Dark Phoenix Reshoots Reconfigured the Final Act of the Film

Dark Phoenix has been the subject of much speculation regarding its delays and reshoots, and now we have an bit of information of why it happened. Entertainment Weekly did a piece on the film for its summer movie preview and revealed that the reshoots allowed producers to do a new third act which, instead of taking place in space, is set on a military train where the X-Men have been kidnapped. That scene is seen in the trailer for the film, which you can see below.

Director Simon Kinberg said that after the film wrapped production in October of 2017, the decision was made to shoot a new third act and change the appearance of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) while under the effect of the Phoenix. Kinberg says the visual revamp was to make Phoenix look more “cosmic” and less “flamey.”

“I think the biggest challenge is modulating the film so that we have the big scale and visual-effects action that these movies require, but balancing that in a way that feels calibrated with the drama,” Kinberg said of the reshoots and production process. “You have these big space sequences and trains flying through the air and people firing lightning bolts, but you also have a lot of emotional, four-page dramatic dialogue scenes.”

The film is set to release on June 7th, and will be the last of the Fox-produced films under the main X-Men line now that Marvel has the rights to the characters back.