With the New Mutants finally on their way in the coming months, here’s a rundown of the characters that’ll be appearing and the superpowers they possess. Originally envisioned as part of Fox’s X-Men universe, filming on New Mutants reportedly concluded in September 2017, with director, Josh Boone, touting a scarier take on the mutant world that had more in common with horror than traditional superhero tropes.

Unfortunately for all involved (and the many fans looking forward to this unique-sounding venture), New Mutants was repeatedly delayed, first with potential reshoots that never took place and later in order to prioritize Dark Phoenix. The waters were muddied further when Disney completed their purchase of Fox and its assets. The studio were rumored to be unhappy with New Mutants and questions were asked over whether the film would be released at all, or bumped off to a streaming service amid reports of further Disney-led edits taking place. Ultimately, an April 2020 theatrical release was confirmed and a recent trailer proves that the horror edge is still in place, even with a PG-13 rating.

Though the film takes place within the X-Men world, many will be less familiar with the main characters of New Mutants than they will be with its impressive cast. Here are all the names, faces and superpowers to know before the long-awaited New Mutants finally arrives.

Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair)

As one of the veterans of HBO’s Game of Thrones, Maisie Williams will already be familiar to many. Playing Arya Stark for the entire Westeros run, Williams matured in front of the entire world, evolving from an aspiring warrior oppressed by gender stereotypes to the biggest badass in the Seven Kingdoms, taking down the Night King in Game of Thrones’ maligned final season. Somewhat less familiar will be Williams’ New Mutants character, Rahne Sinclair.

Sinclair, or Wolfsbane if we’re using their “made-up names,” hails from Scotland and has the ability to shift form between human and wolf. The character originally appeared in the 1982 New Mutants comic as one of the founding members of the titular junior X-Men group. Before being taken in by Charles Xavier, Sinclair suffers a grim childhood under the abusive Reverend Craig, who instills strict religious values upon his daughter, and then tries to kill her when Rahne’s mutant abilities manifest.

As part of those abilities, Rahne in the X-Men comics not only transforms into a wolf, but can also attain a hybrid form with the best attributes of both. In her transformed state, Wolfsbane has increased strength, speed and durability, while also gaining the sensory capabilities of a wolf.

Charlie Heaton as Cannonball (Sam Guthrie)

Like Maisie Williams, Charlie Heaton is another face many viewers will already recognize, this time from the just-as-insanely-popular TV series, Stranger Things. Heaton portrayed Jonathan Byers on the Netflix show, a character that begins as a creepy pervert with a camera and ends up as one of the main protagonists of the story, forever going all-out to protect his younger brother and his danger-magnet friends.

As the name implies, Heaton’s Cannonball can propel himself through the air at great speed using natural thermo-chemical energy, and is invulnerable while in motion, effectively making young Sam Guthrie a human cannonball. Guthrie was another of the original New Mutants gang that debuted in 1982, and the character has since bounced between his original group, the X-Force and the X-Men. Before that, Guthrie worked in a coal mine and it was during a deadly collapse that the boy’s powers manifested. Given several actors have already been cast as miners in the New Mutants movie, it’s safe to assume this same origin story will be used in live action.

Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik (Illyana Rasputin)

Best known for her role as Casey in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split and Glass, as well as for her appearances on hit TV series Peaky Blinders, 2020 is set to be a breakout year for Anya Taylor-Joy. In addition to her central part in New Mutants, Joy is set to star in Edgar Wright’s highly-anticipated upcoming project, Last Night In Soho.

Illyana Rasputin actually pre-dates her costars by several years, first featuring in 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men, but it wasn’t until December 1983 that she featured under the Magik title. Rasputin also has famous connections - as the surname might suggest, she’s the sister of famed X-Men member and Deadpool-handler, Colossus. Illyana becomes a sorceress after being raised in the Limbo dimension as a child and training under the likes of Storm and Shadowcat, and after seizing control of that world, she returns to Earth much older than when she departed. Since Colbi Gannett has been cast as a younger Illyana, it’s highly likely this same story will play out on-screen.

In Limbo, Magik’s abilities include an array of spells, but these are largely limited to teleportation back in Earth’s dimension. Fortunately, Illyana is also able to call upon the Soulsword from Limbo, which comes with its own suit of armor and is teased in the new trailer. Magik has significant ties to the world of Doctor Strange, becoming the Sorceress Supreme of Limbo and doing battle with Dormmamu.

Henry Zaga as Sunspot (Roberto da Costa)

Netflix subscribers might recognize Henry Zaga as either Brad from 13 Reasons Why or Jordan from XOXO, however, he also portrayed Josh on Teen Wolf season 5. Without doubt, Zaga’s role of Sunspot in New Mutants represents his most high-profile gig to date, having largely carved out a career in television thus far.

Sunspot is a mutant from Brazil and, unlike many other New Mutants characters, this isn’t Roberto da Costa’s first appearance in live-action, with Adan Canto taking that honor in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Da Costa is another of the founding New Mutants alongside Cannonball and Wolfsbane, but his tenure as a superhero would later encompass the Avengers and the X-Force. Prior to becoming a superhero, a racially motivated attack triggered Sunspot’s latent mutant abilities, but a trailer scene shows Roberto in water during his origin story, suggesting a reworked beginning. Interestingly, the movie does mention Roberto’s girlfriend, who sacrifices herself to protect Sunspot in the comics.

Sunspot is able to absorb solar energy with his body and use it as fuel for a range of purposes including increased strength, flight and energy blasts. Sunspot is also capable of attaining a higher form where his body turns an eerie burning black, and this transformation is briefly seen in the latest New Mutants trailer. Of course, the downside to da Costa’s mutant power is that he requires a solar source and will be left distinctly human if kept in a dark room for an extended period.

Blu Hunt as Mirage (Danielle Moonstar)

Hunt’s limited body of work thus far includes Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals and Netflix’s Another Life, meaning New Mutants will be a considerable step-up in terms of mainstream exposure. As Danielle Moonstar, she’ll be portraying a Cheyenne Native American superhero that was also one of the first class of New Mutants in the Marvel comic books, before moving onto various other crime-fighting groups. Playing on her heritage somewhat, Mirage’s ability involves physically manifesting a person’s fears in a lifelike illusion, and this power is likely tied to New Mutants’ villain, Demon Bear, as well the generally trippy nature of the film.

In the comics, it’s Mirage’s visions and fears that first bring the Demon Bear in contact with the New Mutants, forcing the team to take down the strange entity. A similar story is likely to play out in the comics, but a feature of the character that almost certainly won’t be included is Moonstar’s time as a Valkyrie on Asgard.

The New Mutants trailer shows a wall with faces bursting from it, and this is likely to be one of Mirage’s visions. Hunt’s character can also be seen running from an explosion, which appears to lead directly to her being in the same facility as the other young mutants.

Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes

Brazil’s Alice Braga made her feature debut in the highly-acclaimed City of God, before finding fame in the West after starring as Anna in I Am Legend. Since then, Braga has enjoyed a solid Hollywood career, appearing in Predators, Elysium and James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad. The actress has been cast as Dr. Reyes in New Mutants, the medical practitioner supposedly looking after the assembled young mutants in her hospital. Reyes has a power of her own, and can create a natural force field that protects from attacks, but the original character still felt the pain that her shield absorbed.

In the X-Men comics, Reyes is also a doctor, but has little interest in saving the world, turning down the chance to join the X-Men after first appearing in 1997’s X-Men #65. Predictably, her attempts to avoid combat are unsuccessful, and Reyes becomes embroiled in a number of key mutant stories. Moving away from the source material, the New Mutants trailer suggests Reyes isn’t necessarily to be trusted, and the force field “cage” glimpsed in the trailer could be of the doctor’s own making.

Happy Anderson as Craig Sinclair

Happy Anderson doesn’t seem to be playing a character befitting of his jovial name in New Mutants. As the father of Rahne, Craig Sinclair is an abusive religious figure who also has a hand in the anti-mutant cell known as the Purifiers. Consequently, he doesn’t react favorably when Rahne begins transforming into a wolf. It remains to be seen whether Reverend Sinclair will be a prominent antagonist in New Mutants, or whether he’ll simply be part of Wolfsbane’s origin story.

The comic incarnation of Craig Sinclair drums his daughter full of religious teachings to the point where she believes her mutant ability is a sign of possession by the devil himself. No father of the year awards here.

More: The X-Men Heroes Who Deserve Their OWN Marvel Comic

  • New Mutants Release Date: 2020-08-28