It’s been a troubling time for X-Men fans.
Not only is the franchise’s immediate future up for question thanks to the impending Disney-Fox merger, but there’s also the very real concern that Dark Phoenix, Simon Kinberg’s ’90s-set prequel movie, may have fallen on hard times.
The allegations even go so far as to suggest that Fox was unhappy with the third act, and quickly ordered reshoots in order to course-correct a film that was once described as the most ambitious mainline X-Men movie yet. Be that as it may, Kinberg has since called for calm, stressing that Dark Phoenix‘s additional photography isn’t worth worrying about.
We’re not out of the woods yet, though; per X-Men Films (h/t CBM), it seems that the pic has been yanked from the 20th Century Fox website, while The New Mutants, a horror-tinged spinoff from Josh Boone, remains.
The original Tweet has since been pulled offline, so it’s unclear if X-Men Films have walked back their claims. Nevertheless, it’s pretty clear that Dark Phoenix is not currently listed on the Fox website – it is, however, still included on the official press site, which unfortunately doesn’t bring us any closer to that million-dollar question: will Simon Kinberg’s star-studded prequel make its early 2019 launch date, or is it about to be delayed further still?
One thing’s for sure: it won’t be present at San Diego Comic-Con later this month, so take from that what you will.
As things stand, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is currently slated for release on February 14th, 2019. But with little-to-no promotion for either Dark Phoenix or Alita: Battle Angel, we’re inclined to believe that the latter CG-laden blockbuster may swoop into that February corridor, leaving Dark Phoenix with an open shot at a mid-to-late summer release.
