With 20th Century Fox taking another crack at adapting the classic Dark Phoenix Saga, as well as introducing the character of Lilandra and the Shi’ar Empire, one would assume that the X-Men franchise will be going cosmic with next year’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
However, it seems that may not be the case after all – at least, not too cosmic – with director Simon Kinberg telling Total Film (via X-Men Films) that: “[We must] find a way to ground it so it’s not too intergalactic,” and that he intends on keeping the focus on the “human” element of the franchise.
It’s difficult to take much from such a brief comment, but it does raise questions as to whether we’ll be seeing the X-Men venturing out into space, and indeed whether the Phoenix itself will be portrayed as a cosmic entity, or as part of Jean Grey a la X-Men: The Last Stand.
It’s also probably worth noting that the last time they “grounded” the Phoenix storyline, it didn’t work out too well… hence the need for this second take.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix is set for release on November 2nd, 2018. Simon Kinberg is directing a cast that includes franchise veterans Michael Fassbender (Magneto), James McAvoy (Professor X), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) and Evan Peters (Quicksilver) alongside Jessica Chastain as Lilandra and Lamar Johnson in an as-yet-unrevealed role.
Originally published August 30, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
