Warning: There are spoilers ahead for X-Men: Dark Phoenix!
X-Men: Dark Phoenix had its fair share of rewrites, even in the middle of shooting. Director and screenwriter Simon Kinberg recently spoke to Gizmodo about how he had to make changes to the ending of Dark Phoenix. Apparently, it was a little too close to another Marvel film – Captain America: Civil War.
“My original ending didn’t have the entire X-Family together the way they are in the film now,” said Kinberg. “More than Captain Marvel, you could see a lot of Civil War in that ending. Usually, these big, huge action movies have the climactic moment in the third act. I loved the way that Civil War had its big action set piece where everyone’s facing off more towards the end of the second act rather than in the third, so that after that huge battle, you’re left with Winter Soldier, Captain America, and Iron Man.”
“It’s this telescoped down view of their raw emotions, and I loved how intimate that was,” continued Kinberg. “That’s what I was going for with Dark Phoenix’s ending even though it then might have looked like Captain Marvel for about two minutes.”
Related: Famke Janssen On Dark Phoenix and Her Possible Future With the X-Men
Dark Phoenix does have a few elements similar to Civil War. Midway through, Charles Xavier and Magneto are on opposite sides, divided over the fate of Jean Grey. But they eventually unite when the real threat emerges.
Thus far, Dark Phoenix has generated $5 million from Thursday night screenings, indicating it’s on its way to a potential $50 million opening weekend. That’s lower than the most recent X-Men movies, including Days of Future Past’s $90 million and Apocalypse’s $65 million from 2016.
Dark Phoenix is now in theaters. What do you think about the film’s current ending? Let us know in the comment section below.
Recommended Reading: X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga
