X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX Director Simon Kinberg Doesn't Want the Film to Be "Too Intergalactic"
In case you've been wondering how director Simon Kinberg would be handling The Dark Phoenix Saga in the upcoming film X-Men: Dark Phoenix, he offers a few bits of new details on how he will approach the story.
The Dark Phoenix Saga is one of the most popular and best X-Men comic book story arcs. It centers on Jean Grey, who becomes possessed by a fiery cosmic bird that makes her one of the most powerful beings in the universe. This is an intense change for her, and she struggles to control that power, and that leads her down the path of evil, eventually becoming the Dark Phoenix.
The comic story has an intergalactic element to it as Grey is led down a path that destroys an ancient alien civilization. This leads to a war on the moon against another alien race known as the Shi'ar.
Well, it turns out that all of the intergalactic stuff is going to be cut back. In an upcoming issue of Total Film (via X-Men Films) Director Simon Kinberg, talks about grounding some of the more fantastical elements from the comics, saying:
“[We must] find a way to ground it so it’s not too intergalactic."
He also talked about how the X-Men movies are known for telling more “human…” and emotional kind of stories. That doesn't mean he's cutting out all of the intergalactic stuff. He is just looking to ground the story and most likley focus on the characters.
I guess that means a lot of the story, if not all of it, will be set on earth. I imagine that they could also change the story behind Phoenix's origin story and it could just focus on Jean Grey's mutant power growing out of control without the help of a cosmic "force" that inhabits her.
It's been confirmed that Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, and Kodi Smit-McPhee will all reprise their roles from the previous films. The movie will also star Jessica Chastain as the main villain, who is believed to be Shi’ar Empress Lilandra, but that hasn't been confirmed.
If Chastain is playing this villainous character there are going to have to be some intergalactic elements in the film. Just not too much.