Bryan Singer's X-Men franchise is nothing short of an entertainment industry miracle. Launched 18 years ago, the series has survived three massive duds ( X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Origins Wolverine, X-Men: Apocalypse ), sexual assault allegations raised against its director and the insatiable conquest of the MCU yet here it is currently two movies deep into its unofficial soft reboot. Singer has arisen out of the Spandex Era, unscathed and thriving in lurid mediocrity.
I never really cared for even the very best of Singer's X-Men canon, despite being a massive fan of the comic book series they're sloppily based on. X-Men 2 is fine, I guess, but it has not aged well. Moreover I don't think I ever forgave the franchise for botching one of the greatest comic runs of all time in their attempt to adapt the Phoenix Saga. Unfortunately Singer and company have decided to take another crack at it before Mickey gets through busting kneecaps over at 20th Century Fox, much to my warranted trepidation.
Singer, who in all fairness did not direct X-Men: The Last Stand, is well aware of the antipathy that proceeds revisiting Chris Claremont's acclaimed cosmic epic and has evidenced a dedication to keeping things much more in line with the source material. Going so far as to include the Skrulls ... potentially.
There's been a lot of prevaricating regarding Jessica Chastain's role in the film; a role hitherto only officially described as "otherworldly shape shifter." But if a source provided by Jeremy Conrad of Marabyte is to be believed, Chastain is indeed playing a member of the iconic Marvel race known as the Skrulls, despite their announced appearance in Captain Marvel: Open World next year.
According to Jeremy's source the Dark Phoenix is "better than Apocalypse but not as good as Days of Future Past. " I'm sure that's very promising for some fans but I thought X-Men: Apocalypse was just OK. Apocalypse, despite its numerous shortcomings, proved 20th Century Fox is not immune to industry trends. It was the first one of these directed by Singer to implement a wealth of humour and a rich color pallet.
Hopefully I'm right in my assumption that the inclusion of the Skrulls is an indication that Bryan's willing to get weird. No more being grounded for Marvel's favorite supergroup. I want to see Professor X mindfuck dinosaurs in the Savage Land. Give me hairy a 4'9" Canadian in yellow tights going to town on giant purple robots. You've had almost two decades to get it right you alleged creep, don't let us down again.
Uncommon Knowledge
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