With the purchase of the Fox assets by Disney completed and The New Mutants in limbo, the upcoming Dark Phoenix appears to be the final entry in the Fox-owned adaptation of Marvel's X-Men franchise. Excitement for the film has been somewhat muted, a response that hasn't been helped by a marketing campaign that couldn't wait to spoil some of the film's biggest events.
But the latest trailer suggests that Dark Phoenix might actually be the epic ending to the long-running series fans have been hoping for. If it succeeds in making the story truly cosmic while never losing sight of Jean Grey herself, Dark Phoenix might just surprise us and become the best adaptation of this story yet.
Heroes Being Heroes
Something that none of the Fox X-Men films have focused on is the idea of the X-Men as a superhero team. While the squad of mutants has always been defined by their mission to save mutants and stop those who would endanger them, they've never really been presented as straight-up heroes. They've always been a more reactionary group. The final trailer, however, opens by showcasing the X-Men heading into space to help save a group of astronauts who have been stranded following an accident.
On top of being just more heroic, it also brings the X-Men to the biggest location they've ever encountered. Even huge, past moments like the X-Men traveling through time or preventing World War III pale in comparison to the full scope of the cosmos. Even Nightcrawler and Jean's basic moves to rescue the astronauts look more incredible in the vastness of space.
When Jean is hit by the cosmic wave that will imbue her with the power of the Phoenix, it's not mere random happenstance; it's because she chose to be a hero. Much like the original, tragic "Dark Phoenix Saga," such good intentions can come back around in the worst ways.
The Phoenix Force (now more ethereal and otherworldly than it's ever appeared on screen) is treated with fear and reverence. In trying to save the lives endangered by it, Jean has opened herself up to it. Jean was doing the right thing and now she, her friends and the world as a whole will have to deal with the problems that arise from that.
This plays into the inherent tragedy of the Dark Phoenix story line, while embracing the cosmic scope of such a story. This isn't about humans and mutants anymore, or even just the Earth itself. The Phoenix Force is a powerful thing, more so than anything the X-Men have ever faced. This trailer reinforces just how massive the X-Men universe really is, and all the powers that are present within it.
The Power Cosmic
One theory about Jessica Chastain's role in the film is that she's not an outright villain like we originally believed, but that she's actually a manifestation of the Phoenix entity itself. The new trailer adds fuel to that theory, showing Chastain speaking with Jean about how all other beings who came into contact with the still unnamed Phoenix Force were killed by its power -- until it joined with Jean.
If true, it's a refreshingly clever way to examine the overwhelming power of the Phoenix Force and Jean's struggle to deal with it. Much of the original Chris Claremont and John Byrne story was about people trying to control Jean. The new footage suggests the main moral conflict of the film will be whether Jean fights back against the cosmic yearnings she now possesses, or if she embraces that epic power as a part of herself, regardless of what it does to the people she cares about.
It makes the film about Jean in a way that previous versions of this story haven't. It gives Jean herself the agency she's been lacking in other versions of the story and makes her personal growth fully tied to the cosmic force itself, instead of just being affected by it. It's the biggest possible story for Jean, turning her character growth into an inner conflict with potentially massive consequences. It could help the movie take on a truly epic scope while never losing touch with the human element that fuels the narrative.
Civil War
One remarkable aspect of this incarnation of the X-Men has always been their willingness to stand up for their ideals, regardless of what their closest allies say. But one of the more surprising aspects of this trailer is how quickly the other mutants are willing to fight against Jean. Whereas other adaptations of the story have seen the entire team conflicted over how to handle Jean Grey once she fully embraces the power of the Phoenix, the newest trailer suggests that Jean killing Mystique will be more than enough to turn most of the team against her.
Much like Captain America: Civil War, the film looks to be using personal falling outs to set off an internal conflict amidst the heroes for the grandest possible battle. Magneto, Beast and even Xavier himself become determined to fight back against Jean as she seems to give into her darker impulses.
At the very least Cyclops seems to be willing to fight for Jean. The trailer shows the various members of the team willing to come to blows over these conflicts, elevating the more specific character drama into a full-blown superhero epic.
The new trailer exceeded expectations and set up the franchise to go out on the kind of grand high note we were hoping for. Now it's just a question of whether or not the film can stick the landing and make its epic cosmic scope still feel somewhat human.
Directed and written by Simon Kinberg, Dark Phoenix stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Holt, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters and Jessica Chastain. The film arrives June 7.