Simon Kinberg Describes His Approach To X-Men's 'Dark Phoenix Saga'

08/29/2017 04:05 pm EDT

While X-Men: Dark Phoenix will be taking the franchise to some fantastical heights, it sounds like it will still maintain a grounded tone.

Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg recently spoke to Total Film magazine about his approach to the film. As Kinberg explained, in a blurb you can check out below, Dark Phoenix will be continuing to have the topic of humanity be at the forefront.

Simon Kinberg says he must "find a way to ground [Dark Phoenix] so it's not too intergalactic," stressing that the X-Men movies are "human... and emotional."

This news might be disappointing to some fans, as a cosmic setting factors largely into the Dark Phoenix comic saga. But early reports have already begun to suggest that the film -- which follows the X-Men trying to stop Lilandra Neramani (Jessica Chastain) from harnessing Jean Grey's (Sophie Turner) Dark Phoenix powers -- could include a more Earth-centered conflict. The film is rumored to include Genosha, a mutant haven run by Magneto (Michael Fassbender), who is expected to take a "cult leader" role in the upcoming film.

It remains to be seen exactly how Dark Phoenix will balance its cosmic source material and this grounded sensibility. But either way, X-Men fans can safely expect a unique installment of the franchise when X-Men: Dark Phoenix premieres in 2018.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix will be a direct sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse. The film will take place in the 1990s and will be inspired by "The Dark Phoenix Saga," the most popular X-Men story of all time. Fox attempted to adapt "The Dark Phoenix Saga" previously in X-Men: The Last Stand. It... was not well-received by fans.

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