While theX-MenspinoffsDeadpool 2andNew Mutantshave been slowly revealing new details and bits of casting, word has been largely quiet onDark Phoenix, the next film in the mainX-Mensaga. Production is set to get underway this summer, but we didn’t know who would be starring or even who was directing, although it was rumored that longtime producer and writerSimon Kinbergwould be making his directorial debut on the feature.
Now it looks like all engines are go forDark Phoenix. Deadline reports that Kinberg is officially set to direct his own screenplay (we reported back in Februarythat he was circling the project), and most of the main players fromX-Men: Apocalypse—Jennifer Lawrence(Mystique),Michael Fassbender(Magneto),James McAvoy(Professor X),Nicholas Hoult(Beast),Alexandra Shipp(Storm),Sophie Turner(Jean Grey),Tye Sheridan(Cyclops), andKodi Smit-McPhee(Nightcrawler)—are set to return (the notable absence isEvan Peters, who plays Quicksilver). Filming is set to take place in Montreal.
For those unfamiliar with theDark Phoenixstory from the comics, it involves Jean Grey, whose powers become seriously amplified when she comes into contact with a cosmic entity known as the Phoenix. It eventually took over her personality, turning her into the “Dark Phoenix” that the X-Men had to defeat.
The Dark Phoenix previously appeared inX-Men: The Last Stand(co-written by Kinberg), but was changed to be a split personality that Professor X buried in Jean Grey’s psyche. The Phoenix emerged when Jean Grey came back from the dead and was manipulated into working alongside Magneto.
It appears thatDark Phoenixwill be going in drastically different direction (although one that should be familiar to fans of the comics), and taking theX-Menuniverse cosmic withTHRreporting thatJessica Chastainis in talks to play the villain, “Lilandra, the empress of an alien empire called the Shi’ar, who leads the quest to imprison and execute Dark Phoenix, leading her into conflict with the X-Men.”
That’s an impressive gathering of talent for a story that’s going to be heavily VFX driven, which is even more surprising when you consider thatX-Men: Apocalypsewas critically panned (48% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it made significantly less thanX-Men: Days of Future Past. Rather than the franchise fading, it appears to be resurgent.
I’m not sure if everyone just wants to go out on a high note or if Fox gave a dump truck full of money to Lawrence, Fassbender, McAvoy, and Hoult (whose contracts expired afterApocalypse), butDark Phoenixshows no signs of slowing down.
