The New Mutants explains why it’ll be released in theaters, not on streaming

The New Mutants has been hit with delay after delay, with many wondering why the X-Men spinoff doesn’t just go to streaming. Well…

The New Mutants, Fox’s horror-themed X-Men spinoff, has become the butt of many jokes on account of how often it’s been delayed. We first saw a trailer back in 2017, and here we are three years later, still waiting to see the thing.

At least we got to see the opening during the New Mutants panel at Comic-Con@Home. That’s something, right?

After numerous delays, the movie was going to premiere this spring…and then COVID-19 happened, with theaters closing around the world. As of now, the new release date is August 28, but the odds that this will actually happen seem low. Just look at Christopher Nolan’s Tenet being pushed back, or Disney delaying the release of Black Widow and the live-action Mulan remake.

At some point, the producers have to be asking themselves if they just shouldn’t release the movie on streaming, on Disney+ or Hulu or something. Speaking to Collider, writer/director Josh Boone explained why this probably won’t happen:

"We’re in the same boat as most movies, you sign contracts that guarantee a theatrical release, so it needs to open to ever go digital in the first place. We just, too, would like to see people to see it in the theater. But it needs to obviously be at the right time when it’s safe to go back. […] I speak regularly to the guys at Disney, and I’m told that this is the plan is to go theatrical, so I’m happy with that."

I actually never thought much about the contracts angle, but it makes sense. Even if Boone and company wanted the movie out on streaming, and it sounds like they don’t, they couldn’t make it happen without renegotiations.

So…how do we make that happen? When it comes to The New Mutants I think there have been more than enough delays. I think the cast and crew deserve to have their movie go out to the viewers in some capacity.

#ReleaseNewMutants, please?

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h/t SYFY Wire