Evan Peters Says 'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' Is "Much Darker" Than 'Apocalypse'

If you were one of the many X-Men fans that took issue with 2016's Apocalypse, it sounds like the folks in charge of the franchise have heard your cries, and the upcoming X-Men: Dark Phoenix will be vastly different from its predecessor.

Evan Peters, who portrayed Quicksilver in both X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse, is set for a third round with Dark Phoenix. During an interview with Collider, he noted that, this time around, things feel a lot different, and the vibe is closer to First Class than any of the other X-Men installments.

"I think it's the classic X-Men: First Class tone, where there's a bit of humor thrown in there, but it's much darker than the previous one, Apocalypse," Peters said. "Apocalypse was the '80s, so there was a lot of room for goofy stuff in there. This one is a much more serious film about the internal struggle of Phoenix and Jean, so it's a dramatic film. There's nothing very comedic about it, other than the few moments that are in there. I think it's gonna be a powerful one. It's Dark Phoenix. I think it's gonna be darker than we're used to. It's gonna be a change, but it's gonna be fun for everybody."

This positive shift in tone could be due to first time director Simon Kinberg, who has spent years producing the X-Men franchise.

"Awesome! It was incredible," the actor said of his experience with Kinberg. "He was very prepared and he knew what he was doing. He's surrounded himself with a great team that's been there for years. Everybody knows each other. It was a great environment for him to step forward. He knows the characters and story better than anyone because he wrote it. I think it was easy for him and it was very calm. It's always been a fun experience, but it was also a calm experience, this time around, which was a relief. I'm sure there was a lot of pressure on him, but he's such a nice guy and so cool. You didn't see him being stressed or nervous, at all, on set, so it was very cool."

Are you excited to see the X-Men franchise get back to the tone it achieved with First Class? Will Dark Phoenix be a move in the right direction after Apocalypse struggled? Let us know what you think by dropping a comment below.

After a delay in post-production, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is now set to hit theaters on February 14, 2019.