We’re living in an interesting age of cinema right now. Between massive cinematic universes, reboots, and all-female remakes, we’re in the midst of some major upheavals to the movie industry. It didn’t start with Netflix, but it’s definitely not ending with it. I’m honestly not sure where it’s going.
However, I am fairly certain that when people look back on this era of cinema, they’ll see the release of the Snyder Cut for “Justice League” as a turning point. It’s not just about a company giving into massive fan demand or big tech companies using major franchises to push a streaming service. It’s a sign that the overall vision for movies as a whole is evolving.
The issues surrounding “Justice League“ are well-known. There are plenty of other issues surrounding movies like it, from “I Am Legend” to “Solo: A Star Wars Movie” to “Spider-Man 3.” Those issues usually revolve around a studio, a director, and corporate executives not being on the same page.
The primary reason why the Snyder Cut is a thing is because executives at Warner Brothers opted to revamp, reshoot, and reconfigure the whole movie, completely changing the tone and plot along the way. That effort just didn’t work and it shows in the box office. If the Snyder Cut turns out to be a hit with fans and drives up subscriptions for HBO Max, the impact could go far beyond the future of DC movies.
This could open the door to other movies whose original vision was undermined. Companies are starting to realize that listening to fans can be profitable, as “Sonic the Hedgehog” showed. They’re also realizing that directors and producers need the whole of their vision realized. You can’t chop it up to the point where crucial parts of the story are left on the cutting room floor, as we saw with “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
I hope this will create opportunities for filmmakers and producers alike to realize their visions without having to chop it up for theaters. In an era of streaming services and binge-watching, a movie like the Snyder Cut can totally work. I’m genuinely curious about it and I plan on seeing it the first chance I get.
At the same time, I hope other movies get a similar chance, such as “Suicide Squad,” which was also subject to heavy editing. Sadly, there’s one vision that we’ll never see fully realized in an extended cut and that happens to be a movie that would’ve benefited most from more content. That movie is “Dark Phoenix.”
While I loved the movie we got in theaters, I could tell that it was a movie that had been significantly altered from its original vision. With the pending release of the Snyder Cut, a part of me hoped that we might get an extended version of “Dark Phoenix,” similar to what we got with the Rogue Cut of “Days of Future Past.”
Unfortunately, those hopes have been dashed. In an interview with IGN, Simon Kinberg himself stated outright that there was no “Kinberg Cut” to release. However, he gave a very valid reason for why that is.
IGN: X-Men Movies: Is There a ‘Kinberg Cut’ of Dark Phoenix?
“The movie they released was ultimately my vision for the film,” said Kinberg. “That vision did change over the span of making the movie. There are other scenes that we shot, just as there are a lot of other scenes in [Days of Future Past] that we shot and didn’t end up using. There were scenes we shot for that film and an ending that was quite different than the ending that was in the theatrical release. To release [a Kinberg Cut], it wouldn’t be just be like we splice those scenes back in, because those scenes were never completed because of visual effects and sound – all of the technical aspects that go into completing films of this scale. It would take a whole lot of work, but I appreciate the support.”
Kinberg also told us that many of the changes to Dark Phoenix stemmed from Fox’s decision to condense the project from a duology into a single film. There’s no easy way to create a director’s cut more in line with his original story plans without going back and actually filming that canceled sequel.
Kinberg said, “With every movie, there are things you wish you did differently. On every movie there are things you thought were great and perfect, and then you watch them and didn’t think they were as strong as you imagined and you go a different way. Dark Phoenix was a hard movie because, in its initial concept when I wrote it, it was meant to be a two-part film. And then it suddenly became a one-part movie for reasons that weren’t of my doing. Having to create around that massive change was a challenge in itself. All these movies are uniquely challenging.”
Those bold parts are my doing. They confirm what many already knew. There’s no extended cut to “Dark Phoenix” because it was originally meant to be two movies and that second movie never got made. There’s no extra movie of a “Dark Phoenix” sequel gathering dust in Fox’s vault. The cut we got in theaters was much of what got shot. Some things got edited out, but not enough to significantly change the movie.
These tidbits aren’t entirely new. Long before “Dark Phoenix” came out, it was heavily implied that it was going to be a two-part movie. That makes sense, given how it played out in the source material. The first movie would have Jean become Phoenix. The next would have her go Dark Phoenix. It could’ve been to X-Men what “Infinity War” and “Endgame” were to Avengers.
Sadly, Kinberg never got to make those movies. He was forced to condense the story he wanted to tell into a single movie. That means we probably lost some incredible moments that never made it beyond the storyboard stage. We never got to see a bigger, more dramatic journey for Jean Grey, the X-Men, and plenty of other characters who never showed up. It’s a shame, but it’s understandable.
If “Dark Phoenix” had one insurmountable obstacle, it was the pending merge between Fox and Disney. Once that deal became final, Kinberg’s window to realize his vision was greatly shortened. Granted, I think he did a great job condensing the essence of the Phoenix Saga into a single movie, but it could’ve been so much more.
It’s unfortunate, but understandable. There were forces beyond Kinberg’s control working against him and “Dark Phoenix.” Those same forces ensure that we’ll never get an extended cut because doing so would require that they shoot a second movie, as originally intended. That’s just not going to happen.
While that’s disappointing, it’s understandable. I’m perfectly happy with the cut of “Dark Phoenix” that we got, much more so than I was with the theatrical cut of “Justice League.” I genuinely hope that Marvel Studios will create a bold new vision for X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I just hope they avoid the same mistakes that Warner Brothers made with “Justice League.”
I trust that Kevin Feige has a vision for X-Men.
I hope that vision is as awesome as it deserves to be.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to seeing what the Snyder Cut has in store.
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