‘Dark Phoenix’s Original Ending Similar To ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Before It Became More Like ‘Captain Marvel’
Reshoots aren’t always a death knell for a blockbuster movie, but in the case ofDark Phoenix, they certainly made for a rebirth of sorts. The newly-releasedX-Menfilm notoriously underwent lengthy reshoots that drastically changed the movie’s climax. But more than changing thesetting of a big battle,Dark Phoenixtweaked its ending to something that would appeal more to fans who had just flocked to Marvel Studios’ other cosmically powered female superhero. But according to directorSimon Kinberg, theDark Phoenixoriginal ending actually resembled a different Marvel movie.
In an interview withio9, writer and director Simon Kinberg was surprisingly candid about the comparisons to Marvel Studios films that would inevitably be drawn to his directorial feature debut. The similarities betweenDark Phoenixand this year’s box office smashCaptain Marvelare there from the beginning: a female protagonist is imbued with incredible cosmic powers that she can’t control and in the process, learns locked-away secrets about her own identity. The shades ofCaptain Marvelpop upthroughout the film, especially in the film’s revamped ending.
But Kinberg said that going into the film that would wrap up the two-decade-oldX-Menfranchise, he had another Marvel movie in mind. The original ending toDark Phoenixmore closely resembledCaptain America: Civil War, the Marvel film which saw the Avengers splinter following an irreversible clash between Iron Man and Captain America. Kinberg said:
My original ending didn’t have the entire X-Family together the way they are in the film now. More thanCaptain Marvel, you could see a lot ofCivil Warin that ending. Usually, these big, huge action movies have the climactic moment in the third act. I loved the way thatCivil Warhad its big action 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. That’s what I was going for withDark Phoenix’s ending even though it then might have looked likeCaptain Marvelfor about two minutes.
Kinberg elaborated to io9 that his original film would have torn theX-Menapart on an “ideological level” akin to howCivil Wardid for the Avengers. That certainly would have been a bleak way to end theX-Menfranchise, unlike the semi-hopeful ending we currently get withDark Phoenix. But would it have saved the movie from itsfeeble mediocrity? That’s a question you can find out the answer for yourself.Dark Phoenixis in theaters now.
