X-Men rejoice! The anticipated X-Men: Dark Phoenix has a director. According to Deadline.com Fox has officially formalized attaching director Simon Kinberg to the project. Set for a release date of November 2nd 2018, Dark Phoenix is assumed to chronicle Sophie Turner’s Jean Gray and her struggles with the Phoenix Force, a being of immense energy and power that possesses her. While this won’t be the first adaptation of the popular series (that goes to X-Men 3 and the gloriously beautiful Famke Jensen.) The Dark Phoenix saga has everything, cosmic elements, tons of girl power, and tons of deep probing questions about ultimate power and who among the X-Men can wield it.
Jennifer Lawrence, Micheal Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Alexandrea Shipp, Tye Sheridan, and Kodi Smit-McPhee are slated to return to reprise their roles. No word on if (or how) this will connect to the New Mutants or how it stacks up against any current X-Men properties. The biggest news regarding this adaptation is the addition of Jessica Chastain. The actress is in talks to play a potential villain according to Deadline.com. If it comes through, sources attached to the production say that she’ll play Lilandra, an alien empress out to imprison Turner’s Dark Phoenix.
The addition of a new villain with comic book roots could be just what the film needs to give it an added boost.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix will be produced by Simon Kinberg, Hutch Parker, and Lauren Shuler Donner. Kinberg’s previous credits include Deadpool as a producer, as well as writing X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and X-Men: The Last Stand. He’s also attached as a producer to X-Men: New Mutants and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Excited to see where this will go? Wary of a second take on the Dark Phoenix Saga? Tell us what you think in the comments below. X-Men: Dark Phoenix hits theaters November 8th, 2018.