Evan Peters says X-Men: Dark Phoenix will be “much darker” than Apocalypse

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Fox has been taking big risks with their comic book movie slate recently, with both DEADPOOL movies embracing their crude R ratings while LOGAN acted as a gritty, bloody drama. Even the upcoming NEW MUTANTS is embracing a horror movie style. There’s room now for the upcoming X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX to take a few risks, and star Evan Peters says this will be a much darker outing for the mutant crew.

Peters sat down with Collider recently to promote his new movie AMERICAN ANIMALS when he was asked about the tone of PHOENIX. Peters said that though there’s a sprinkling of humor here and there the movie will be much heavier than the last outing.

I think it’s the classic X-Men: First Class tone, where there’s a bit of humor thrown in there, but it’s much darker than the previous one, Apocalypse. Apocalypse was the ‘80s, so there was a lot of room for goofy stuff in there. This one is a much more serious film about the internal struggle of Phoenix and Jean, so it’s a dramatic film. There’s nothing very comedic about it, other than the few moments that are in there. I think it’s gonna be a powerful one. It’s Dark Phoenix. I think it’s gonna be darker than we’re used to. It’s gonna be a change, but it’s gonna be fun for everybody. 

This new film from director Simon Kinberg will find the X-Men on a mission to space, which ends with them getting hit with a solar flare that sparks a change in Jean Grey (Sophie Turner). This results in her experiencing a new level of power that may be too much for her to handle. In the same fashion of the last three movies, this one takes place ten years after the events of the previous movie, X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. Peter's words compliment a past quote from Tye Sheridan (Cyclops) where he said the movie is more like a drama than a superhero movie. 

A shift in tone could help re-establish some goodwill in the franchise after APOCOLYPSE left a bad taste in the mouths of fans. The movie earned some of the worst reviews of the franchise and experienced a big drop at the box office compared to the film before it, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. I am also one of the people who gets upset thinking about APOCALYPSE, reminded of the jumbled story and bland villain, among so much else. I would like to see PHOENIX take things back to the level of DAYS OF FUTURE PAST with a movie that's both dramatic and fun, especially considering this may be the last outing for some of these actors as these characters. Gotta end things on a high note. 

X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX arrives February 14, 2019. and AMERICAN ANIMALS is in select theaters today.