlers, their horror film by way of Searchlight, was New Mutants, which finally expected to hit theaters on April 3 after countless setbacks.
If you are unfamiliar with New Mutants' journey to the big screen, it can be best summed up with the detail that this is the fourth time the Josh Boone-directed project been given a release date only to have it pushed back. The first delay occurred when the movie's original distributor, 20th Century Fox, moved the release date from April 13, 2018, to February 22, 2019. The studio not only wanted to avoid any unnecessary competition with Deadpool 2 at the theaters, but they also wanted to lean further into the frightening elements, and create a scary superhero flick, which would require reshoots.
These reshoots became the primary reason why New Mutants was moved again to August 2. That same month, the film faced scrutiny from its new boss Disney, which acquired Fox and a number of its properties. Disney wasn't confident in the movie's ability to make a splash at the box office, and was even considered to be moved to Hulu. After more reshoots, and a bit of a script upheaval, Disney felt comfortable enough to give it a April 3 release date, but then the coronavirus plagued the movie industry.
Another film affected by the coronavirus is Marvel’s Shang-Chi. Marvel and Disney have suspended production of the film after director Destin Daniel Cretton was asked by a doctor to self-isolate, according to Variety. He's not feeling any symptoms, but is taking caution as he has a newborn child.
Those aware of the New Mutants' ongoing struggle are past the point of cracking jokes; they collectively just feel the film is cursed.
