‘Dark Phoenix’ Director Simon Kinberg Reveals New Details On Jean Grey’s Struggle With Her Powers

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Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg has teased the upcoming X-Men film with new details on Jean’s relationship with Scott and her cosmic powers.

With Dark Phoenix‘s first trailer arriving last night on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Kinberg sat down with Empire and provided a breakdown where he revealed some new details. During the breakdown, Kinberg discussed the relationship between Scott and Jean, an important part of the Dark Phoenix comic book storyline, and previewed how it factors into the film:

“The love story between Scott and Jean is such an integral part of the Dark Phoenix saga in any iteration, whether it’s the comic book or the cartoons. Obviously we don’t have Wolverine, so that’s one less part of that love story. It is very central [to the movie], and they are a couple. As Jean starts to become more unstable, there are people in the X-Men who don’t think she can be helped and saved, many of whom think the world and others need helping and saving from her. And so Scott is probably the most prominent person who’s holding on to the hope that Jean can be saved.”

Kinberg also shed some light on the shot of Jean in space unleashing her cosmic force and the obstacles that lie ahead for her as she decides what to do with her power:

“Jean is in space, and what she’s taking in is a cosmic force that she thinks is one thing, and over the course of the movie realises is something far different, that our human science can’t explain. But she needs to find a way to control it or she’ll destroy more than just her friends – and even our planet.”

Right before the title card for the trailer appears, we see what appears to be Jean becoming the Phoenix. However, Kinberg revealed Jean isn’t close to her full power in that shot:

“That’s not maximum [Phoenix]. That’s a two or a three on the Dark Phoenix spectrum,” warns Kinberg. “It is a manifestation of her transformation from the Jean we know into Phoenix. Over the span of the movie we see different symptoms or iterations of that. The lines on her face let you know that Jean is losing control, and that force inside her is trying to escape, push through, take over. Those cracks are almost as if something inside her that’s more powerful than she is is trying to push out of her body.”

Are you excited about the film after seeing the trailer? Comment below!

“In DARK PHOENIX, the X-MEN face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jean’s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.”

The film is directed by Simon Kinberg and stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, and Jessica Chastain.

Dark Phoenix hits theaters February 14, 2019.

Source: Empire

Ryden Scarnato

Ryden Scarnato

Ryden's affection for all things DC, Marvel, and Star Wars has led him to entertainment journalism at Heroic Hollywood as a News Editor.