034 | W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K
be in control, almost so much that it
limits her from letting herself go.”
Williams isn’t the only actor who
is stepping out of their comfort zone
and portraying a more introverted
character. “I feel very privileged to
play a character that I haven’t played
before,” says Anna Taylor-Joy, who
is playing Illyana Rasputin aka
Magik, a Russian sorceress who can
teleport. “She’s very big and angsty
and she’s struggling a lot with her
internal world but in a very external
way, whilst a lot of the characters
that I’ve played before are very
internal,” she explains.
In the comics, Magik famously
creates a sword from her soul which
can disrupt powerful magic, an
aspect that Taylor-Joy very much
enjoyed: “I’m having the best time
with the sword because it’s so much
fun and who doesn’t want a badass
sword to swing around?! So that’s
cool. I just love her.”
In terms of how close her
character is to the comic book
version, Taylor-Joy assures us
that fans of the series won’t
be disappointed: “I think that
obviously [it’s] a comic book and
we’re bringing this into the real
world, [so] certain things have to be
more grounded in reality. But she’s
defi nitely got all of her same quirks
and I think the fans will be happy
with how we’ve kept true to the
original depiction of the character.”
Stranger Things actor Charlie
Heaton plays Sam Guthrie aka
Cannonball, who “has the power to
be able to project himself through
the sky at the speed of sound,
although in this movie he hasn't
quite worked out how to do that
yet”. Sam is from a very normal
background and, at fi rst at least, his
mutant abilities are most defi nitely
not wanted: “Sam is lower class. He
left school to work with his family
comic book it’s based on and the
characters within that, has not been
lost on the cast, who looked to the
director for guidance in being true
to the well-loved characters.
“I think Josh has had such a clear
view of what he wanted since he
started working on the script that
he’s so trusting of us,” says Zaga.
“It’s so easy to work with him, he’s
such a loving guy and he’s just very
trusting, he just really believes
in what we’ve created for these
characters, which is scary.”
With The New Mutants having a
rich variety of diverse characters,
it’s good to hear that the movie’s
focus will be on our band of not-so-
merry mutants and their mysterious
doctor. X-Men characters are usually
humans fi rst and mutants second.
Many of the X-Men comics have a
focus on humanity and society and
it seems its latest fi lm iteration will
follow the same path...
“X-Men is important to me
because they’re not necessarily
heroes, they’re mutants, they’re
normal people with mutant powers,”
says Zaga. “They’re kind of outcasts
trying to fi t in and I relate to that
growing up in a different country
and moving to a different country,
having my own issues in both
countries. It feels more human.”
So, just who are our fi ve young
outcasts? “Roberto... is able to
absorb and emanate solar energy
in heat form, but he doesn’t really
know how to take care of that
yet,” Zaga explains of Roberto
aka Sunspot. “Aside from mutant
problems he has regular kid
problems, growing up in Brazil
and just being a boy. And after his
power revealed itself to him, he was
abandoned by his family and taken
to this place. So, you’re going to
follow his journey in this institution
with the other kids that are in the
same situation.”
Maisie Williams, meanwhile, who
plays Rahne Sinclair aka Wolfsbane,
a mutant who can transform herself
into a wolf, relished playing a
different character to any she has
previously portrayed: “My character
is far more introverted than any
character I have ever played before,”
she says. “She has powers but she
doesn’t really know how to use
them. In fact, I think she is quite
terrifi ed of them and what they do to
her. She is a character who likes to
BIG MOVIE
New Mutants
034 | W W W. S C I FI N OW.CO.U K
be in control, almost so much that it
limits her from letting herself go.”
Williams isn’t the only actor who
is stepping out of their comfort zone
and portraying a more introverted
character. “I feel very privileged to
play a character that I haven’t played
before,” says Anna Taylor-Joy, who
is playing Illyana Rasputin aka
Magik, a Russian sorceress who can
teleport. “She’s very big and angsty
and she’s struggling a lot with her
internal world but in a very external
way, whilst a lot of the characters
that I’ve played before are very
internal,” she explains.
In the comics, Magik famously
creates a sword from her soul which
can disrupt powerful magic, an
aspect that Taylor-Joy very much
enjoyed: “I’m having the best time
with the sword because it’s so much
fun and who doesn’t want a badass
sword to swing around?! So that’s
cool. I just love her.”
In terms of how close her
character is to the comic book
version, Taylor-Joy assures us
that fans of the series won’t
be disappointed: “I think that
obviously [it’s] a comic book and
we’re bringing this into the real
world, [so] certain things have to be
more grounded in reality. But she’s
defi nitely got all of her same quirks
and I think the fans will be happy
with how we’ve kept true to the
original depiction of the character.”
Stranger Things actor Charlie
Heaton plays Sam Guthrie aka
Cannonball, who “has the power to
be able to project himself through
the sky at the speed of sound,
although in this movie he hasn't
quite worked out how to do that
yet”. Sam is from a very normal
background and, at fi rst at least, his
mutant abilities are most defi nitely
not wanted: “Sam is lower class. He
left school to work with his family
comic book it’s based on and the
characters within that, has not been
lost on the cast, who looked to the
director for guidance in being true
to the well-loved characters.
“I think Josh has had such a clear
view of what he wanted since he
started working on the script that
he’s so trusting of us,” says Zaga.
“It’s so easy to work with him, he’s
such a loving guy and he’s just very
trusting, he just really believes
in what we’ve created for these
characters, which is scary.”
With The New Mutants having a
rich variety of diverse characters,
it’s good to hear that the movie’s
focus will be on our band of not-so-
merry mutants and their mysterious
doctor. X-Men characters are usually
humans fi rst and mutants second.
Many of the X-Men comics have a
focus on humanity and society and
it seems its latest fi lm iteration will
follow the same path...
“X-Men is important to me
because they’re not necessarily
heroes, they’re mutants, they’re
normal people with mutant powers,”
says Zaga. “They’re kind of outcasts
trying to fi t in and I relate to that
growing up in a different country
and moving to a different country,
having my own issues in both
countries. It feels more human.”
So, just who are our fi ve young
outcasts? “Roberto... is able to
absorb and emanate solar energy
in heat form, but he doesn’t really
know how to take care of that
yet,” Zaga explains of Roberto
aka Sunspot. “Aside from mutant
problems he has regular kid
problems, growing up in Brazil
and just being a boy. And after his
power revealed itself to him, he was
abandoned by his family and taken
to this place. So, you’re going to
follow his journey in this institution
with the other kids that are in the
same situation.”
Maisie Williams, meanwhile, who
plays Rahne Sinclair aka Wolfsbane,
a mutant who can transform herself
into a wolf, relished playing a
different character to any she has
previously portrayed: “My character
is far more introverted than any
character I have ever played before,”
she says. “She has powers but she
doesn’t really know how to use
them. In fact, I think she is quite
terrifi ed of them and what they do to
her. She is a character who likes to
BIG MOVIE
New Mutants
