WonderCon 2019: Dark Phoenix
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Honestly, of all the panels that are this weekend at WonderCon, Dark Phoenix was the one I was most interested to see. Partly for shady reasons, it is interesting that this seems to be the last movie we’ll get in a pretty long X-Men run before Disney takes over. The cast and director Simon Kinberg were on hand to discuss and show some footage.
Why Dark Phoenix and Why Now
Director Simon Kinberg and producer Hutch Parker have been involved with the X-Men for a long time and they spoke about the fact that now was a good time to see this Phoenix film. Kinberg mentioned that even with X3 (which he wrote btw) you didn’t get to see the real Dark Phoenix. This movie allowed them to expand the world to intergalactic threats and explore all the elements of Chris Claremont’s run. Hutch and Kinberg felt they earned their way back to this story and recounted their memories of the early films paving the way for a different type of superhero picture.
Directorial Debut
Kinberg chose for his directorial debut a film with the “highest degree of difficulty with this particular story.” Having been with the series for so long, he has heard it all, and even likes that the fans tell them when they got it wrong. He learned from the other X-Men directors and Ridley Scott that you need a good crew and he picked up a great one: editor Lee Smith, cinematographer Mauro Fiore, and composer Hans Zimmer, who swore he would never do another superhero movie.
First clip – Leaving Earth and Jean’s Transformation
The first clip that was shown on the panel showed the X-Men going to space to help save a space ship that was hit by a “solar flare.” Kurt and Quicksilver do their best to save everyone but they miss the commander in the airlock. Professor X wants them to save everyone and Jean, in the course of doing this, gets hit with the Phoenix force. Back on earth everyone seems enthused except for Raven, who drags Charles for his arrogance and hubris. She also end the scene with a killer line: “The women are always saving the men around here. You might want to change the name to X-Women.”
Verdict: A fun end, some actual teamwork, and the influence of a good DP will do wonders. Also props to them for showing us a whole scene.
Various Bits
Sophie who plays Jean noted that her preparation for the role wasn’t different just because of the Phoenix force, noting they are just two forces fighting in one body. She did a lot of research into mental illnesses. She also include a funny anecdote about how she looked like Megamind when they put the bald cap on her to create animated hair. Tye, as Cyclops, has a unique challenge because of the visor said that it did provide issues with him walking around without tripping. He enjoyed moving the X-Men into a new decade because he got to be more mature and explore how the group splinters once Jean/Phoenix starts wreaking havoc. Nicholas Hoult and Kodi Smit-McPhee, who are under tons of makeup as Beast and Nightcrawler, both noted that their characters aren’t wrestling with their humanity and get to stand more on their own. Kodi even went so far as to say that we get to see Kurt be a little more savage and vicious due to the group’s tension.
Second Clip – Mutants fight in New York
So it seems the group has splintered cause Jean killed Mystique (praise god) and Magneto, Beast and a couple other mutants go to NYC to kill her. Charles, a cursing Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler come to stop them and they do battle. It’s fine (except for Storm, who looked the absolute fool) and Magneto even uses a subway car to burst into a house where Jean and Jessica Chastain are. He tries to kill her and fails and we leave with Jean attempting to squish his head like Oberyn via her telekentic powers.
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