^ Josh Boone, let’s hope the movie is as soulful as this picture of him (credit: IMDB) 

Author John Green confirmed that Boone will direct after rumours regarding his involvement appeared on Leakynews. 

Their earlier speculation regarding the movie, that actress Shailene Woodley would be cast as Hazel (the novels protagonist) has yet to bear fruit; although Woodley’s publicist has reportedly confirmed that she is being considered for the role.

Boone’s hiring comes in contrast to other appointments to the film.

His only commercial film “Stuck In Love" has yet to be released while it seems that every other major appointment on the film has at least one blockbuster or indie hit under their belt.

Producer Wyck Godfrey was at the helm of all of the big budget adaptations of the Twilight series and Producer Marty Bowen was on board for the first three. while scriptwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber wrote ”(500) Days of Summer".

Personal Relationship

Green has no lack of confidence in his abilities however, stating that:

“I like Josh Boone so much, and I think he is the perfect director for TFiOS. He understands the book profoundly and he is also tremendously talented”.

Indeed, Boone has a personal relationship with the novel.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter he said that “John’s book came along just when I needed it,” and that “I laughed and cried and was left with an overwhelming feeling of hope. That our lives matter, that the love and kindness we share with others reverberates long after we’re gone.”.

Something that will undoubtedly ease the fears of zealous fans scared that the Hollywood machine will simply try to exploit the book for its commercial appeal rather than produce a genuine adaptation true to the novel.

Paper Towns

Whatever happens, this is certainly the closest a John Green book has ever gotten to the big screen. The movie rights for "Looking For Alaska", “Paper Towns” and “An Abundance of Katherines” have been sold but never got further than initial scripts before a long stint in development hell.

Green himself had a hand in the failure of the “Paper Towns" adaptation after a disagreement over the script, which he was hired to write, and reportedly even "what makes a good movie” which is about as fundamental as disagreements get.

However, should “The Fault in our Stars” movie be as big of a critical and commercial success as the novel it springs from it will almost certainly raise interest in reviving some of these long dormant projects.

A prospect that, depending on how they receive TFiOS, may delight or irritate fans.

In Josh Boone’s “The New Mutants”, Illyana Rasuputin is a character with the unique mutant power to access limbo: a magical realm between existence and nothingness.

And on Friday night, at the Mission Tiki Drive-In in Montclair, California, I too accessed limbo by watching this movie, which after going unreleased for over a year started to feel trapped in “development hell.” But I am both relieved and frustrated to tell you, this movie is good.

It’s really, really good actually. And that’s kinda terrible. Let me explain…

1) The Pandemic Dilemma

Much has been said about this first reasoning, but a franchise movie being released in a time when it could literally be deadly to gather in large numbers is irresponsible at best. For over a decade, our nerd brains have been wired to loyally check out the newest installment of these ongoing stories and to avoid spoilers like the plague, even though there is now a literal plague to avoid. Sure, the X-Men franchise is much more disjointed than, say, the MCU, but if “The New Mutants” leads to just one reluctant fan contracting the virus, that’s one too many. Not to mention the fact that COVID has undoubtedly robbed this movie of the box office it deserved.

2) The Diversity Controversy

As a teacher “returning” to work, my plate has been plenty full as of late, and as such I went into TNM blind, knowing next to nothing about the film, the titular comics, or the “white washing” controversy surrounding Henry Zaga’s portrayal of the fiery mutant Sunspot. Apparently the origin story in the comics centered around ‘Berto’ being the target of a hate crime, and removing that aspect of the character and casting someone ‘more white’ is the exact opposite of what our country needs right now (especially for a movie released on the tragic night trailblazing actor Chadwick Boseman passed away from colon cancer). But I also can’t help but be discouraged by the fact that this blunder will undoubtedly overshadow the representation happening throughout the rest of the film. The main protagonist is Native American, and her heritage and prejudices she’s endured factor heavily into the plot. The film also takes huge strides towards LGBTQ representation in super hero movies, and even though the Sunspot character should have been presented as half-black like in the comics, I still can’t name a single other Brazilian superhero. Period. That’s gotta count for something…

3) The Upcoming Disney-fication of the X-Men Universe

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but for some reason I do not share the general public’s excitement for the inevitable day when mutants are rolled into the MCU. This movie finally made me realize why: I really LIKE the X-Men film franchise the way it is. For all its blunders, it takes chances that the MCU never has. It gives us movies like Deadpool and Logan… and The New Mutants. Without spoiling too much, this ‘spooky not scary’ horror movie gets real dark with its themes, most of them centering around the idea that adults with authority often do truly terrible things with that responsibility. At the end of the day, that gives this film more emotional gravitas and social importance than the VAST majority of super hero cinema, and I just don’t trust Disney to have that kinda guts with their bottom line. I prefer movies with something to say over movies that are mostly interested in selling plastic toys, but I digress…

4) It’s a Coming of Age Tale, but We’re All Robbed of the Pay-off

Director Josh Boone has recently gone public with his plans for a New Mutant trilogy: whereas this movie most closely resembles a haunted house story, the sequel would have been an alien invasion flick, and the closer a supernatural, apocalyptic battle against demons. But check your hype at the door, because the reason Boone is being so transparent is because he’s been told these movies will never happen. And they deserve to. 

New Mutants isn’t a perfect movie by any means, but it’s a tightly crafted, creative, compelling narrative featuring complex, likable characters. It’s an “X-Men” movie that finally realized the premise of vulnerable teenagers coming into horrifyingly powerful abilities is interesting all on it’s own. Sonic the Hedgehog is no longer 2020’s best theatrical release; this is definitely a movie worth seeing (safely).

FINAL GRADE: A