Fox
- According to an official synopsis from the movie studio Fox, the next "X-Men" movie will simply be called "Dark Phoenix."
- This would make it the first "X-Men" movie in the main series to not feature "X-Men" in the title.
- The film's first trailer debuts Wednesday during "The Late Late Show."
Fox appears to be going for a cleaner title with its next "X-Men" movie. It will simply be called "Dark Phoenix," according to a new poster for the movie and Fox's official synopsis. That makes it the first movie in the main series to not have "X-Men" in its title.
Fox did not immediately return a request for comment.
The synopsis is below:
"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."
And here's the poster:
Fox
Aside from spin-offs that are loosely connected to the "X-Men" universe, such as "Logan" and "Deadpool," every movie in the primary series has had "X-Men" in the title: "X-Men," "X2: X-Men: United," "X-Men: The Last Stand," "X-Men: First Class," "X-Men: Days of Future Past," and "X-Men: Apocalypse."
It's been unclear whether the movie would be called "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" or not. This Entertainment Weekly story from last year referred to it as both with and without the "X-Men" label, and the film is listed on IMDb as "X-Men: Dark Phoenix." But Fox's official synopsis should put the confusion to rest.
The title refers to a classic X-Men comic book story called "The Dark Phoenix Saga." Director Brett Ratner attempted to loosely adapt the same story with "The Last Stand" in 2006 to disappointing results.
"Dark Phoenix" has experienced a rocky production, as it was pushed back from this November to February 14, 2019 and has reportedly been going through extensive reshoots, according to Montreal newspaper La Presse.
The film's first trailer will debut Wednesday night during "The Late Late Show with James Corden."