In the week following the announcement of the long-teased and much-campaigned-for Snyder Cut of 2017’s Justice League film, Simon Kinberg, the writer/director of 2019’s Dark Phoenix, told fans not to expect a similar revision of his film.
Dark Phoenix, which was the 12th film in Fox’s X-Men cinematic universe, was regarded as a huge critical and commercial failure upon its much-delayed release last spring, grossing only about $65 million at the domestic box office against a reported $200 million budget. It also received a dismal 23 percent rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
The Released Cut was Indeed Kinberg’s Vision
Speaking to IGN, Kinberg said that although his ideas for the film did change quite a bit during its creation (including having its story condensed from two films to one), “the movie they released was ultimately my vision for the film.”
While Kinberg did confirm that some sequences were left on the cutting room floor (including a different ending), those scenes were never finished, so they couldn’t simply just be added back in.
Kinberg went on to say that trying to create anything resembling a “Kinberg Cut” would involve reshoots and millions of dollars in new post production work for sound and visual effects that were never created.
What Happened, It Happened
As a veteran screenwriter and producer, Kinberg had been involved in one way or another with nearly all of Fox’s X-Men films over the last decade, as well as producing 2015’s The Martian, which received seven Oscar nominations.
But Dark Phoenix was Kinberg’s feature directorial debut, and he found himself trying to shepherd the film through Fox’s purchase by Disney. That sent the film into several delays, some accusations of a lack of marketing effort, and a sight-unseen stigma surrounding the film’s quality.
But regardless of any blame game debate about where the film’s many problems emanated from (or if those problems even hurt the film, which surely has its fans), it’s refreshing to hear Kinberg own the on-screen product, and to tell fans that, for better or worse, that’s already the film he tried to make.
So whether viewers liked Dark Phoenix or not, don’t expect any kind of longer director’s cut to be released OK?