X-Men: Dark Phoenix Concept Artist Shows New Look at Phoenix Final Form

While X-Men: Dark Phoenix might not have been the blockbuster that the studio was hoping it would be, the events of the film paid off a storyline that some fans have wanted to see unfold on the big screen for years. Both the original trilogy of X-Men films and X-Men: Apocalypse offered glimpses of the Dark Phoenix storyline, yet it wasn’t until this year’s film that a live-action adaptation committed an entire big-screen adventure to the journey. Houston Sharp served as one of the concept artists on the film and has shared a new look at concept art he created which depicts the Phoenix’s final form.

“Jean’s final form,” the artist caption the photo. “Another concept painted for Dark Phoenix! This was a fun one to design!”

From early on in the process, director Simon Kinberg revealed with fans that the film would require a lot of time in post-production to make sure the special effects lived up to expectations. The film ultimately earned multiple release date delays, as a series of reshoots required special effects to be reworked for the final product.

Dark Phoenix only earned 23% positive reviews according to the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, making it the lowest-scoring entry in the saga. While the film has only been in theaters less than a month, it has only earned $60 million domestically, which is less than half of what 2013’s The Wolverine made, the next lowest earner.

There are a number of factors that led to the disappointing number, with Kinberg accepting responsibility for the critical and financial disappointments.

“It clearly is a movie that didn’t connect with audiences that didn’t see it, it didn’t connect enough with audiences that did see it. So that’s on me,” Kinberg told KCRW’s Kim Masters. “I loved making the movie, and I loved the people I made the movie with.”

The filmmaker did take solace in the fact that Ridley Scott, director of Alien, Blade Runner, and The Martian, offered unique insight into delivering a disappointing product in G.I. Jane.

Kinberg noted, “He said it was his favorite because it was just a great process and he learned a lot on the process of making it. I’ve thought about that a lot over the years, and I thought about it a whole lot over the last weekend.”

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is in theaters now.

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