Film / News
Maisie Williams’ Wolfsbane transformation revealed (sort of)
Compilers of film quizzes may wish to note that the correct answer to the question ‘How many Bristolians have appeared in X-Men movies?’ will shortly be ‘two’. That said, nerds will be quick to observe that technically they both appear in spin-off flicks.
Stephen Merchant as Caliban in ‘Logan’
A virtually unrecognisable Stephen Merchant popped up as the albino mutant Caliban in the acclaimed Logan back in 2017. This month, we’ll finally get to see Maisie Williams as Rahne Sinclair – aka shapeshifting Wolfsbane: a Scottish mutant raised by religious fundamentalists, who struggles with her unfortunate habit of coming over all lycanthropic.
Blu Hunt as Danielle Moonstar, Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie, Henry Zaga as Roberto da Costa, Maisie Williams as Rahne Sinclair and Anya Taylor-Joy as Illyana Rasputin in ‘The New Mutants’
In The New Mutants, which is reportedly the final film in the series, she’s one of a group of young mutants (Anya Taylor-Joy’s teleporting sorceress Magik, Blu Hunt’s telepathic Mirage, etc) who find themselves incarcerated in a mysterious facility for purposes presumed dastardly. It’s something of a ground-breaker for the X-Men franchise, since Maisie’s Wolfsbane is the first openly queer mutant, who enjoys a relationship with the Native American Mirage.
is needed now More than ever
Speaking in a panel at the recent ComicCon@Home, Maisie said: “It was really wonderful to be able to see a relationship look like this . . . In the typically quite masculine world of superheroes, it was just lovely to see these two fragile women who just protect one another and bring light out in each other, but I’m glad that the fans are so excited for it because I think it’s really important to see relationships like this.” [Skip to the 21 minute point in the video above for more.]
The troubled film was shot back in 2017 and has endured a convoluted post-production process, during which reshoots were mooted and then abandoned. Disney, which acquired Fox last year, was said by trade journal Variety to be “unimpressed” with the film which was thought to have “limited box office potential”. Covid-19 put paid to the planned April 8 UK release, but The New Mutants finally reaches the screen on August 29, becoming the second post-lockdown blockbuster release after Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
Teasing advance publicity for the film has avoided revealing the characters’ transformations, but newly released TV spots have finally given the briefest of glimpses of toothy Maisie giving it the full roar.
Also just released on the New Mutants Twitter account are a series of character posters by acclaimed graphic artist BossLogic. These include Wolfsbane framed by her impressive fangs.
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Pic credit: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
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