DARK PHOENIX Trailer

Sophie Turner struggles with power when she is reborn as Dark Phoenix, the latest in the rebooted X-Men saga.

In the first ensemble X-Men film since X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Dark Phoenix, as its title suggests to X-Men fans, focuses primarily on Jean Grey, played by Turner. After nearly dying during a rescue mission, Jean starts developing new powers which seem beyond her control. As the X-Men, led by Dr. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) scramble to help her, Jean turns to X-Men frenemy Erik Lehnsherr AKA Magneto (Michael Fassbender). As her powers grow, Jean becomes more dangerous to herself and the entire world and the clock is ticking.

This is Simon Kinberg’s directorial debut following a long string of producer credits, including several with Marvel such as Logan, X-Men:Apocalypse, and Deadpool. Kinberg also penned the script, based on the story “The Dark Phoenix Saga” by John Byrne, Chris Claremont, and Dave Cockrum.

This is Sophie Turner’s real first chance to be front and centre with her character in the current series but the film still seems to be very much an ensemble piece with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, and Tye Sheridan all featuring prominently in the trailer. The hope is that Sophie Turner can be both fiercely powerful and simultaneously vulnerable in her portrayal and that this film corrects, shall we say, some of the errors of previous attempts at this plot line.

The X-Men reboots have been the dark horse, tonally speaking, for Marvel and this film appears to be no exception. Dark Phoenix looks to be just that – dark.

Dark Phoenix is directed by Simon Kinberg and stars Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, and Michael Fassbender. It will be released in the US and UK on the 7th of June 2019. International release dates may be found here.