20th Century Fox has released the first trailer for the new X-Men movie The New Mutants. Directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) and scripted by Boone and Knate Lee (Kidnap), the film takes place in a secret facility where young mutants are housed, only just now learning what their abilities can do.

It's clear right from the start that this is a very different kind of X-Men movie, and it's certainly in keeping with the mold of Deadpool and Logan in that it breaks the mold. If those films were an R-rated comedy and an existential drama, respectively, then The New Mutants is a horror film. There's a really strong haunted house vibe here, and even the cinematography by Peter Deming (The Cabin in the Woods) is muted and realistic. The scares are real, and it appears they all connect to the mutant powers. If Boone can navigate teenage anxieties here half as well as he did on The Fault in Our Stars, and against a haunted house premise at that, I think we could be in for something really special.

I have to say I really like the direction 20th Century Fox is taking its X-Men franchise. After Deadpool and Logan, it feels like the edict is that all of these new X-Men movies have to feel completely different and unique—which is a smart move considering that's one thing Marvel Studios can't do due to its cinematic universe. Simon Kinberg's X-Men: Dark Phoenix is being kept tightly under wraps, but I love the idea of Gore Verbinski directing Gambit. Fox seems to be taking big screens with huge payoffs, and I love it.

Watch the New Mutants trailer below. The film stars Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) as Wolfsbane, Anya Taylor-Joy (Split) as Magik, Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things) as Cannonball, Henry Zaga as Sunspot, Blu Hunt as Mirage, and Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes. New Mutants opens in theaters on April 13, 2018.

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Image via 20th Century Fox
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Image via 20th Century Fox
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Image via 20th Century Fox
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Image via 20th Century Fox

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