The X-Men franchise is about to go cosmic with the live-action rendition of Dark Phoenix, Chris Claremont’s comic book arc in which Jean Grey comes face-to-face with the Phoenix Force.
Such a wildly ambitious story plan means Fox’s flagship superhero series is about to break new ground, and sure enough, while speaking with Entertainment Tonight, director Simon Kinberg went on record to assure fans that X-Men: Dark Phoenix is much more loyal to its source material than X-Men 3. Oh, and it’ll also feature one or two “extraterrestrial characters” for good measure, one of whom may well be Miss Sinister.
That’s the latest X-rumor kicking around online, as budding fans attempt to solve the riddle that is Jessica Chastain’s mystery villain. Shi’ar Empress Lilandra Neramani emerged as the undisputed frontrunner early on in Dark Phoenix‘s life cycle, but now we’re not so sure.
Be that as it may, Simon Kinberg recently previewed his 2019 tentpole during a chat with ET:
It’s much more loyal to the original comic than X-Men 3, which told the Dark Phoenix story. It’s a movie that involves extraterrestrial characters, which is not something that we’ve done in the X-Men franchise before, and is something that is a huge part of the Dark Phoenix saga in the comics.
That’s interesting in and of itself, as it suggests that Chastain’s character won’t be the only one of alien descent. Of course, the Dark Phoenix Saga is all about cosmic entities and otherworldly forces, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Simon Kinberg and his team are committed to the film’s cosmic elements.
Initially scheduled for launch in November, X-Men: Dark Phoenix will be with us on February 14th, 2019. So be prepared to cancel any Valentine’s Day plans…