After years of delays, rumors of reshoots, and roughly eight different writers, it appears as if Josh Boone’s New Mutants arrives not with a bang, but a whimper. Due to Disney’s refusal to offer digital screeners or a socially distanced press screening, a number of outlets, including ours, have chosen not to review it. And the ones who have? Well, see for yourself. There’s one negative review, however, that stands out from the rest. On Friday, New Mutants co-creator Bob McLeod took to Facebook to air a few of his own grievances.
“I was very excited when I heard they were making a New Mutants movie,” McLeod writes. “I thought making it into a horror movie was perhaps an interesting idea, but not at all how the characters should be introduced to the public at large. But, hey, my characters in a movie! I never would have thought that would actually happen.”
McLeod goes on to note some of his superficial disappointments—no braids for Dani, a not-so-tall-and-gawky Sam—before addressing a decision that’s long been a point of contention: The casting of non-Black Brazilian actor Henry Zaga as Roberto da Costa (a.k.a. Sunspot), a a biracial character whose experiences with anti-Black racism inform his mutant powers. “[M]ainly I was very disappointed that Roberto isn’t short and dark-skinned,” McLeod says. “Yet another example of Hollywood white-washing. There’s just no excuse.” (Boone discussed the controversy in an io9 interview published Tuesday.)
“So basically,” McLeod continues, “#JoshBoone erased everything I contributed to the way the characters look.”
But that’s not all. McLeod, who just sounds exhausted, claims that his name is misspelled in the film’s credits. “They couldn’t even be bothered to check the spelling of my name sometime in the last three years,” he says. “I think I’m done with this movie.”
Buddy, we’re with you.
Read his full post below:
New Mutants is currently playing in theaters. Attend at your own risk.