The New Mutants: Who are the members of Marvel's new team?

With the release of its splashy second movie trailer, The New Mutants is a twist on the X-Men’s story with a dash of horror. But who are these crazy kids?

Two years after its initial planned release date, Marvel dropped a second flashier trailer for The New Mutants that gives us a better look at a new group of mutants. Previously regarded as the first movie in a trilogy series, the fate of the movie was left up in the air following the Disney/Fox merger. Many anticipated it would be released as a direct-to-streaming film on Disney Plus — if at all.

The surprisingly non-superhero trailer showcases a movie that looks more like a dark YA book adaptation than an X-Men film, which will probably help it in the long run.

Watch the latest trailer for The New Mutants here:

The New Mutants debuted in their eponymous comic book in 1982. A spin-off of the X-Men, the book was meant to focus on a younger group of children being trained in their powers to one day become X-Men. The team would eventually grow older with a revolving roster, coming together as an on-and-off team throughout the years. Some would join other superhero teams, but most of them would become full-fledged X-Men at one point. However, you wouldn’t know who these characters are unless you are extremely familiar with the source material, so we’re taking a look at the newest mutants to grace our theater screen to help you get familiar with them.

Dr. Cecelia Reyes (Alice Braga)

In the comics, Dr. Cecelia Reyes is a reluctant hero and a member of the X-Men. She is a talented doctor with the mutant ability to form a near-indestructible force field around her body. This makes her impervious to a variety of attacks, though she prefers sticking to healing and saving people’s lives the old-fashioned way.

In the movie, Dr. Reyes is portrayed by Alice Braga and appears to be head of Milbury Hospital, the facility the teens are being held at. In the trailer, we see her conducting various tests on the children and facilitating a therapy session in which each mutant talks about the first time their powers manifested. It’s unclear if Dr. Reyes is a friend or foe, but she definitely doesn’t seem to be enjoying what she is doing.

Magik/Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy)

Illyana Rasputin is the younger sister of the Piotr Rasputin — aka Colossus — and was not an original member of the New Mutants team. She is a complicated mutant with various teleportation and sorcery powers, which come in handy when the team gets in a jam. Illyana spent part of her childhood in a hell dimension, where she was trained in her magical abilities and came to possess her Soulsword.

Following her time in limbo, Illyana returned to her teammates with a new blood-thirst in tow, one that she fights to keep at bay. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Magik in the movie, and we see that she is perfectly fine with killing people when her powers first manifest. We also get a pretty cool shot of her teleporting through one of her “stepping discs” and bringing forth her battle armor towards the end of the trailer. Also, if you freeze it just right, you can catch Lockheed, her faithful pet dragon, helping in the fight.

Cannonball/Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton)

Samuel Guthrie is one of many children born in a coal-mining family in Kentucky. Southern and mannerly, Sam is the team’s de facto leader after Dani Moonstar. Sam has the ability to propel his body through the air using a thermo-kinetic force field, making him invulnerable.

Sam is one of the mainstays of the team, later joining the revamped New Mutants team, X-Force. He would also be the first to “graduate” and become a member of the X-Men. In the film, he is portrayed by Stranger Things‘ Charlie Heaton and appears to have the same backstory. We see a possible cave-in of the coal mine Sam and his family are working in. However, it seems as though the physical manifestation of his powers may be different, since we see the field generated around just his hands and not his entire body.

Mirage/Dani Moonstar (Blu Hunt)

The original leader of the team, Danielle Moonstar is a Native American mutant who has the ability to conjure her opponent’s worst nightmares into reality. As she grew up, her powers later manifested in other ways such as psionic bolts of energy and even quantum energy manipulation. Dani would also eventually become a member of the X-Men, as well as a mentor to a new generation of young mutants.

Dani is portrayed by Blu Hunt in the movie and appears to be one of the central characters of the story. She is the new kid at the hospital when we see Illyana confirm that they are being held hostage. Dani seems to be in various degrees of stress throughout the majority of the film, but there is a quiet moment between herself and Rahne Sinclair, further evidence of previous rumors that the two would be in an intimate relationship.

Wolfsbane/Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams)

A religious girl who was born and raised in Scotland, Rahne Sinclair became a runaway following the revelation that she was a mutant who was able to transform into a werewolf-like state. In the comic books, she was raised by a Catholic priest who sought to kill her upon discovering her powers, causing her to flee to Xavier’s School for help.

While shy and soft-spoken, Rahne is also the most loyal member of the team, considering them her newfound family. In a stroke of casting genius, Rahne is played by Game of Thrones alum Maisie Williams. They seem to be keeping her backstory and power set, since we see her walking into a church in a flashback and beginning her transformation in another scene.

Sunspot/Roberto da Costa (Henry Zaga)

Brazilian-born Roberto da Costa grew up in an affluent family until he developed the ability to absorb and channel solar energy, which usually manifests as giving himself super-strength. Idealistic and impulsive, he is quite literally the hothead of the team, spending just as much fighting with them as alongside them.

Henry Zaga from 13 Reasons Why plays Roberto in the film, which has caused a bit of controversy as Roberto is depicted as a dark-skinned Brazilian in the comic books. Nevertheless, it seems as though they are staying with his power set, although they have changed his origin story a bit. Originally, his powers manifested when he was being a victim of a hate crime, but the film shows that he accidentally kills his girlfriend when his powers first develop.

The new trailer has turned many skeptics in believers that this could be Marvel’s next hit. Following the disappointing Dark Phoenix, the mutants could use all the help they can get. However, one big questions remains: Will The New Mutants pave the way for the X-Men to officially join the MCU? We’ll have to wait until April 2, 2020 to find out.

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What were your favorite parts of the new trailer? Let us know in the comments section below.

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The New Mutants: Who are the members of Marvel’s new team?

By Shaun Stacy | Jan 7, 2020