Lockheed Will Appear In The New Mutants With Only Slight Alterations

No, you’re not seeing things. Around the 0:55 second mark of The latest of The New Mutants teaser trailers, everyone’s favorite Alien-dragon does make an appearance during what looks like a showdown between Illyana Rasputin, AKA Magik(portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy), and the team’s iconic antagonist The Demon Bear. As fans of the X-Men comics are well aware, Lockheed the Alien-Dragon started off as Kitty Pryde’s sidekick. However, Lockheed’s lore appears to be slightly altered for Josh Boone’s upcoming film adaptation. The director had this to say:

“All the mythology from the comic book has been honored, but not the stuff that’s really difficult to explain without a lot of crazy X-Men backstory. Like for example, Lockheed came from outer space and he belonged to Kitty Pride first. Then he eventually was sort of adopted by Illyana in the New Mutants comics. And it’s like, we simplified that in ways just to make it more grounded, like the movie, and less connected to that sort of stuff.“

Interview with Cinemablend.com

In the comics, Lockheed first made an appearance in 1983’s Uncanny X-Men #166 during a mission where the team briefly found themselves transported to an alien world overrun with parasitic alien life forms called The Brood. After saving Kitty Pryde from a brutal attack, Lockheed stowed away with her, eventually travelling back to earth and pledging himself as her sidekick. But Lockheed’s story does not start and end with Shadowcat, as Lockheed’s first real appearance was earlier in the same Uncanny X-Men run where he appeared as a character in a bedtime story Kitty Pryde was telling Illyana. Lockheed is also seen later on as a sidekick of Magik’s during the Krakoa run of New Mutants.

It seems Boone’s highly anticipated The New Mutants film has opted to focus more on Lockheed and Illyana’s dynamic without having to explain the history of Kitty Pryde within the film itself. This may manifest within the film through Magik’s connection to Limbo as opposed to Lockheed’s comic accurate alien backstory.

The film is set to star Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Henry Zaga, Charlie Heaton, and Blu Hunt as the titular New Mutants. Directed by Josh Boone, The New Mutants is finally due to debut on August 28th, 2020.