New ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ Poster Released

While big things are happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Avengers 4), the DC Extended Universe (Aquaman), and even Sony’s Marvel Universe (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Venom), it’s almost hard to remember that Fox’s Marvel Universe is still a thing – especially since the franchise will soon be absorbed into MCU.

That’s why the makers of the next X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix, are here to remind you that their film is still a thing that’s happening in the superhero movie genre – as you can see below in this new poster revealed at Brazil’s CCXP18:

As you can see, this international one-sheet for Dark Phoenix is done in the style of some classic Marvel Comics cover art.It invokes the look and style of some classic John Byrne-era X-Men comics, which is only appropriate since Byrne co-created the original “Dark Phoenix” comic book storyline, alongside iconic X-Men writer, Chris Claremont. The image seems to tell the story of how Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) finds herself imbued with the powers of the cosmic entity known as The Phoenix Force, and becomes an all-powerful prize in a tug-of-war between her two mentors, Professor Xavier and Magneto.

If that sounds a lot like the role that Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique has played in this rebooted X-Men: First Class timeline – you’d be correct. In fact, the first Dark Phoenix trailer revealed a lot of implication that there will be a “changing of the guard” of sorts, in which Lawrence’s Mystique apparently dies, leaving Turner’s Jean Grey to officially become the new lady that Charles (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender) compete to have on their side. However, unlike Mystique, it’s a fair bet that Dark Phoenix will ultimately see Jean reject both of her patriarchal figures, in favor of embracing her own power. That just seems like the type of timely story that director Simon Kinberg and Co. want to tell here – and it could be an interesting use of the superhero movie genre.

At the same time, the first Dark Phoenix trailer didn’t do a lot to impress Marvel fans. If anything, it made this adaptation of the Dark Phoenix Saga seem rather small in scope, with one big set piece in space early on, before we settle into a sequence of the X-Men chasing after Jean/Phoenix from one soundstage setting to another. All in all, it was a pretty underwhelming interpretation of one X-Men’s biggest stories, so here’s hoping the extra time for reshoots and a smooth polish on the material has been worth it!

Dark Phoenix hits theaters on June 7, 2019.