During the New York City premiere ofDeadpool 2on Monday, producer Simon Kinberg revealed some new details about his directorial debut,X-Men: Dark Phoenix. While the movie was originally slated to debut this November, it was pushed to June 06, 2025, and while it will likely be some time before we see the first footage, Kinberg made it clear that this version of the story is much more true to the comic, than the divisive 2006 movieX-Men: The Last Stand. Here’s what Kinberg had to say below.
“I’m trying to think of what I can say that’s new and that I can’t get tranc-darted in the neck for telling you. I directed the movie and it and it’s much more loyal to the original comic thanX-Men 3, which told theDark Phoenixstory. It’s a movie that involves extraterrestrial characters, which is not something that we’ve done in the X-Men franchise before, and is something that is a huge part of theDark Phoenixsaga in the comics.
The first twoX-Menmovies were directed by Bryan Singer, 2000’sX-Menand 2003’sX2: X-Men United, which ended with a tease that the next movie would follow the Dark Phoenix saga. Unfortunately, Singer did not return for the next movie, with Brett Ratner taking the reins for the final installment of the original trilogy, 2006’sX-Men: The Last Stand, which followed the Dark Phoenix saga. However, the original trilogy was, in essence, wiped out by the time-bending events of 2014’sX-Men: Days of Future Past, which allowed the studio to tackle this story with a new cast, and from a much different approach. When asked about rumors that the tone is darker than otherX-Menmovies, Simon Kinberg had this to say.
“The tone is definitely… I wouldn’t say it’s darker, but it’s more intense. It’s more real, I think, and grounded, and hopefully more relatable, a little less operatic than we’ve been in the past.”
This movie also follows the “tradition” of sorts set in the previous three films, which are all set in different decades. 2011’sX-Men: First Classis set in the 1960s, following the first group of mutants that came together under Charles Xavier’s leadership, with 2014’sX-Men: Days of Future Pastset in both the 1970s, and in a darker, “present-day” timeline. 2016’sX-Men: Apocalypsewas set in the 1980s, andX-Men: Dark Phoenixwill be set in the 1990s, although a specific year has not yet been revealed.
X-Men: Dark Phoenixmarks Simon Kinberg’s directorial debut, after spending more than a decade contributing to, and ultimately shepherding, thisX-Men. Kinberg wrote and producedX-Men: The Last Stand,X-Men: Days of Future PastandX-Men: Apocalypse, while also producingDeadpool,The Fantastic Fourand upcoming projects likeThe New Mutants,GambitandX-Force. There is no indication when we may get our first official look atX-Men: Dark Phoenix, but that may happen during San Diego Comic-Con this summer. Kinberg revealed these new details in an interview withEntertainment Tonight.
