Evan Peters Says X-Men: Dark Phoenix Is Darker Than Apocalypse

Evan Peters compares X-Men: The Dark Phoenix's tone to its predecessors, saying that while it can be light like X-Men: First Class, it's also darker than X-Men: Apocalypse. Marking the directorial debut of longtime X-Men films producer Simon Kinberg, the film will be the fourth installment from the rebooted franchise timeline.

Not much is known regarding specific narrative details of the movie, but it's tipped to adapt the quintessential X-Men comic book stories of the same name from writer Chris Claremont, which puts Sophie Turner's Jean Grey under the spotlight as she becomes the Dark Phoenix. James McAvoy as Professor X, Michael Fassbender as Magneto and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique are set to reprise their respective roles, possibly for the last time as they pass the franchise to their younger co-stars such as Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Turner and Peters among others.

Sitting down with Collider primarily to promote his newest project, American Animals, Peters was asked about what fans can expect from Dark Phoenix. Obviously, the star couldn't talk about anything plot-related about the film but he teased of the tone of the next X-Men film and how it compares to other installments from the franchise.

I think it’s the classic X-Men: First Class tone, where there’s a bit of humor thrown in there, but it’s much darker than the previous one, Apocalypse. Apocalypse was the ‘80s, so there was a lot of room for goofy stuff in there. This one is a much more serious film about the internal struggle of Phoenix and Jean, so it’s a dramatic film. There’s nothing very comedic about it, other than the few moments that are in there. I think it’s gonna be a powerful one. It’s Dark Phoenix. I think it’s gonna be darker than we’re used to. It’s gonna be a change, but it’s gonna be fun for everybody.

Peter's comments can be interpreted in several ways, but it's interesting that he'd compare Dark Phoenix's tone to First Class which had the most relaxed vibe among all three installments from the X-Men rebooted timeline. Sure there were some heavy moments in the film, mostly from Magneto's backstory, but all in all, it was lighthearted - something that isn't necessarily what one would expect for Dark Phoenix considering the narrative with which the movie is based on. Perhaps the actor meant that the forthcoming flick could be downright hilarious at times and serious in other moments depending on what the narrative calls for. This, however, can be extremely tricky to pull off and if Kinberg isn't careful, the flick can easily feel disjointed because its tone is all over the place. If anything, it would've been better to hear tone comparisons with X-Men: Days of Future Past which was funny at times, but didn't lose its gritty and serious tone considering that it was tackling the threat of mutants being wiped off of the planet.

There is a lot riding on the shoulders of X-Men: The Dark Phoenix's shoulders. Not only could it be the final X-Men film other the creative jurisdiction of Fox considering the company's in-process deal with Disney, it's also the second time that The Dark Phoenix Saga is being adapted to the big screen. And given that they've botched it once in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, Kinberg and his team would have to make sure that this new take on the comic book narrative will at least make up for their previous failed attempt.