As I do with all my articles, I have included a short bio of the team and each individual member(thanks to the Marvel Universe). I also decided to use the current team roster and ages of the New Mutants today (which to me seems like they'd be in their latter 20's)...enjoy...
They were adolescents...kids too young to be X-Men, but old enough to start the training that would allow them to fully understand and harness their profound mutant powers. Professor X brought together Cannonball, Karma, Moonstar, Wolfsbane, and Sunspot to become the first New Mutants team. Over time, Magma (Amara Aquilla), Cypher, Warlock, and Magik were added to the team and, as they learned to become more powerful mutants together, they learned another important lesson: It's okay to act like normal kids. The New Mutants enjoyed their status as mutants and their youth. But when duty called, maturity set in, and the New Mutants went into action...though sometimes not without consequence.
Although their membership remained fairly constant throughout their early history, the team was constantly in flux. Shortly after forming Professor X was infected and influenced by a Brood egg. The New Mutants helped fight it off, but afterwards the Professor left for space to recover, leaving the group without a leader. The team briefly joined their rivals, the Hellions, led by Emma Frost, but eventually they came under the leadership of a reformed Magneto. The New Mutants were extremely apprehensive to being taught by the X-Men's arch-enemy, and they eventually were proven to be right when Magneto returned to his old ways after becoming White King of the Hellfire Club.
Magik was reverted back to a little girl after the Inferno Saga. Moonstar stayed on Asgard and became one of the Valkyrie. Wolfsbane,Rictor, Sunspot left the team after X-Tinction Agenda. Wolfsbane and Rictor stayed on Genosha to rebuild the country. Sunspot went to run his late fater's company. Warlock was killed during the X-Tinction Agenda by Cameron Hodge.
After X-Tinction Agenda, the young heroes came under the tutelage of the mutant soldier Cable and eventually became the strike team X-Force. This new team consisted of Cable, Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Domino, Shatterstar,Warpath,and Feral. Their first test as a team was against Masque an his Morlocks and the New Brother Hood of Evil Mutants. Siryn also joined X-Force when the team helped her defeat Juggernaut and Black Tom.
Recently, the concept of the New Mutants was revived as one of several teams of students at the expanded Xavier Institute for Higher Learning where they not only learn to master their powers, but are also given the chance to receive a full education.
After the M-Day, New Mutants, Hellions and other squads, disbanded. Some members of New Mutants and Hellions joined a trainee team of X-Men. Recently, the original team was reformed as an independent squad of the X-Men.
First on my list is Cannonball/Sam Guthrie (one of my favorite mutants). Young Sam Guthrie was 11 years old when he became involved in a plot by the Deviants, a genetic offshoot of humanity, to improve their evolutionary status by performing experiments on children. Sam was saved by the timely arrival of the mysterious Deviant Sledge, and the minds of the children...including Sam...were wiped of the events that had transpired. Five years later, Sam's father died, and as the oldest sibling he felt responsible for supporting the family. Giving up a college scholarship, he followed in his father's footsteps as a coal miner.
When Sam was trapped with a co-worker in a collapsing mine, the stress of attempting to escape triggered his latent mutant power, enabling him to blast them both free. Renegade Hellfire Club member Donald Pierce learned of Sam's powers and manipulated him into serving as one of his operatives. Pierce sent Sam into battle against Professor Xavier and his fledgling New Mutants team; however, Sam refused to kill the young heroes, instead teaming up with them to defeat Pierce. Xavier subsequently realized that Sam had been misled and invited him to join the New Mutants as Cannonball. Sam soon found himself in the role of co-leader, a position he found awkward due to his relative slowness in mastering his mutant powers compared with his teammates. He also formed a lasting friendship with his teammate Sunspot.
For this role, I decided to go with Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Green Street Hooligans) because I think he could either portray the human rocket as either the gruff version or the cleaner cut version (which he has done). Plus with his role as Jackson Teller in Sons, he has the chops to fill the leadership position in the New Mutants.
Next up is Cypher/Douglas Ramsey. Douglas Ramsey was a teenage friend of Kitty Pryde of the X-Men, sharing an interest in computers and video games. Although Ramsey became a friend of the New Mutants, he was unaware that he and they were mutants. However, when the techno-organic alien (Technarch) being Warlock arrived on Earth, confused and terrified, he found himself battling the New Mutants. Seeking to communicate with the alien, the New Mutants summoned Ramsey and revealed their costumed identities to him. Ramsey succeeded in initiating communications with Warlock, and both joined the New Mutants. Ramsey was code-named Cypher, after his ability to decipher languages.
For this role, I decided to go with Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl, The Covenant) mainly because I see Cypher as sort of a pretty boy and I think it would match Chace's persona. Plus, if you don't like Chace, maybe they can kill him off like they did Cypher in the past and it may make you happy (kidding...or am I).
Now for Karma/Xi'an Coy Manh. The niece of notorious Madripoorian criminal General Nguyen Coy, Vietnamese-born Xi'an "Shan" Coy Manh has been chiefly concerned with raising her two younger siblings Leon and Nga since coming to the United States. Coy Manh has demonstrated extreme determination when it comes to the well-being of her friends and family, which has brought her into conflict with local and national United States authorities on several occasions. During one superhuman conflict, Coy Manh went as far as to kill her own brother Tran in order to save the lives of her other siblings. Coy Manh's own body is helpless while she is using her mutant ability, posing a notable weakness. Having honed her abilities under Charles Xavier at various times, Coy Manh is currently a faculty member at the Xavier Institute.
I had it narrowed down to 3 candidates (Maggie Q, Devon Aoki and Zhang Ziyi) but eventually I decided to go with Zhang Ziyi (Rush Hour 2, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) because I didn't think the other two would actually fit the persona and similarity to Karma, but I'm always open to suggestions on this one.
Now onto Magik/Illyana Rasputin. The younger sister of the X-Man Colossus, Illyana came to live with her brother after being kidnapped by the eccentric assassin Arcade. Months later, the sorcerer Belasco captured Illyana and held her prisoner in the pocket dimension Otherplace, a.k.a. Limbo. Belasco turned a portion of her soul demonic in nature, and in the process conjured a “bloodstone” gem from her soul. When Belasco conjured five such gems, Illyana, who would have transformed into the entirely demonic Darkchilde, would serve as the means by which Belasco’s demon masters, Chthon and the N'Garai, could conquer Earth.
Belasco’s spell gave Illyana considerable magical power, and she nearly killed him, but decided not to give in to her demonic side and drove him from Otherplace, becoming its new leader. Illyana returned to Earth at a point only seconds after the X-Men’s escape from Otherplace. However, whereas only seconds had passed for the X-Men, Illyana had aged seven years in Otherplace and was now 13 years old. She then joined the team of superhuman mutant trainees the New Mutants as Magik.
I had a difficult time deciding who I wanted for this role. I originally thought of Mila Kunis, mainly because she is of Russian descent (and she's hot), but ultimately I decided on Cameron Richardson (Alvin and the Chipmunks, Harper's Island) because of the very close similarities.
Next up is Magma/Amara Aquilla. Having grown up as Amara Aquilla, daughter of the First Senator of the hidden Amazonian city Nova Roma, the mutant Magma was sent to live in the outside world to prevent her becoming a potential human sacrifice. She ultimately joined the young New Mutants team formed by Charles Xavier. Falling in love with Empath of rival team the Hellions, the pair left their respective teams. Returning to Nova Roma, Aquilla was led to believe that she was actually Alison Crestmere, daughter of a kidnapped British Ambassador. Aquilla and Empath eventually went their separate ways. She briefly joined King Bedlam's New Hellions before being captured by the Church of Humanity and crucified on the Xavier Institute's grounds. She survived, and subsequently took up a teaching position at the school. On "M-Day", Aquilla witnessed the death of depowered mutant Antonio Argento, a tragedy that caused her to detonate the La Cumbre volcano.
I chose Julie Gonzalo (Eli Stone, Dodgeball) because other than the fact she looks similar to Magma, she has that down to earth beauty, but she is also Argentinian born.
Now onto Mirage/Danielle Moonstar. Danielle Moonstar grew up on a small ranch outside of Boulder, Colorado. She led a normal life until the age of ten, when her mutant powers began to manifest in the form of harrowing nightmares. Shortly after the disappearance of her parents, Dani's dreams were marked by the vision of a "Demon Bear", which she believe played a role in the her parents' deaths. Dani's grandfather, Black Eagle, took her in, and she enjoyed several years of relative peace with him. However, as her powers continued to grow, Black Eagle realized there was little he could do to help his granddaughter. Black Eagle contacted Charles Xavier and requested that he help Dani to control her powers. Upset with her grandfather, Dani manifested an image of his greatest fear — his own death — which proved true as the operatives of Donald Pierce attacked in search of young mutants. Dani joined with several of Pierce's other victims who, under Charles Xavier's guidance, were able to defeat him. Despite reservations, the group ultimately enrolled at the Xavier Institute. She, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Karma, and Cannonball formed the New Mutants.
I wanted to pick an authentic Native American to fill this role but I just couldn't find one I would have liked to portray Moonstar, so ultimately I decided on Camilla Belle (Push, When a Stranger Calls).
Next up is Sunspot/Roberto Da Costa. Growing up in a wealthy Brazilian family, Roberto da Costa was forging a career as a skilled soccer player until his mutant nature manifested during a match. It started with an opponent knocking da Costa to the ground, spitting a racial remark, and Bobby responded with a heated temper, sparking his mutant power and beating his opponent into the ground. Although confused after regaining his senses, da Costa was abandoned by all except for his girlfriend, Juliana. This attracted the attention of Donald Pierce, renegade White Bishop of the Hellfire Club, who attempted to kidnap da Costa but failed, taking Juliana instead. Charles Xavier intervened, sending his formative New Mutants to help da Costa confront Pierce. In the battle, however, Juliana took a bullet meant for Bobby. Consumed with grief and anger, da Costa helped defeat Pierce and accepted Xavier’s invitation to join the New Mutants. Taking the code-name Sunspot, da Costa served with the New Mutants, learning more about his powers and participating in many adventures.
I had it down to two candidates...Diego Luna and Wilmer Valderamma but after reviewing both candidates, I decided Diego Luna (The Terminal, Milk) because I think he could fit Sunspots role on the New Mutants.
Lastly onto Warlock. Warlock is an alien being from an unidentified world where the a sentient life forms are "techno-organic" life that resembles circuitry and machinery in various ways. The son of the planet’s ruler and most powerful being, Magus, Warlock was fearful of being slain during a traditional rite of passage where the son combats father. He instead fled to Earth, finding himself drawn to the Shi’ar technology at Professor Charles Xavier's mansion. As the mansion was the home and headquarters of the New Mutants and the X-Men, Warlock clashed with the teams in the confusion of his arrival, and Warlock's life energies ebbed so much that he nearly died. The New Mutants’ Doug Ramsey befriended the alien, however, and convinced Xavier and the others to allow Warlock to stay.
When it comes to voice actors to portray Warlock only two names come to mind. One is the ever famous Doug Jones (Hellboy, Hellboy 2) and Alan Tudyk (I Robot, Serenity). I am leaning more towards Tudyk however because I liked his portrayal of the robot in I Robot.
Well kiddos...there you have it. Bash away...bash away...