Not Another Jean Movie

For First-time Director Simon Kinberg It’s a Second Stab at the Dark Phoenix Saga. As Dave Golder Learns, He’s Promising a Darker, More Intense, More Cosmic Experience for the X-men’s Last Stand at Fox

EVEN IN A CINEMATIC LANDSCAPE WHERE superhero movies regularly retell the same origin stories over and over (here’s looking at you, spidey) audiences may have an uncanny sense of déjà vu with Dark Phoenix. hang on, hasn’t this franchise done this story already? well, yeah, back in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). But there are two good reasons why this all makes sense. First, the X-Men cinematic universe was rebooted into a parallel time in Days Of Future Past (2014). secondly, and far more importantly to Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg, “I don’t think we actually did the dark phoenix story in The Last Stand.”

In this regard he’s in tune with fans. the dark phoenix saga in the comics chronicled Jean Grey/Marvel Girl’s transformation into the mind-bogglingly powerful and evil dark phoenix (because if power corrupts then cosmic power corrupts cosmically) over 38 issues. The Last Stand reduced all that to a B-plot.

“It was backgrounded to the main storyline in a dual plot,” says Kinberg. “it really didn’t feel like it was fully mined or fully explored in that movie. I wanted to make sure that the dark phoenix plot was not only the primary plot of the movie but the only plot of the movie. the challenge is how to boil that down to a two-hour movie.

“I really wanted to make it just Jean and her struggle with this cosmic entity taking her over. to follow how that struggle emotionally, psychologically and supernaturally manifests for Jean personally, and for the people around her, the X-men.”

The difference between these two versions of the saga is, he says, “similar to Deadpool in X-Men Origins versus Deadpool in Deadpool”.

He also happily admits there are parallels to Captain America: Civil War.