M-Day is approaching for 20th Century Fox’s X-Men series, with The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Fox’s film and TV assets heading into its final stages and expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2019.
Over the weekend it was rumoured that the studio has now pulled the plug on all of its Marvel development slate – including the planned X-Force, Doctor Doom, Gambit, Silver Surfer, Kitty Pryde and Multiple Man films – leaving just X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants to round out Fox’s near-20 year Marvel run.
Both of those movies were originally slated for release last year, but have been pushed back multiple times due to extensive reshoots. And, in the case of Dark Phoenix, it seems this additional photography has seen the movie’s budget balloon, with The Observer reporting that Fox has pumped over $200 million into the film’s production.
If true, then that puts Dark Phoenix’s budget in the same ball park as X-Men: Days of Future Past ($200 million) and X-Men: The Last Stand ($210 million), the latter of which also adapted the classic Dark Phoenix Saga storyline, and was roundly savaged by fans and critics for its handling of the source material.
Let’s hope it isn’t a case of history repeating itself when Dark Phoenix opens this summer…
SEE ALSO: Lana Condor explains why Jubilee doesn’t feature in X-Men: Dark Phoenix
In Dark Phoenix, the X-Men face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jean’s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix sees Simon Kinberg 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), Evan Peters (Quicksilver) and Olivia Munn (Psylocke) alongside new additions Kota Eberhardt (The Persian Connection) as Selene, Andrew Stehlin (Hacksaw Ridge) as Red Lotus, and Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game) and Lamar Johnson (Kings). It is set for release on June 7th 2019.
