Just when everyone thought The New Mutants was finally coming out, fate provided another cruel twist: in the wake of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the much-delayed final X-Men movie has once again been pushed back. But when it does finally arrive, it’s set to go where few other mainstream comic book movies have – not just in dishing up a super-powered horror flick, but with a bunch of misfit characters providing crucial representation. As well as featuring a prominent LGBT storyline, young mutant Danielle Moonstar, aka Mirage, is a Native American character played by Blu Hunt, an actor of Native American origin.
“I’m an indigenous superhero,” Hunt tells Empire with a grin, saying it’s “an honour” to play the role. “I’m not just in the background, to please people. I’m carrying the movie.” As Mirage, she has the power to create illusions – which proves hellish when the ‘Demon Bear’ that haunts her nightmares becomes more than just a figure in her dreams. “It was overwhelming,” says Hunt of seeing the finished film earlier this year. “I never thought I’d see myself in a movie, and the first shot is of my face! I was shaking in the theatre, but Maisie [Williams] grabbed me, like, ‘You’re good! It’s good!’”
Read more about The New Mutants in the Black Widow* issue of *Empire, coming to newsstands and available digitally on the Empire Magazine app from Thursday 19 March. The New Mutants has been delayed from its 8 April release date – stay tuned for updated information on its release.