As DARK PHOENIX could very well be the swan song for the X-MEN franchise before Disney officially takes over, I had hoped that I'd be much more excited for the film, but the trailers for DARK PHOENIX haven't exactly blown me away. That said, we've certainly seen bad trailers for good movies and vice versa before, so it's somewhat of a relief that the international trailer for DARK PHOENIX offers up a definite improvement over the last one. Is it perfect? No, but I'll take it. In addition to showing off some new footage, the international trailer also isn't quite so blatant with its spoilery reveals and is much more focused in setting the stage than the trailer we received last week. Check it out for yourself above.
In regards to why writer/director Simon Kinberg elected to show, and then confirm, the major death teased in the last trailer, he told Entertainment Weekly that it was to show that the film will be unlike the other X-MEN movies. "It’s a movie where shocking things happen, where intense, dramatic things happen. People don’t just fall off buildings and dust themselves off and walk away," Kinberg said. "There’s a reality to this movie and a consequence to this movie. Even more than that, it was to show that Jean/Dark Phoenix is genuinely a threat to everyone, including the X-Men."
The official synopsis for DARK PHOENIX:
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.
DARK PHOENIX will hit theaters on June 7, 2019.