New X-Men: Dark Phoenix Trailer Could Mean End of First Class

The second trailer has arrived for X-Men: Dark Phoenix. This could mean the end of the First Class X-Men movies, given the changes coming to Fox, who has had the rights to the franchise for two decades.

Disney is soon to purchase Fox, which will give them the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four. Rumor is Disney will reboot both to bring them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Dark Phoenix will be the final chapter of Fox’s version of the mutant story.

Dark Phoenix will be a sequel to Apocalypse and an adaptation of Chris Claremont’s comic series: The Dark Phoenix Saga. But there is some concern because Fox has already done this story in 2006 with X-Men: The Last Stand. The writer and producer of that movie, Simon Kinberg, has stated he wasn’t happy with how things turned out. But he will get a second shot since he is also working on Dark Phoenix. With some early screenings already happening, there are reports that it feels too close to The Last Stand, and there have been extensive reshoots. This has fans worried about the final product.

Dark Phoenix will have Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner reprising her role as Jean Gray/Phoenix from Apocalypse. James McAvoy will return as Professor X, and Michael Fassbender will return as Magneto, along with other characters from the previous First Class movies.

There has been some critique of the trailer since it spoils major events in the movie. If you choose to watch it, be aware of this possibility. Time will tell if this is just a retelling of The Last Stand or if it is its own unique story. It will also be interesting to see what Disney does with these stories once it gets its hands on them. Perhaps we will have a third version of The Dark Phoenix Saga. 

Ashley Roepel

Ashley is the author of the Shifter trilogy, an avid traveler, and a Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast!