I just read the most bizarre article that’s added to the drama behind the scenes of 20th Century Fox’s New Mutants, which was to hit theaters in the coming weeks before the studio bumped it into oblivion (August 2, 2019).

Earlier this week, we told you that the Marvel Comics adaptation was in serious trouble, which had Collider doubling down with their report that over 50% of the movie was going to be reshot. Prior to the seismic date shift, it was reported that director Josh Boone would be getting back behind the camera, presumably to fix the movie and allegedly add a new character. It was also asserted that Boone has been having some creative differences with the studio over the requested changes to the movie. It’s been a PR nightmare for the studio, who has been riding high on their Deadpool franchise and in the midst of a massive sale to Disney. Collider and my own sources are rock solid, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t two sides to every story.

The Tracking Board has their own Intel and it’s quite the opposite of what’s been reported. According to their sources, the creative differences between Boone and Fox execs have been blown out of proportion “by fanboy bloggers who are all too eager to make a mountain out of a molehill” (sounds like a petty dig, IMO), and that Boone ultimately delivered the movie that he and co-writer Knate Lee originally agreed to make. The site dives into the nauseatingly overcomplicated writing process, leading to the assertion that the film suffers from having too many cooks in the kitchen. (Here’s a gut-busting list: Scott Neustadter & Michael Weber, Josh Zetumer, Chad & Carey Hayes, and Seth Grahame-Smith, plus there were six more guys in a writer’s room tasked with generating ideas for the film.)

Okay, so, here’s the meat:

“At first, Boone and Lee wanted to make a horror movie, but Fox was initially resistant to that idea, as the studio didn’t want to go ‘full horror’. Sources say that Fox demanded a PG-13 rating and pushed back against the film’s horror elements, such as excessive blood and scares. Eventually, everyone got on the same page, and together, they set out to make a YA movie that felt like a cross between Stephen King and John Hughes. Fox film chief Stacey Snider is basically quoted as calling New Mutants a superhero movie set in a Breakfast Club-like setting whose genre is more like The Shining than ‘let’s save the world.’ “

Here’s where everything turns into a comedy:

IT* was released in early September and did incredibly well for Warner Bros., even beyond the studio’s wildest nightmares, er, dreams. In response, Fox cut a trailer for New Mutants that played up the scary elements from the film, essentially selling it as a straight-up horror movie — this despite the fact that in its first test screening, New Mutants scored the exact same number as the first screening of Deadpool and besides the very end, reshoots were deemed unnecessary. However, because of that well-received trailer, audiences were now expecting a horror movie.

“At that point, Fox decided that instead of doing the three days of additional filming required to complete the YA movie that everyone had initially agreed to go make, the studio would change course and make a new version of the movie that was straight-up horror, which was what Boone and Lee originally wanted to do in the first place.”

Yes, you read that correctly. New Mutants tested as well as Deadpool‘s initial screening, so they decided to change everything to accommodate a trailer? It’s true that the test screening revealed the film to be “not scary” (my sources), but it’s hard to believe they’d completely retool and reshoot a movie just to match the first footage, especially if the test screening matched that of their mega-success Deadpool. I’m not buying it, especially because Fox literally has zero reputation as a horror studio.

Okay, so now what? We have two sides to the story and no movie. Here’s what comes next.

“Those close to the director said he always felt a bit neutered during principal photography, as he was forced to tone down the violence in order to avoid a dreaded R-rating. And because Boone was contractually obligated to shoot what was in the script, there was only so much he could do despite his and Lee’s best instincts. Sources say that while the second half of New Mutants is basically locked at this point, the first half of the film needs some work, and that Boone will likely add a bunch of scares that didn’t initially appeal to Fox execs. He and Lee might even stand a better chance of getting what they want now than they did during the initial development phase. “

The New Mutants situation may be a mess, but their insiders believe it’s a fixable one. With more than a year to fix the movie, I’d really hope so. Still, this feels extra fluffy considering the length of this delay and what’s at stake for the franchise and studio. No matter, as a fan of the comics and character, I’m rooting for it.

*Speaking of New Line Cinema’s IT… it’s a little-known fact that the Andy Muschietti-directed blockbuster also went through a series of additional photography to boost the scares, which paid dividends for the studio.