Simon Kinberg explains why Dark Phoenix’s release was pushed back

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The first trailer for DARK PHOENIX was released just last week, proudly proclaiming that the X-MEN film would be arriving in theaters on February 14, 2019, but, mere days later, that release was pushed back to June 7, 2019. DARK PHOENIX writer/director Simon Kinberg recently spoke with Collider, where he revealed just why the film will be delayed.

"Some of the trailers had ‘Coming Soon’ on them and some of them said ‘February 14th’. It was a date, February 14th, that we initially liked for the movie but when we realized that we weren’t gonna have the visual effects ready to release it globally the way we wanted to, and the Gambit date opened up because it wasn’t gonna be ready for that June 7th date," Kinberg said. "We looked at that date versus the February 14th date, the studio did and we did, we felt like that June date was a bigger opportunity for us globally. More screens, more IMAX screens, a better chance to play in China where these movies have a massive following. What we found when we released the trailer was that 44, 45 million views of the trailer were in China alone… Specific for us, it is an opportunity to be a bigger movie day-and-date globally." Giving the visual effects team a few more months to deliver is certainly a good thing for a blockbuster, and you can't blame the studio for wanting more screens and a shot at some of that sweet, sweet Chinese box-office. However, Simon Kinberg is the first to admit the recent trailer shouldn't have included the February release date.

In terms of the trailer release, it certainly probably shouldn’t have said 2/14 on it, but the audience—and certainly I know this because I live online as much as anybody—people wanted to see something from the movie, and it was time to share something from the movie. So I would’ve still released a teaser when we released it, I just would’ve put ‘Coming Soon’ on the end of it or I would’ve put ‘June 7th’, though we hadn’t made that decision [at the time].

The official synopsis for DARK PHOENIX:

In DARK PHOENIX, the X-MEN face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jean’s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.

DARK PHOENIX will hit theaters on July 7, 2019.