As much as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is almost single-handedly responsible for the current popularity on the post-credits scene, Fox's X-Men franchise has also made significant contributions: The Last Stand's stinger preceded Iron Man's by three years, while Deadpool 2's extended mid-credits sequence was one of the more memorable in recent years. But what about Dark Phoenix, the final film in the studio's X-Men saga?
While 2011's X-Men: First Class, which rebooted the series by going back to the 1960s, didn't employ such a sequence, 2014's Days of Future Past did, heralding the arrival of En Sabah Nur in its sequel. That film, 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, also delivered an extra scene, teasing the eventual introduction of comic villain Minster Sinister -- a storyline that will never come to fruition, now that Disney has acquired the Fox assets, and the X-Men film rights are now in the hands of Marvel Studios.
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Obviously, then, there's no sequel for Dark Phoenix to tee up. The film is an opportunity for writer/director Simon Kinberg, and for the franchise, to have a second shot at adapting the seminal 1980 X-Men comics storyline, "The Dark Phoenix Saga." Although the source material cosmic in scope, with the entire galaxy imperiled by Jean Grey's transformation into Dark Phoenix, 2006's The Last Stand shoe-horned the elements into a grounded subplot. Needless to say, that didn't go over well.
But, to answer the question, no, Dark Phoenix does not have a post-credits scene. There's no tribute to any of the mutants who have fallen over the past 19 years, nor an attempt to sync up the events of the prequels with those of 2000's X-Men, as if such a thing were possible. Instead, it's only the credits, backed by Hans Zimmer's musical score. So, audiences are free and clear to make their way toward the exits.
The review embargo for Dark Phoenix lifted today at 1 a.m. ET, with the film debuting on Rotten Tomatoes with a critics score of 16 percent. That number has since clawed its way up to 21 percent, the lowest of any X-Men movie to date.
Dark Phoenix is projected to earn between $50 million to $55 million domestically this weekend, going toe to toe with The Secret Life of Pets 2 for the top spot. If that holds true, it would place Dark Phoenix behind the $65 million debut of 2016's Apocalypse, and more in line with 2013’s The Wolverine ($53 million), 2000’s X-Men ($54 million) and 2011’s X-Men: First Class ($55 million).
Written and directed 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.there The film opens Friday nationwide.