Little high, little low
Fox is aiming to release three “X-Men” movies in 2018: the “Deadpool” sequel ( June 1), “The New Mutants” (April 14) and “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” (Nov. 2).
“Deadpool 2,” or whatever it ends up being called, will be helmed by “John Wick” co-director and “Atomic Blonde” director David Leitch. Josh Brolin goes from being Marvel’s purple menace (Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) to Fox/Marvel’s white-haired future soldier (Cable — Cyclops’ eventual son). And the sequel keeps the original writers.
The teen-angst-afflicted “New Mutants” may seem sketchy to outsiders … the young adult film’s intended tone has been described by unknown sources in widely published quotes as “a Stephen King-meets-John Hughes-style horror movie.” It’s written by the “(500) Days of Summer” team of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who also collaborated with “Mutants” director Josh Boone on “The Fault in Our Stars.” Also, Anna Taylor-Joy of “The Witch” and Maisie Williams (“Game of Thrones”) are in it.
“Dark Phoenix” should have fans worried.
Though fans often thrash the series’ previous shot at the seminal Phoenix saga (“X-Men: The Last Stand”), it’s not as bad as its reputation. Unless one knows the original material — then it’s far worse.
The comic version involved multiple galaxies, seemingly dozens of heroes, years of buildup and a battle to the death on the moon. “Last Stand” dumped all those elements to mix with another beloved X-saga, Joss Whedon’s “Gifted.” Yet despite merging the two arcs, the “epic” somehow got much, much smaller.
Perhaps the film’s biggest downfall was its headlong rush to the finish line. In the comics, the saga covered four years and nearly twoscore issues. Jean Grey/Phoenix had time to establish herself as a beloved mainstay (her romance with field general Cyclops being one of the series’ bulwarks) and as a being of mysteriously growing power. Thus, when she was corrupted into Dark Phoenix, there was emotional impact for fans.
Cinematically, Jean has just been reintroduced as a rookie (not even yet Marvel Girl) in the most recent film, “X-Men: Apocalypse.” There’s no hint of the calamity that led to the comic character’s evolution into Phoenix. Now, the next film will be “Dark Phoenix”?
Three-time X-writer and frequent X-producer Simon Kinberg is slated to make his directorial debut. Kinberg also wrote “Last Stand.”