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X-Men: Dark Phoenix Aims To “Revolutionize” The Superhero Genre As We Know It

Come 2018, X-Men: Dark Phoenix will revolutionize the superhero genre as we know it, or so says Sophie Turner (Jean Grey).

Another year, another onslaught of superhero movies to peruse.

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In 2017, audiences bore witness to Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Wonder Woman and a little-known crossover called Justice League, which struggled to leave a good first impression back in November. All four titles hailed from Marvel and DC – from Disney and Warner Bros. – and the next 12 months are filled with big-name tentpoles in the vein of Aquaman and Avengers: Infinity War.

Not to be outdone by cinema’s heavyweights though, 20th Century Fox is also gearing up for a huge 2018, what with The New Mutants, Deadpool 2 and Simon Kinberg’s star-studded X-Men: Dark Phoenix all on the horizon. And because of its status as a cult classic among comic book readers, the latter X-Men movie has piqued everyone’s curiosity, not least because of its “dark, gritty” approach to the famous Dark Phoenix arc.

In doing so, Simon Kinberg’s prequel-sequel aims to “revolutionize” the superhero genre as we know it, or so says Sophie Turner. The Jean Grey actress sat down with Empire Magazine recently to discuss tone, Kinberg and the challenging shoot.

Simon has been the brain behind X-Men for years, and it’s really exciting to have what feels like one of our own rise up and take hold of the franchise, and direct it in the way that he sees it. I have to say he’s one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with. He’s so passionate and collaborative.

Filming X-Men: Dark Phoenix was difficult for a number of reasons, according to Turner, who went on to tease her “huge emotional scenes.”

I kept saying to Simon, ‘Oh good, that’s done. Now I only have, like seven huge emotional scenes to go.’ It was a real challenge.

Perhaps those same scenes will result in the death of a prominent mutant? Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) have all been name-dropped as potential victims of the Dark Phoenix, so place your bets.

On a more general note, Sophie Turner concluded with this tantalizing tease:

We are revolutionizing it. We wanted to create a whole new genre of superhero movie.

And we’ll be able to see what all the fuss is about when X-Men: Dark Phoenix takes flight on November 2nd, 2018.