- Why did the Dark Phoenix trailer
spoil this major X-Man's death?
You know how the saying goes.
Some movies avoid spoilers at all costs
while others just say
(slaps legs) (beeps) it.
Actually, we just made that up.
In an age where major blockbusters
like Avengers: Endgame are going to any lengths
to keep their secrets closely guarded
it is almost completely bonkers
to see Dark Phoenix just drop a major X-Man death
right in the trailer for all to see.
It's a move that's either koo-koo crazy
or so (beeps) damn brilliant.
We won't understand until after the movie is out.
So if you didn't get a chance
to watch the latest Dark Phoenix trailer
which spoils a major character death,
then exit now 'cause this is your spoiler
of a spoiler warning.
(dramatic music)
In the trailer, Jean Gray, aka Dark Phoenix,
straight up murders Mystique.
And no, it's not really subtle
or cleverly hinted at in the trailer.
It just kinda happens right there for all to see.
In an interview with the writer director, Simon Kinberg,
Entertainment Weekly asks what we were all wondering why
to which Kinberg answered
well, the thought process behind that was to primarily show
that this is a movie that is unlike other X-Men movies.
It's a movie where shocking things happen,
where intense, dramatic things happen.
People don't just fall of buildings
and dust themselves off and walk away.
There's a reality to this movie
and a consequence to this movie.
Even more than that, it was to show that Jean/Dark Phoenix
is genuinely a threat to everyone, including the X-Men.
Alright, so Mystique's death is in the trailer
to give us a sense of the stakes of the movie,
but there are plenty of ways
to show someone's gone evil and is out of control,
so why this one?
Kinberg continued I felt it was the strongest,
most dramatic thing for the movie,
and sometimes you have to make those kinds
of hard decisions to service the larger story.
And the larger story really is Jean cracking up,
losing control because she's more powerful
than anyone else in the world.
To dramatize that properly,
you have to show real loss.
I didn't want to do that by her blowing up a building
with anonymous people in it.
It had to feel really personal for the X-Men,
and I wanted it to be something
that would fracture the X-Men as well.
Okay, so we're following the thought process
of making the death personal to the X-Men,
but this still doesn't explain
why Mystique's death had to be spoiled in the trailer.
Plus, we've actually seen a very similar set up before
in the X-Men franchise in the Last Stand
when Jean Gray goes home and kills Professor X.
EW asks Kinberg about the similar scenario in Dark Phoenix.
When I was writing, I wasn't conscious of it,
to be honest with you.
As I started editing it
and you go from being purely creative
to being a little more objective after you finish a draft,
I was like oh yeah, this is something from X3.
But it's certainly not mean to be an homage,
and it's a very very different sequence.
Interesting.
Well, we haven't heard an actual reason
the death was spoiled in the trailer,
but if you wanted to read between the lines,
Mystique's death may have just been an easy way
to give Jennifer Lawrence the out
that she's been wanting for a while.
After all, Jlaw has made it known before
that she was lukewarm on returning as Mystique
and dealing with the obnoxious blue makeup process,
so this solution gives Mystique an impactful death
and Lawrence a reason
to not have to hit the makeup chair again.
And if we're already talking about repeated X-Men scenes,
we saw another character killed off
earlier in the franchise to free up the actor,
Scott Summers' quick death in X-Men: The Last Stand
so James Marsden could head on over to Superman Returns.
As for whether any other major characters
will bite the dust in Dark Phoenix,
Kinberg only said there are certainly
other major casualties in this.
At the end of the day,
even though New Mutants should be coming out later this year
Dark Phoenix will basically be the last hurrah
of the current X-Men franchise.
We don't know exactly what Marvel plans to do
once the X-Men are squarely back under their umbrella,
but chances are they'll put the franchise on ice for a while
until enough time has passed for them to integrate mutants
into the MCU and start fresh with new actors.
Well what do you folks think?
Are you excited for Dark Phoenix?
How long do you think Marvel Studios
should let the X-Men franchise rest?
And if this iteration of the Phoenix saga doesn't work,
will the third time be the charm
when Kevin Feige eventually gets around to it?
Let's discuss.
(soft music)