X-Men producer says future movies would have been “radically different”

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The latest X-Men movie, DARK PHOENIX, acts a conclusion to the current run of movies – something a lot of people attribute to the fact Disney now owns studio 20th Century Fox and likely has plans of its own for the mutant heroes. However, this was probably always meant to be the last time we saw actors James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Sophie Turner as their superhero characters.  At least that seems to be what producer Hutch Parker was getting at when he revealed that regardless of how the Disney deal went down this was always going to be the big finale before a big change put them in a better line to compete with rival films from Marvel, Sony and Warner Bros.

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Parker was speaking with Yahoo Movies UK recently as DARK PHOENIX was having its world premiere, and he spoke how the plan was always to bring things to an end with this latest movie. Parker has no idea what the plan would have been exactly for the hero team going forward, but he does say it would’ve been “radically different” and “more bold” than what we’ve seen before.

“I think had the Disney deal not gone through, it's likely whatever came next was going to be radically different. And that was part of our intention and design. And it really did grow organically out of the last handful of movies and feeling like it was time, and keeping with kind of the great work you're seeing be done elsewhere. Then we’d not be too precious, and we'd be a little bit more bold.”

DARK PHOENIX director and producer of past films, Simon Kinberg, also said he always approached the movies like the “culmination, the climax, of this cycle of X-Men storytelling.”

The current iteration of the team is in itself a rebooted version after the original run ended with THE LAST STAND in 2006, and unsuccessfully tried to move into prequel territory with X-MEN ORIGINS. Excluding the hit DAYS OF FUTURE PAST – which merged both the old school and new school of the X-Men casts – none of the new movies since 2011’s FIRST CLASS have done as well at the box office for the studio as the previous movies.

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It’s hard to say what the future of the series would’ve have looked like after DARK PHOENIX, but indeed the world of the X-Men has expanded greatly in the years since FIRST CLASS.  The Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued to grow their series of movies, turning each one into a massive cinematic event, and Fox now has the likes of Deadpool bringing in big numbers and who could easily find his way into an X-Men movie – even if he had to tone himself down a bit. Even if their plans didn't involve more crossovers, the series wouldn't last much longer by simply delivering another random adventure with the team once every few years, so a new direction is needed to keep the team relevant in the new era of comic book flicks. 

One big sign that the series needs some new life is that while the main team hasn't quite hit at the box office or with audiences in recent years (with DARK PHOENIX unlikely to change that), movies like DEADPOOL and LOGAN have achieved great success by offering something different. Even without the R-ratings, the movies have a different energy to them that is unlike what some other movies with costumed heroes provide. Or, I don't know, maybe you just need to get Storm in there throwing down F-bombs.

DARK PHOENIX has early showings tonight and is in theaters everywhere tomorrow.