This summer certainly seems to be full of large scale, epic superhero movies. While the genre always creates big productions, this summer’s films feature ensemble casts who will use their powers to battle amongst themselves. Now that Batman v Superman and Captain America: Civil War have been released to the masses, the next superhero flick will be X-Men: Apocalypse. And although Apocalypse seems to be the biggest and craziest X-Men film yet, the team may already be planning the next installment in the franchise. And it looks like a story we’ve seen before.
In a recent interview with EW, writer/producer Simon Kinberg addressed the future X-Men movies possibly revolving around one major comic book plot: Dark Phoenix.
I definitely would love to take another stab at the Dark Phoenix story.
Simon Kinberg’s statement seems pretty black and white. He’d like to have another go at the legendary Dark Phoenix story from the X-Men comics.
The Dark Phoenix plot is one of the most significant in the X-Men mythos. It revolves around the character Jean Grey. The entire mythology of the Phoenix is a bit confusing, but the cliffsnotes are as follows: Jean is both saved and possessed by an entity called the Phoenix Force. Eventually, the power serves to corrupt and take over Jean, making her an extremely powerful villain for the X-Men to battle.
The Dark Phoenix story has been seen in a variety of media. The 90’s animated series made it a long and important arc. Then X-Men: The Last Stand happened, written by Simon Kinberg. The Last Stand is certainly the weakest X-Men film, and the handling of Dark Phoenix, as well as the random murder of main characters, has been panned by fans and critics alike. Kinberg seems to understand his follies in The Last Stand, and wants to make things right with a future X-Men film.
It also appears that the Dark Phoenix saga is being hinted at during X-Men Apocalypse. Bryan Singer has mentioned darkness and power can be seen within Jean during the newest film. Additionally, Sophie Turner, who will be taking the mantle of Famke Janssen's role, spoke to EW about her character’s connection to Phoenix:
The seeds of Phoenix definitely are planted in there. She can’t control her powers unless she either fully stops them or lets them all loose, and that’s kind of Phoenix. I think in future movies to come we’ll definitely see a bit more of that.
Miss Sansa Stark knows what’s up. It looks like both X-Men: Apocalypse, and Sophie Turner’s performance will hint at the Phoenix Force being inside of her. After watching Turner be a victim for 5 seasons of Game of Thrones, it would be awesome to see her as a certified badass or villain. Bring it on.
What do you think? Should Dark Phoenix be seen on the big screen again, or should they let X-Men: The Last Stand rest in peace? Sound off in the comments below.
