Marvel Studios is soon to relaunch theX - Menfranchiseas part of the MCU- and they should do the Dark Phoenix Saga again , but with a major twist . X - Men : Dark Phoenixbrings an remainder to Fox ’s ten - Men franchise , and itbombed worse than anyone expect . Dark Phoenixwas an straight-out calamity commercially , taking in $ 32.8 million domesticallyin its opening weekend   and finishing second , behindThe Secret Life of Pets 2 . The moving picture isexpected to fall behind at least $ 100 million , meaning the Fox era of X - Men movies finish not with a bang but a whimper .

The moving-picture show rights to the XTC - military man have been acquired by   Marvel Studios ,   and the X - Men and the Fantastic Four are both to be relaunched as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe . But Marvel   does n’t like simply recite tales already seen on the full-grown screen before , which is why source story for the Hulk and Spider - Man were for the most part pretermit fromThe Incredible HulkandSpider - Man : Homecoming . In one consultation , Marvel Studios chair Kevin Feige carefully reminded viewers thatthere ’s more to the X - Men than the traditional big nameslike water flea and Wolverine . " It ’s not just the marquee names , you know , " he noted . " There are century of name on those documents , on those agreements … It ’s very exciting . "

For all that ’s the case , though , it ’s inevitable that preferably or later Marvel will want to revisit Jean Grey . And when they do , their oculus are going to turn to the Phoenix Saga , a   narration that was adapted doubly by Fox - and failed both time . Is there any way Marvel can maybe make that epical mirthful rule book story study on the braggy screen door ?

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Both Dark Phoenix Saga Movies Made The Same Mistakes

As iconic as the Dark Phoenix Saga may be , the Sojourner Truth is that it ’s always been something of an odd convulsion for the X - Men dealership . The best superhero franchises have a nub construct that sit down at their kernel , an ideal that they stomach for ; for the Fantastic Four it ’s family , for the Punisher it ’s retributive justice , for Captain America it ’s a patriotic assessment of American ego - identicalness . The X - Men ’s nub concept is their engagement to protect a universe that hates and venerate them ; they stand for equality and tolerance , societal justice and identity element politics . Their cosmic risky venture , include the Dark Phoenix Saga , do n’t always colligate particularly well to this central idea . As a result , bothX - workforce : The Last StandandX - Men : Dark Phoenixattempted to bray the Phoenix Saga in a way that ’s very different to the funnies . InX - man : The Last Stand , Jean ’s arc   became almost a B-complex vitamin - plot , suborned to an ill - guess " Mutant Cure . " InX - Men : Dark Phoenix , Jean ’s abbreviated and underwhelming rampage led to the reopening of mutant assiduousness clique .

ten - Men : Dark Phoenixwriter - director Simon Kinberg insisted thatThe Last Stand ’s self-aggrandizing mistake was its failure to go cosmic . As a resultant , his original patch endedDark PhoenixwithJean establish into space to demolish an alien fleet , butextensive reshootscut this because Fox realized it wastoo like to another superhero film(probablyCaptain Marvel ) . The final film does retain cosmic elements , with Jean meet the Phoenix Force in place just as in Chris Claremont and John Byrne ’s original classic comic rule book escapade ; but it neglect to give to them , and as a solvent nothing quite works .

The Ultimates Version Of The Dark Phoenix Saga Is Different

Fox ’s two attempts to enjoin the Phoenix Saga may have been riddled with problem , but they , unfortunately , do mean that this story is well - established in viewer ' minds . If Marvel is indeed to adapt the Phoenix Saga at some point , they ’re going to need to find a way to make it tonic and new . The solvent may well lie in the Ultimate Comics , a modernised retelling of the Marvel Universe that has already been the inspiration for a lot of the MCU .

The Ultimate   version of Jean Grey was introduced as potentially the world ’s most powerful psychical , her abilities intimidating even Charles Xavier , and over time she began to have frequent visions of a world consumed by fire . The X - human race only pick up the verity when they were approached by a religious furore , who unwrap that Jean was the legion of the Phoenix Force . The Phoenix was described as a cosmic force of creation , restrained in a vast psychic prison millennia ago by race who fear it . The prison house was left in a star - organisation , where its gravitational pull draw asteroids to it and it finally became the center of a planet ; the Earth . The Phoenix Force may have been contain , but from its prison it was still capable to manipulate the evolution of mankind , direct human beings to evolve in such a way that a potential emcee would one day be support . Jean Greywas this host , her genetic structure mutated at conception so as to tie in her to the Phoenix Force , with which she ultimately hold fast .

It ’s a wise approach , quash simply retelling the by now too familiar report of Jean ’s baptism by fire in a solar flare . What ’s more , it allowed comic Holy Writ writer   Robert Kirkman to seed the Phoenix Saga from the scratch , hinting at Jean ’s business leader levels and even potential mental instability long before he place to the Phoenix .

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Why The Ultimates Dark Phoenix Saga Fits The MCU Better

There ’s some evidence that Fox originally destine to draw upon the Ultimate 10 - Men variant of the Phoenix Saga ; certainly that ’s the version suggest at inX - Men : Apocalypse , while Phoenix ’s original fiery designs inX - workforce : Dark Phoenixare also redolent of it . In the conclusion , though , the studio swivel away from this , unwittingly creatingone of the vainglorious plot kettle of fish in the entire X - Men enfranchisement . That pivot was probably inexpedient , but it does mean that the Ultimate ten - Men version of the storey is free for Marvel to adjust .

The Ultimate Comics have often served as a template for the MCU , and there ’s a simple reason for that ;   because they were retell authoritative account ,   the writers know full well what   was come . Everybody who blame up an upshot ofUltimate X - Menknew that , sooner or later , the comic   would adjust the Phoenix Saga ; thus Kirkman could commence to sow it geezerhood in advance , a slow - burn plot of ground that really paid off . That tolerate him to use Jean as a psychical powerhouse , to tease what appeared to be a psychological dislocation , and ultimately to unveil his version of the Phoenix Force . The original Phoenix Saga was unclear what had happened - even writer Chris Claremont was n’t clear whether the Phoenix was a separate entity when he wrote the taradiddle in the seventies - but Kirkman ’s story was simple and effective . It would be perfect for the MCU , wherethe next 5 years or so are typically nailed downbut up to a X ’s Charles Frederick Worth of estimate are being hash out at a meter .

Meanwhile , this approach would fundamentally transform the X - Men ’s core concept . The Phoenix could be the cause of variation on Earth , meaning the go - humanity would become a bridge between the MCU ’s Earth - bind and cosmic adventures . Handled carefully , spacebound stories could be woven just as naturally into the franchise as the conflict against prejudice and discrimination . Marvel ’s X - Men movies would therefore gain a new , distinctive constituent that separates them from their Fox predecessors - and a retelling of the Phoenix would be central to that .

Comic book art: 1990s X-Men, with Cyclops front and center, surrounded by characters including Storm, Gambit, and more.

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