10 Iconic Characters Movies Keep Screwing Up

2. Dark Phoenix

Dark Phoenix Jean Grey Sophie Turner
Fox

The Dark Phoenix plot in X-Men centres around founding member, Jean Grey, being corrupted by a cosmic entity called The Phoenix Force. After she becomes a galactic threat, the X-Men are forced to face her in battle, resulting in her death. The Dark Phoenix saga has been hailed as one of the most epic and emotional stories, not just in X-Men, but in all comics.

This tale is so monumental, it's no surprise it's been adapted to the big screen. But what is surprising is how filmmakers have totally screwed up this story. Twice.

X-Men 2 concluded with the Dark Phoenix plot being set up. But after director left the project, the script for the next instalment, X-Men: The Last Stand, was majorly revised, turning the most iconic X-Men story into a subplot.

So, when Jean Grey was reintroduced in the prequel, X-Men: Apocalypse, it looked like the franchise could redeem itself. Sadly, the follow-up, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, didn't work either. Because we barely had a chance to get to know this version of Jean, we didn't care what happened to her. Thanks to Jean's sporadic motivation and expository dialogue throughout the movie, the character and plot was wasted once again.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows