THE NEW MUTANTS Star Henry Zaga Is Revved Up To Start The U.S.Avengers - EXCLUSIVE

After three long years, a massive corporate merger, and a global pandemic, 20th Century Studios' X-Men swan song The New Mutants is finally open in theaters worldwide - albeit in an extremely limited capacity since a large portion of theaters across the country remain closed, including those in the states of New York and California. 

Ahead of its release, we had an exclusive opportunity to sit down with star Henry Zaga, who plays Roberto da Costa, a.k.a. Sunspot, to get his thoughts about the film finally opening in theaters, his extensive research for the role, his bromance with Charlie Heaton's Cannonball, what he knew about Josh Boone's planned trilogy, where he'd like to take the character if ever asked to reprise the role for Marvel Studios, and more!

Check out the full interview below:

ROHAN: It’s been a really long road for this film and I’m glad to see it finally get a theatrical release. What have these past three years been like for you and your co-stars? Did you stay in touch and get closer over all the uncertainty?

HENRY ZAGA: Yeah, we did, we got so close throughout filming, but I think these past three years brought us even closer through promoting and talking about the film. Just seeing the excitement grow through fans from all over the world. It feels like it just hyped it up even more, so I’m so excited for them to see this.

We did grow closer and we know each other so well now, at this point, to a degrett that we probably wouldn’t have gotten had we been promoting it for its original release date April 13, 2018. It’s interesting for sure.

ROHAN: I believe Charlie said you had copies of all the comics in your room while filming. Were you a fan prior to landing the role or did you just fully immerse yourself into the part? 

HENRY: I have all of the - I have 98 issues that are original, the vintage ones, and I just dove in. I really wanted to know as much as I could about him and choose what to draw from and what not to.

Ultimately, we were telling the story of the script and what Josh had envisioned for the story, but if the material was available to me, I couldn’t just leave it, I had to go and read it. I totally geeked out and it was so refreshing, it was a really different take on mutants who are so young and incredibly powerful and have these crazy powers, so I was always really curious to how Josh was translating everything from the comic for the screen.

ROHAN: Sunspot is a character we got to see relatively recently in Days of Future Past. Did you reach out to Adan Canto at all when researching your part?

HENRY: I did not, no, but I had watched the movie a long time ago and I loved it. I really respect everyone that did it, their takes on their characters, but I find it more rewarding to go to the comics and to go to our script.

Also, to draw from personal experiences, from people that I’ve known over the years that have had similar things happen to them and just like Roberto, I've seen them also use a sort of fake confidence to hide their heart, putting up a shield to live under the radar, and maybe showing off too much, you know? But, really, they actually have this secret, and a very sensitive side. So, I didn’t really draw from other performances, just mostly from the source material.

ROHAN: Your character in the comics can be a bit impulsive, a bit cocky... a bit of dick for lack of a better word! How much did you lean into that side of his personality?

HENRY: Dude, I can be a bit extroverted at times, but mostly, I’m pretty quiet, more reserved, and like to do my own thing, so to me, playing that side of Roberto was more fun and challenging. To play him, you have to be the loudest guy in class, always kind of making jokes at other people’s expense.

At his core though, he is tragically funny. You sort of laugh at him when he’s trying to make you laugh at his jokes, so that to me, was really exciting to play when people are going through a hard time at a mental institution, Roberto is tanning outside and everyone’s like “okay.” *laughs*

ROHAN: Dani is essentially the leader of the team and has this epic romance with Rahne in the film. What was your role on the team and what character dynamic are you most excited for fans to see?

HENRY: Sunspot has a bromance, man, he and Sam are really tight. They’re incredibly different, but they know each other on a deeper level, I think that Sam knows that Roberto comes from a good place, even when he’s being a dick. He doesn’t want to be a dick, he’s traumatized too, and there’s so much more to him than the surface-level, jokester front he puts up. 

He’s a guy that really just needs a friend and I think Sam does that really well. He’s a great friend to Roberto. There’s a line that I love in the movie that when Sam gives me the go, he goes “Nut up ‘Berto!,” and it’s finally when you see me become Sunspot. 

That was one of the most rewarding relationships for me to play, outside of growing even closer to Josh, Charlie and I have become such great friends, he’s a wonderful actor and person, and it was like Sam and Roberto’s relationship bleeding into real life.

ROHAN: Josh has spoken at length about his plans for a trilogy, and said you were supposed to have a huge role in the next film, which would’ve introduced your father, who was rumored to be played by Antonio Banderas. What can you tell us about what was to happen for your character? And what you were hoping to explore with your father?

HENRY: I love that you guys ask me these questions because I know about as much as you do, I've read your stuff, the stuff other guys post online, any article that has my Twitter handle tagged, and I react just like everyone else. “Oh cool, I didn’t know, that’s awesome.”

But, yeah, Josh has a great vision for Sunspot’s story and for the trilogy, for a continuation of our movie. All I can say is that it would be incredible to film in Rio and dive deeper into Roberto’s life and work with Antonio Banderas, but yeah, I don’t know.

I don’t know, it’s a huge question mark still up in the air, but again, it all depends on the fans really. I mean, if the fans want a second one, and they show up in theaters this weekend and show their love online to Marvel, to Disney, then there may be no other option and we might get to make another one.

ROHAN: Like many of the characters, Sunspot is a character that has ties all over the Marvel universe. Outside of the New Mutants connections, he’s a member of the Avengers, X-Men and X-Force as well. With the merger, have you had any discussions or thoughts about possibly playing the role again? In an ideal world, if you get to reprise the role in a future Marvel Studios film, so what would you like to do with the character or is there another character you might be keen on playing if the opportunity presented itself?

HENRY: Yeah, man, I want to go and create the U.S.Avengers! Let’s go! I’m ready, I’m older, I’m excited, I think the fans have been very vocal about what they want, so I don’t know, I was just reading it for fun, for inspiration, and was just thinking, “Oh my God, there’s so much here!,” like it goes to so many different places. Sky’s the limit, we’ll see.

20th Century Fox in association with Marvel Entertainment presents “The New Mutants,” an original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where a group of young mutants is being held for psychiatric monitoring. When strange occurrences begin to take place, both their new mutant abilities and their friendships will be tested as they battle to try and make it out alive.