X-Men: Dark Phoenix - 6 Reasons To Be Excited

Ask anyone with even a passing familiarity with comic books to name an X-Men story, and odds are the Dark Phoenix saga will be the one they mention. The 1976-1977 run from writer Chris Claremont and artists John Byrne and Dave Cockrum is among the most celebrated storylines not only from the pages of the X-Men, but Marvel Comics overall.

Infamously, the saga was already adapted once for the big screen, very loosely and, as most would seem to agree, unsuccessfully. After Jean Grey's rebirth as the Phoenix was teased by the final scene of 2003's X2, 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand brought the Phoenix centre stage.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of Famke Janssen, The Phoenix was just one of the many things that Brett Ratner's film got totally wrong. The lacklustre third chapter, plus the even weaker follow-up X-Men Origins: Wolverine, threatened to kill the X-Men series off before it had even had a chance to spread its wings.

Now, with the series following a new chronology after Days of Future Past retroactively wiped the events of The Last Stand from the timeline, Dark Phoenix promises to give the storyline the treatment it deserves this time around.

Admittedly, questions remain as to whether new Jean Grey actress Sophie Turner is entirely up to the task, given she didn't get the most auspicious introduction in the role. Then again, after the last X-Men movie, she's hardly the only one in need of some redemption...