Dark Phoenix X-Men: Dark Phoenix News and Speculation Thread - - - - - - Part 15

[Limonade]

Lucky Marvel fans in attendance at New York Comic Con were treated to a special look at the upcoming X-Men movie, showing Jean Grey's evil transformation in Dark Phoenix.

Fans who went to 20th Century Fox's presentation at NYCC saw director Simon Kinberg take the stage with Sophie Turner and Tye Sheridan, who play Jean and Cyclops respectively in the new film.

"The X-Men are known to the world, they're actually super heroes," Kinberg said at the panel. "We see them on a mission and we see what starts to create the fracture in Jean. It’s got big action. It’s also got the action, the drama in it." Although the visual effects are not finished, "they will give you a sense of what it will look like"

Despite the movie's delay, they still screened a major chunk of footage, and ComicBook.com's own Brandon Davis was on hand to document the exclusive preview.

Here's what he said about the Dark Phoenix footage:

Spoiler

A space ship blasts off after a countdown. It rockets into space. The footage is dated. In a control room, a woman stands above people who are watching. A man picks something up on his radar. Then another. They report their findings to the woman. The astronauts call a problem to Houston.

Proessor X and Beast are watching from the X-Mansion. Hank insists they can't get involved with this because they're not built to fly.

The President gives Charles a call from a phone designated with a "X" from his Oval Office.

Mystique leads Nightcrawler, Beast, Quicksilver, Cyclops, and Jean on the mission. Jean is reluctant, asking Mystique if she is okay with it. Mystique insists that if anything goes wrong, she'll turn them around.

The basketball court at the mansion splits, allowing the jet to rise up, unfold its wings, and take off.

News outlets report the second ship heading towards the space shuttle. Charles rides into Cerebro. He asks for information from NASA. He learns the team lost control, orientation, and communication. He assures her: "Help is on the way."

The jet races into the sky. Scott tries to calm Jean with a hand on her shoulder. The jet reaches space and gets ice on its glass as it slows. They approach a golden, glowing entity near the atmosphere, seeing the space shuttle doing donuts in air. Beast explains that the cabin won't hold for long. Nightcrawler can't see in a window to get inside.

Scott goes below deck to blast the shuttles engine to stop its spin. Kurt, seeing inside now, takes Peter and heads in. Storm seals the cracks. It's all under Mystique's orders. Peter grabs all of the astronauts and brings them to Kurt. On the jet, the astronaut declares their commander is still on the shuttle.

Charles orders them to get the commander and asks Jean to hold the ship together. She can only do it from inside. Quicksilver creates a space suit for Nightcrawler. Jean keeps air near herself. They have transported to the ship. The golden entity is approaching. Nightcrawler finds the commander as Jean holds it together. He tries to get Jean back but the golden flares consume her.

Scott is furious when he sees Jean did not get back to the ship with them. Jean absorbs the other half of the force which was headed towards her friends. She screams in pain. Charles sees it. A massive flash erupts and Jean is left floating through space as the last rays of the force enter through various parts of her body. The X-Men look on, stunned. Nightcrawler teleports out to rescue her and brings her back. Scott, shocked, is the first to look at her. She opens her eyes, revealing a slight gold glow which fades quickly. "Is everybody okay?" she asks.

Scott tells her everyone is good and she is now ready to go home. The X-Men head back to Earth, being greeted by dozens of fans, holding signs reading, "X-Men 4 Ever" and offering tons of applause. Kids have Mystique dolls. There are fans everywhere. Jean takes it in before getting more applause upon arrival at the X-Mansion.

Charles relays the President's regards, encourages everyone to enjoy themselves, and cancels class for the day. The kids hustle away before Charles asks Jean how she is feeling. She's fine but Mystique insists, "She should be dead."

"They're not kids anymore, Raven," Charles tells her. She, however, questions the risks he has them taking. "It's all just a means to an end," Charles said. "We're one bad day away from them seeing us as the enemies again." Raven hates their conforming and uniforms but Charles calls it "a small price to pay."

Raven closes the conversation by saying, "And by the way, the women are always saving the men around here. You might want to consider changing the name to X-Women!"

'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' Footage Description From NYCC

Yeah @Erik Lensherr put some spoiler tags for some people here who are actively avoiding plots of the movie.

 

[GuestStar2004]

I have a doubt, are you guys discussing the description of the footage on here openly, or in spoilers?
because Im not sure yet if I want to read it or not.

Well, it would spare us.

 

[icekid]

I mean it’s a news and speculation threat and footage at Comic-Con is news. It’s the opening scene which, save for Apocalypse, every opening scene since X3 has been released online as part of their promotion. I don’t see how it qualifies as spoilers as it’s just a description of the scene we’ve known opens the film since it’s very first media coverage. Or do media coverage in magazines and articles now count as spoilers too.

Not being sarcastic just genuinely trying to know where the line in the sand is.

 

[rebellion]

You deny the reason why a studio is more successful.
I have never talked about 'money' in judging a movie.
And i never said a word about liking MarvelStudios. (There are many disney film i prefer than the first X-men or X3 or Origins).
I criticize when you can find the same thing you hate at Fox, in MarvelStudios, but strangely, there, is not a problem.
Also it's unfair offend a movie for having a different vision than yours.
And:
Kinberg is a person, not an object. So are all the people behind Fox.
So you cannot insult them and think that it's ok only cause they aren't here at forum.

 

[Limonade]

I mean it’s a news and speculation threat and footage at Comic-Con is news. It’s the opening scene which, save for Apocalypse, every opening scene since X3 has been released online as part of their promotion. I don’t see how it qualifies as spoilers as it’s just a description of the scene we’ve known opens the film since it’s very first media coverage. Or do media coverage in magazines and articles now count as spoilers too.

Not being sarcastic just genuinely trying to know where the line in the sand is.

Well I suppose there'll be a Spoiler thread people here can create... but if people want to eventually see this movie cold... we should at least make the effort here. I'm not speaking for everyone... but I know a few people who would like to simply know what's going on with the project and nothing further. As there's just a lot of "will they? won't they? We cool still? Or not?" Stuff like that.

 

[Mysteryman]

NYCC footage sounds good to me.
BRING IT ON!

 

[SumT]

I mean it’s a news and speculation threat and footage at Comic-Con is news. It’s the opening scene which, save for Apocalypse, every opening scene since X3 has been released online as part of their promotion. I don’t see how it qualifies as spoilers as it’s just a description of the scene we’ve known opens the film since it’s very first media coverage. Or do media coverage in magazines and articles now count as spoilers too.

Not being sarcastic just genuinely trying to know where the line in the sand is.

well, at least imo, if the material is not released online for everyone, then they should be considered spoilers. You know, its like a screening in this sense, its something for a small audience, an event. not for online watch and for the whole world.

I know Fox decided to show the material so in this sense it can be discussed, but to me its more a cortesy touch, more than anything.

 

[Erik Lensherr]

DARK PHOENIX CHATTER

When did Sophie Turner find out this would be the Phoenix story?

"I was told about six months before we started shooting the movie," Turner explains. "Luckily, he gave me enough time to prepare...Fans are so in love with this story line and I really think that we did it justice."

"That's part of what makes these movies so resonant in general," "They deal so directly with alienation and prejudice and issues that certainly seem inescapable in the news these days. It's no accident that Simon wanted to tell this story and has empowered the female characters in this story in the ways that he has. That's not to say politcally. It's just a natural cultural instinct."

How was the experience different with Kinberg directing?

"He's definitely much more engaged and focused all around," Tye Sheridan said. "A lot of times, this story is so grounded in drama that that's what it's about. It's so innate in the script and in the writing. For us, it was nice to have someone guiding us and leading us. It's a big movie. You need someone who can really hone in on a vision and a detail."

How did Sophie Turner prepare for this?

"I prepared with a lot of cosmic rays," Turner joked. "I used to stand by the microwave and let them flow into me, feel that power, and I'd go scream at my mum for a while. 'Sorry, Dark Phoenix!'"

More seriously, she explained the back and forth work to prepare. She studied schitsophrenia and multiple personality disorder. For two days, she listened to a YouTube channel revealing what sounds like to be schizophrenic. "I got nothing done," she said. "Before we even started the movie, we had two weeks of just rehearsals for hours and hours and hour a day."

Which cast member was particularly excited and engaged?

"In these big movies, you get the least rehearsal time," Kinberg said. "I would say the person I might have collaborated with in a similar way was Jessica Chastain." This was Chastain's first movie of the type. "She had a lot of thoughts and we crafted the look together, her voicing, and even the way that we approached her character. She's many things in this movie in the roles her character plays but she is ultimately the villain of the film."

NYCC 2018: 'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' And 'Alita' Panel Recap

 

[Mysteryman]

Continues to sound good.

 

[carpenter82]

Very excited!

 

[Erik Lensherr]

 

[carpenter82]

Still a cesspool here. Anyway, I hadn't even thought about this line from Legion but did anyone think about this when watching the Dark Phoenix trailer? Could just be a massive coincidence since Legion pretty much exists in its own bubble, but it's interesting to think about.

No, I think this is completely intentional. I saw someone else point this out on a trailer breakdown via YouTube.

 

[EnDz0n3]

They should release part of this footage since I don't think it sounds very good when just read out.

“I mean, I felt bad bashing The Last Stand because mainstream audiences, if not fan audiences, liked it. There’s a lot of things that worked in it. But what I regret about it is that it’s not the Dark Phoenix story. I regret that it’s the cure plot story with Dark Phoenix as a subplot and it should have been the Dark Phoenix story as the main plot of the film…I think the world perhaps wasn’t ready for a dark enough tone at that point in the cycle of superhero movies.”
Read more at Simon Kinberg Talks Dark Phoenix, and The Last Stand's Failures

I love the walking back. It certainly is a good confirmation as any that he repeats the same beats he wrote in to The Last Stand, only this time it's longer, extended scenes and not encumbered by Ratner's frenetic editing.

I mean if he's gonna say this now, imagine what he'll walk back on if this Dark Phoenix fails again. The guy will literally say anything to appease whatever audience he's in front of.

How did Sophie Turner prepare for this?

"I prepared with a lot of cosmic rays," Turner joked. "I used to stand by the microwave and let them flow into me, feel that power, and I'd go scream at my mum for a while. 'Sorry, Dark Phoenix!'"

More seriously, she explained the back and forth work to prepare. She studied schitsophrenia

Also LOL at schitsophrenia. Come on Brandon, you couldn't have googled that word before typing it out?

 

[Cktopl33]

Den of Geek News: We've seen the first 13 minutes of #DarkPhoenix at this year's #NYCC! And it's not what you expect. Our analysis of its more suspenseful and heroic tone, as well as Hans Zimmer's new superhero (and cosmic) theme.

They seem to describe the footage as a more cosmic thriller tone.

It is clear from the outset of what is roughly the first 13 minutes of Dark Phoenix that it is attempting to be a different kind of X-Men movie. Described for months by writer-director Simon Kinberg and producer Hutch Parker as something more “intimate” and emotionally dramatic than 2016’s bombastic X-Men: Apocalypse, it was only when the first action sequence of Dark Phoenix was screened at New York Comic Con that the effect they’re going for became truly apparent.

The sequence obviously pulls influence from X-Men #101, the issue which introduced Jean Grey’s alternate personality, the Phoenix (then not so dark), however everything about the way the sequence is treated by Kinberg’s film is evocative of the real-life space shuttle Challenger tragedy in 1986 (the film is set in 1992)… except now with superheroes coming to the rescue.

While we were not shown the opening credits, which apparently will set the stage as to what the X-Men have been up to in the nine years since Apocalypse’s setting, it becomes quickly apparent that Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters have become the toast of American life, mostly because his X-Men are now heralded as the superheroes they’re often depicted as in the comics. This is a notable departure from the way the X-Men were always depicted as a covert, paramilitary unit operating without the government’s consent in the Bryan Singer X-Men movies, but it is in-keeping with many other variations of X-comic book lore, and perhaps more aptly is comparable to the way the Avengers are usually depicted as everyone’s hero to lean on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Yet where Dark Phoenix is clearly attempting to differ is in an aspect that Kinberg later emphasized during a NYCC Q&A as one of the director’s most important duties: tone. The general tone of Dark Phoenix’s X-Men introduction is that of almost a thriller as much as an adventure. Genuinely, I suspect many comic book fans will be surprised how much they’ll enjoy seeing the X-Men act like regular heroes ready to fly into the blue yonder and beyond because they’re heroes, and not because they’re trying to save mutantkind. But while this is certainly more traditional superhero territory, there is very little in the way of self-referential humor intended to alleviate tension or create a sense of a knowing smirk at its own silliness, which generally is the modus operandi of MCU superhero movies, especially during the first act. Returning a bit to the gusto of X-Men: First Class, Kinberg also seems to want to imbue a sense of earnestness to the material. So when realizing astronauts are in trouble, stakes are placed on the tightly edited sequence by Nicholas Hoult’s Beast, who immediately tells Charles that he doesn’t believe the X-jet is safe to travel beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Yet when the president calls, Charles overrides that decision and the X-Men are soon launching off to space to the first strings of Hans Zimmer’s take on an X-Men theme. The music is audibly different from the more traditionally triumphant John Ottman theme in the past several X-films. Sounding in a single pass to my layman’s ear more than a bit like Interstellar, complete with a haunting ticking refrain that is more chorus here, Zimmer’s music could (and may) be recorded on an organ with the way it reaches with a rising sense of doom and uncertainty as the X-Men travel into space.

However, for comic fans, it is remarkably refreshing the way that Jean and Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) are framed during this whole opening action sequence. While I’ve always been a fan of Famke Janssen and James Marsden’s take of the characters in the older films, they were usually treated as two-thirds of a love triangle existing solely to be interrupted by Hugh Jackman’s Logan. Here, Jean and Scott are simply shot and interact… like Jean and Scott, and Turner and Sheridan have chemistry.

But the scene-stealer during the opening sequence, before things get cosmic, remains Evan Peters’ Quicksilver. Once in space, the action sequence begins borrowing from the visuals of Gravity, complete with the rotating chaos of a disintegrating space shuttle (it’s been thrown into disarray by a passing solar flare). While the special effects we viewed were not finished, the concept includes a bit already teased in the Dark Phoenix teaser where the solar rays envelope and are then consumed by Jean Grey’s body, almost like the spirits of antiquity passing through Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Notably this does not appear to be the scene teased in the first images of Dark Pheonix from earlier in the year (Jean neither turns into the Phoenix in this scene or incinerates her clothes).

As a whole, these 13 minutes were an impressive corrector over the Dark Phoenix trailer from last month. Whereas that footage relied on the familiar narrative beats of the X-Men franchise as a whole, watching these scenes tonight gave me a much greater appreciation about what differences Dark Phoenix is bringing to the material. Other than Matthew Vaughn’s First Class, no X-Men movie I can recall has treated the X-Men as so simply and altruistically heroic, nor quite as attuned in their teamwork. Yet the emphasis on trying to create earnest suspense, even with brightly colored superheroes in space, also lets the movie stand somewhat apart from the familiar territory treaded by so many other superhero movies flooding the market right now.

 

[Erik Lensherr]

Spoiler: DARK PHOENIX: THIS IS HOW JEAN GREY BECOMES THE PHOENIX

The sequence began with a space shuttle launch -- don’t forget, this film is set in the 1990s. But there’s some kind of mysterious disturbance on NASA’s monitors, and the shuttle crew loses communication with Mission Control. They’re in danger, and back at the X-Mansion Professor Xavier and Beast are watching the news of the space accident. Xavier asks if the upgraded X-Jet can make it up to space, and Beast discourages this notion. But then the president himself calls -- there’s an X-Phone in the Oval Office! A black phone with a big X on it! -- and the decision is made to attempt a rescue.

The X-Men suit up, and they’re heroes in this universe. The world is cheering them on as the X-Jet heads to space. Once there, they find that the shuttle is in a deadly spin even while a mysterious orange-crimson cloud slowly approaches it. Cyclops mans a special device that allows him to fire his optic blast out of the ship, slowing the spin in the process. Storm freezes the air that is escaping from the ship. Nightcrawler and Quicksilver bamf over to the shuttle, where they rescue the astronauts and teleport them back to the X-Jet. But the commander is still on the shuttle!

With the NASA craft falling apart and the mysterious cloud -- can we just call it the Phoenix cloud and be done with it? -- getting closer to the ships, Mystique says they have to leave. But Xavier telepathically gives the order that they stay, and insists Jean can hold the shuttle together long enough to rescue the last astronaut. She’s bamfed over there, and the commander is saved, but the cloud engulfs the shuttle -- and Jean. She actually directs part of it away from the X-Jet as well and endures/absorbs the entire thing herself -- the team thinks she’s dead at first -- before returning to her colleagues apparently unharmed.

The sequence ends with Mystique and Charles having a bit of an argument over the fact that, as far as Mystique is concerned, Charles keeps putting the team in more and more dangerous situations. He sees it as a sacrifice that must be made in order to maintain the current state of mutant-human relations, where mutants are a welcome part of society. Mystique disagrees, and as she storms out of the office, she reminds Charles that it’s always the women saving the men on these missions too. “Maybe you should just change the name of the team to the X-Women!” End of sequence!

Dark Phoenix: This Is How Jean Grey Becomes the Phoenix - IGN

 

[imbruglia]

I don't doubt that that first 14m is good. same story as we already heard in leaked story.
and probably best scene in the whole movie which doesn't have much big scenes.
afterall it's about whole film, not few nice scenes.

 

[Erik Lensherr]

 

[Erik Lensherr]

I don't doubt that that first 14m is good. same story as we already heard in leaked story.
and probably best scene in the whole movie which doesn't have much big scenes.
afterall it's about whole film, not few nice scenes.

uhm...

Entertainment Weekly reported this in December 2017

The "Leaks" may 2018

so...

 

[squeekness]

Sounds great.

 

[1627523]

I don't doubt that that first 14m is good. same story as we already heard in leaked story.
and probably best scene in the whole movie which doesn't have much big scenes.
afterall it's about whole film, not few nice scenes.

Your absolutely right it's not just about a few scenes, But there's some stuff here that makes me happy for the film as a whole.
1.Tye and Sophie having chemistry
2. Hanz Zimmer's score being good and suspenseful
3. X-men acting like a team
4. Dramatic/thriller is working and isn't coming off goofy or pretentious

These are good wins.

 

[Frankeh]

Raven still leading the X-Men? Barf.

 

[Erik Lensherr]

Raven still leading the X-Men? Barf.

Iron Man leading Spider-Man. WTF?

 

[Frankeh]

Iron Man leading Spider-Man. WTF?

Talking about MCU in the Dark Phoenix board. I thought you hated this. WTF? Indeed.

 

[lofoa82]

Are there any links to the panel? The SyFy video that puts Dark Phoenix in the title doesn't includes anything...

 

[Erik Lensherr]

Love Colliders footage description. Very detailed article.

Spoiler

The footage begins with a NASA liftoff countdown. Almost immediately after the shuttle blasts off, the control room starts to catch curious anomalies on the radar. The X-Men are alerted to the issue, calling into question whether or not the X-Jet can even reach the necessary altitude. But when the President of the United States utilizes a direct phone line to Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) to call for help, the team assembles.

Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) explains to the team – which includes Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Quicksilver (Evan Peters) and Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) – that this is a simple extraction. The plan is to get the astronauts home safely. The group expresses similar concerns about the X-Jet’s capabilities, but Mystique assures them it’ll get them where they need to go.

A solid set-up right there, but it’s the follow-up conversation that really starts to add some depth to the Dark Phoenix storyline. Jean has a private moment with Mystique and asks her how she really feels about the mission. Jean can see right through her; Mystique has some serious concerns. Regardless, Jean warmly tells her, “If you tell me it’s good, it’s good.” Mystique assures her that if anything goes wrong, they’ll turn right around. It’s a moving, honest moment of trust that sets up the sequence especially well.

The group takes off, breaks through the Earth’s atmosphere and makes their way out into space where the shuttle is spinning wildly out of control with a fiery cloud of sorts looming right beside it. There are some moments here when it’s evident that the visuals aren’t finished, but there are a couple of framing choices that are stunning regardless, a favorite of which is an overhead shot of the X-Jet flying steady on the left side of the screen while the shuttle spins in circles on the right.

Charles communicates with NASA using Cerebro and he confidently assures them that there’s no need to worry; help is on the way. It’s a beat that may seem insignificant at first, but similar to the conversation between Jean and Mystique, this moment winds up enhancing another scene a little later on in the footage.

Back in space, the action set piece begins. Mystique takes charge, dispatching each of the X-Men as needed. Cyclops uses his optic blast to stop the shuttle from spinning. Once that’s taken care of, Nightcrawler can see through a window so he transports himself over to the shuttle with Quicksilver to quickly collect all the astronauts and get them back to the X-Jet safely. At this point this will probably come as no surprise, but yet again, Quicksilver’s ability is especially cinematic. And so is Nightcrawler’s in this instance for that matter.

All is going well aside from one issue – the shuttle commander is missing. Even though the heat signature is rising and Mystique insists it’s time to turn back, Charles demands that no man is to be left behind and that Jean can hold the shuttle together. He asks Jean how she feels about it but not before putting a little extra pressure on by telling her, “You know you can do anything you set your mind to.” At that point, what choice does she have? You’re well aware of the risk but also know she won’t say no and, sure enough, she doesn’t.

Nightcrawler teleports back over with Jean so that she can keep the shuttle from disintegrating while he tracks down the commander. Nightcrawler is successful, but Jean doesn’t get out in time and is completely consumed by that fiery cloud. The pain is visceral; you can see it on Turner’s face. But Nightcrawler manages to teleport out into space and bring her back into the X-Jet. Eventually she wakes up, but it’s abundantly clear that something isn’t right. And that remains true even when they arrive back on solid ground and are greeted by a grateful crowd of admirers.

Back at the mansion Mystique basically says as much. Jean shouldn’t have survived that encounter. That’s when Charles reveals what really motivated his risky decision – another wrinkle to the situation that adds some very interesting dramatic conflict and completely changes how you view that initial assurance to NASA that the X-Men will save the day. Yes, Charles’ ego likes medals and attention but it’s not just that. He also likes not being hunted and despised. This is all about keeping mutants safe. They’re only ever one bad day away from humans starting to see the mutants as the enemy again. Mystique calls into question the fact that Charles is basically risking their people to stay safe and that’s it; Charles says that’s really his intention. That’s when we get Mystique’s mic drop moment, a line that highlights why Lawrence can be a stand out and bring even more to the words on a page. She tells Charles, “It’s funny, I can’t actually remember the last time you were the one risking something. And by the way, the women are always saving the men around here. You might want to think about changing the name to X-Women.”

‘Dark Phoenix’: We’ve Seen 13 Minutes of Footage from the X-Men Sequel