X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX Director Simon Kinberg Gives An In-Depth Breakdown Of The First Trailer
Earlier today, the first official trailer for Dark Phoenix was released online, and director Simon Kinberg has now shared some intriguing new details on this latest installment in the X-Men franchise...
The first official teaser trailer for X-Men: Dark Phoenix debuted earlier today, and the response was about as mixed as you'd expect.
While many felt that the trailer itself was well put together and contained some nice shots, there's no getting away from the fact that the plot appears to be an almost beat-by-beat retread of The Last Stand, with only the threat of Jessica Chastain's extra terrestrial villain standing out as an attempt to infuse the story with something fresh.
Of course, this was only the first teaser so there's every chance the movie has some surprises in store.
While speaking to Empire, director Simon Kinberg - who also co-wrote The Last Stand - takes us through the footage shot-by-shot and reveals some intriguing new details in the process.
Simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!
Young Jean
Just like The Last Stand, Dark Phoenix will depict the first meeting between a young Jean Grey and Charles Xavier via flashback, and it sounds like their relationship will be a major part of the story.
“There are not a lot of flashbacks in the movie," said Kinberg. "But that foundational relationship between Young Jean and a younger Charles is one of the core themes of the film.”
Controlling Her Powers
Also very similar to a plot point from the third X-Men movie is the decision to have Xavier limit Jean's capabilities out of fear of how dangerously powerful she could become.
“Charles has been hiding secrets about Jean’s past from her that get revealed over the span of the movie, and only make her more unstable,” say Kinberg.
“It’s the most inopportune time for this character to become unstable emotionally, because she’s becoming unstable in a much different way after this cosmic thing that happened to her in space."
Because of this, the director maintains that Dark Phoenix will be "the most intimate, emotional and personal movie we’ve made."
The X-Men Are Viewed As Heroes In 1992
Kinberg also confirms that Dark Phoenix is set in 1992, nine years after the events of Apocalypse. Yes, Xavier and Magneto are looking well for a couple of dudes pushing 60.
When we catch up with the mutant team in the '90s, they've established themselves as heroes.
“The X-Men have become the X-Men that many of us know from the comics – they are heroes. They’re still viewed as different by society, but they’ve been more embraced than ever before. And when the movie starts in 1992, they are a known superhero team.”
The Costumes
More colorful, comic-accurate costumes were teased at the end of Apocalypse, and in Dark Phoenix the team will be sporting matching yellow and blue outfits, very similar to the ones from Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men back in 2001.
Kinberg reveals that he was just waiting for the opportunity to change-up the designs.
“Avi and Kevin Feige were the chief two people that called me about an X-Men movie 15 years ago. We talked about the costumes, and what Bryan Singer had done I understood and liked, but they were very different to what I had grown up seeing in the comics. So I was excited finally as the director to have more of a say and clothe them in their classic costumes.”
Mystique
Mystique finally chose a side and joined The X-Men at the end of Apocalypse, remaining part of the team in the intervening years. However, it sounds like the events of Dark Phoenix will once again drive a wedge between Raven and Xavier.
“Raven is a part of the X-Men, but she’s critical of some of Charles’ methodologies, in terms of him feeling as though they can just dress up in those costumes and be considered the same as the rest of humanity,” Kinberg explains. “So there is a schism forming between her and Charles."
Jean And Scott
The relationship between Jean Grey and Scott Summers/Cyclops has been the backbone of several major X-Men comic arcs, and it carried over to the initial big-screen adaptations. Here, Kinberg confirms that the pair will indeed be an item in Dark Phoenix, with Scott refusing to give us hope that Jean can be brought back from the void.
"As Jean starts to become more unstable, there are people in the X-Men who don’t think she can be helped and saved, many of whom think the world and others need helping and saving from her. And so Scott is probably the most prominent person who’s holding on to the hope that Jean can be saved.”
Genosha
As we figured, the lush commune where we see Jean encounter Magneto in the trailer is indeed Genosha... or at least, it will be.
“What you’re seeing is the beginnings of Genosha,” confirms Kinberg. “That’s where Erik is when we meet him. It’s like Magneto’s Israel – a land built for mutants, a homeland where they can be safe and self-sufficient."
It seems Jean will seek Eric out because he's the only person she knows that has done terrible and destructive things in the past before finding a way to turn things around.
The Villain
Unfortunately, Kinberg doesn't reveal exactly who Jessica Chastain is playing here, but he does reiterate that she is an extra terrestrial threat of some kind.
“I won’t say much more in detail on the specifics of that. While everyone else is trying to control this power inside of Jean, she’s much more interested in essentially encouraging her to go further with it and try to be the peaceful side of herself. She is the devil on Jean’s shoulder, so to speak.”
The Skrull Queen? Lilandra? Someone else entirely? We'll just have to wait and see.
Phoenix Force
Towards the end of the teaser we get a glimpse of Jean enveloped in flames, followed by a shot of her face streaked with glowing white lines. This signifies that whatever the entity was that latched onto her in space is beginning to manifest - but according to Kinberg, it's far from her "final form."
“That’s not maximum [Phoenix]. That’s a two or a three on the Dark Phoenix spectrum,” warns Kinberg. “It is a manifestation of her transformation from the Jean we know into Phoenix."
The Title
The Dark Phoenix title treatment is very different from the previous movies in the franchise - and not just because Fox decided to drop the "X-Men" part altogether in The US.
Kinberg explains that the non-metallic, slighter font is "emblematic of a new tone for the franchise."
"I wanted it to feel more naturalistic, I wanted it to feel edgier, more handmade, more real. I was very inspired by what James Mangold did with Logan, and I felt like if I could bring a measure of that aesthetic in the film that all of the intergalactic and larger-scale things that happen in the movie would feel more shocking, more realistic, more emotional."
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