New Mutants Concept Art Shows Scrapped Designs for Demon Bear

3 years ago

New Mutants Concept Art Shows Scrapped Designs for Demon Bear

Deryl Braun uploads terrifying The New Mutants concept art on Instagram, which shows what early versions of the Demon Bear looked like.

New concept art shows what early versions of The New Mutants' Demon Bear looked like. While The New Mutants was filmed back in 2017, the movie was subject to what seemed like an endless amount of delays. When the film finally premiered in early September, reviewers tore The New Mutants apart, criticizing the lukewarm storyline and disappointing horror elements.

The New Mutants centers around a group of young mutants who are stuck in an abandoned hospital. The mutants bands together to fight the Demon Bear, who Danielle Moonstar, aka Mirage (Blu Hunt), unwittingly summons. The film ends with the New Mutants successfully taking down the Demon Bear, with Dani finally facing her fears and calming the creature. It's worth mentioning, though, that this differs from what happens in the comics, where Illyana Rasputin destroys the Demon Bear with her Soulsword.

Deryl Braun, who worked on the Demon Bear's design, uploads some terrifying concept art showing off early versions of the creature. The images highlight rows of razor-sharp teeth, white pupils, and what look to be scars along the Demon Bear's head. Braun also includes several other panels, showing the Demon Bear from various angles. You can check out this horrifying early design in Braun's post below:

While the Demon Bear was enough to give anyone chills, it was far from the only danger that the New Mutants faced down. More specifically, another particularly memorable set of monsters were the Smiling Men. These otherworldly beings haunted Illyana (Anya Taylor-Joy), and manifested themselves as hideous, eyeless creatures with dangling limbs and perpetual grins. As such, it's clear that The New Mutants' artists and designers truly outdid themselves; the Demon Bear and the Smiling Men seemed to be lifted straight out of a nightmare.

The New Mutants had a lot of potential, but it ultimately fell short of what could've been. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that a sequel will come to pass, especially since The New Mutants was plagued with multiple delays and poor reviews. Director Josh Boone has all but confirmed this, and has stated that Disney doesn't plan to incorporate The New Mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is disappointing news, to say the least; while The New Mutants did a lot of things right -- including its dynamic cast and terrifying monsters -- these factors just weren't enough. As a result, it looks like The New Mutants have made their first and last appearance on the silver screen, at least for the foreseeable future.