Beware the Phoenix!!!
Howdy, y’all! McEric here with exciting news in the X-Universe: we have the first official trailer for X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX! If you’ve been paying attention, you knew we were headed here, and now here we are.
Here’s the trailer as it dropped earlier this evening:
I’ll be the first to say it: this looks sufficiently superior to Brett Ratner’s LAST STAND, though I’m not completely shitting on that movie. For its faults, it held some gems for the universe at large: the mutant at the core of the cure, Logan’s longing which fueled him through his two excellent solo outings, and the introduction of Ellen Page’s Kitty Pride, who helped to bridge these two timelines. Measuring these film arcs against one another takes some doing, however; and I’m game to do so.
The original trilogy, if such a moniker could be applied, gave us Jean Grey from the beginning, as portrayed by the beguiling Famke Jamssen, so we were given ample opportunity to invest in her from the get-go. Our current X-run didn’t introduce her until APOCALYPSE, which suffered from its own three-peat curses, and probably colored our acceptance. Compound this by showcasing her “inert” Phoenix power at the end of her freshman appearance and we’re a bit shellshocked. However, what the new X-run did well was allow us to invest in all those who will find themselves inevitably in her wake; when you introduce a character/villain as powerful as the Phoenix, the investment in the audience needs to be in those in peril. Matthew Vaughn’s groundwork has us invested in Charles (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender) and their acolytes, moreso than the Singer universe had when Ratner came in and bull-dozed the X out of everything.
The trailer broadcasts some serious “Sins of the Father” vibes, and doesn’t share the blame like LAST STAND did, so we get a true Trump-era villain in Charles Xavier, himself, which isn’t as satisfying as I hoped it’d be. Seeing Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) give him the business, as well as Beast (Nicholas Hoult) didn’t actually resonate as well with me as it should. Maybe it’s because I don’t fully see how Sophie Turner’s turn as Jean-as-Phoenix can lead Erik and Charles into headlong war. Or that I can’t fully accept everyone’s alignment that her persona is “evil” when I’ve read enough comics to realize that she’s Chaotic Good and maybe I’m more “woke” than the founder of Xavier’s School for Gifted Children and the founder of The Brotherhood of Mutants, combined.
That seems unlikely, but maybe.
What I will say is that I am genuinely excited about this telling of the Dark Phoenix Saga in theatrical format. Simon Kinberg, longtime writer of the X-ploits in film, takes the director’s chair, with Bryan Singer producing, to me, spells victory. If you needed any further assurance that this iteration will surpass XIII, just look again at the trailer. See the X-Men, united in a line against their foe, wearing the classic yellow-topped jumpsuits from comics and the 90s cartoon series, contrasted with Erik and his mish-mashed Brotherhood of Mutants. It’s a testament to these filmmakers’ understanding of the source material and the fandom. Kinberg, Singer, and the whole current X-crew want to make the film that the fans want to see because they, themselves, are fans. There can be no better alignment.
X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX is slated for a Valentine’s Day release, which bodes terribly for Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops, but hopefully will bring many bubbling hearts for fans across the globe.
What do you all think? Until our hearts all sing on St. Valentine’s Day, I’ll see you at the movies!!
-McEric-
