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X-Men: Dark Phoenix Reshoots Will Reportedly Last 3 Months
The X-Men: Dark Phoenix reshoots are reportedly scheduled to last three months. The fourth installment in the new prequel continuity for Fox's X-Men saga, the movie marks the directorial debut of long-time producer Simon Kinberg, who also serves as the writer, as well as producer of the movie alongside Hutch Parker and Lauren Shuler Donner. Originally set to hit theaters this November, the film's release was delayed three months and is now poised to debut February 2019 instead.
Putting Sophie Turner's version of Jean Grey at the forefront, the film will be adapting Chris Claremont's The Dark Phoenix Saga, although specific plot details are still being kept under wraps. The project will see the return of franchise veterans James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast). But fans should expect that newer heroes like Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Quicksilver (Evan Peters) and Jean Grey will get more focus. Meanwhile, Jessica Chastain is also set to appear as a mysterious shapeshifter who attempts to manipulate the Dark Phoenix.
La Presse reports that Dark Phoenix's initially scheduled two weeks' worth of work to finish the movie is now extended to three months. Despite the prolonged reshoots, Pierre Moreau, CEO of the Quebec Film and Television Bureau (BCTQ), says that "they are returning the last part of the film."
"A surprise makes possible this new record of foreign shootings: the additional scenes of the film X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Initially, X-Men thought they would have to spend two weeks in Montreal to finish the film shot in the metropolis last summer. However, the team of X-Men will turn rather three months."
What's interesting about this is the film's principal photography in 2017 only lasted for three and a half months, which puts into perspective the duration of additional work. Of course, it's possible that the reshoots are prolonged because of scheduling conflicts with some of the actors involved. Still, three months for reshoots is a bit long, giving fans the presumption that instead of the film's final act getting some rework, there are bigger problems in Dark Phoenix that need fixing before it rolls out in theaters next February.
In any case, this isn't very good publicity for the movie. Fans are already skeptical of it retreading the Dark Phoenix storyline considering the botched version of the narrative in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. On top of that, fans are also concerned with the thought that the project is helmed by a directing newbie such as Kinberg. Not that Kinberg can't knock it out of the park, especially since he's been involved in the X-Men franchise as a producer for some time now. However, there's a great deal at stake with Dark Phoenix and some may think it would've been better if Fox chose a more seasoned director.
With a still-growing budget due to the planned reshoots, there's no way that Fox will decide to cancel X-Men: Dark Phoenix as previously rumored. But it would be a shame if one of the last X-Men films (there's still New Mutants) that Fox will have sole creative oversight of before the character rights return to Marvel Studios via the Dinsey sale is a critical and box office bomb. Still, blockbusters undergo reshoots often, so it's not necessarily an indication the movie will bomb. Fans will simply have to wait until X-Men: Dark Phoenix hits theaters next year and see for themselves.
Release Dates:
. X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) release date: Feb 14, 2019
. New Mutants (2019) release date: Aug 02, 2019
