Though the hackneyed term ‘grounded in reality’ became Hollywood’s favorite buzzword right around the time of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, another superhero franchise that has always stayed relatively clear of full-blown fantasy is the X-Men series.
Hatched under the watchful eye of Bryan Singer all the way back in 2000, Fox’s mutant-centric saga has since spawned a full-blown franchise, and it’s one that will continue through the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix late next year. However, coming off the fairly disappointing Apocalypse, long-time fans have been looking toward Dark Phoenix as an opportunity for Fox’s blockbuster series to branch off into cosmic territory – not unlike how Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy helped expand the MCU into the dark recesses of space.
But that may not be case. As writer-director Simon Kinberg revealed to X-Men Films (with a tip of the hat to CBM), Dark Phoenix is set to uphold the tradition of Fox’s lucrative X-Men franchise and hew closer to reality than full-blown fantasy.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Kinberg and his team plan to completely overhaul the Dark Phoenix arc; merely that his adaptation may skate around some of the story’s far-flung cosmic elements, such as a trip to the Shi’ar Empire.
When asked about the tone that X-Men: Dark Phoenix will adopt, Kinberg noted that, “[We must] find a way to ground it so it’s not too intergalactic.” The filmmaker also drew attention to the “emotion” and “heart” of the franchise, which he believes to be the lifeblood that keeps the series relevant in this overcrowded superhero genre.
As things stand, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is booked in for release on November 2nd, 2018. Similar to Marvel Studios, which has Black Panther, Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp coming next year, Fox has also nailed down plans for New Mutants (April 13th) and Deadpool 2 (June 1st).
