Phoenix rising

A female lead is expected to close the X-Men franchise in style, with the film already setting the presale box office alight, Xu Fan reports.

In China, it is commonly said that "women hold up half the sky" as a way of emphasizing their contribution to society.

This is now also being felt in the world of cinematic superheroes.

Since female-led movies such as DC's Wonder Woman and Marvel's Captain Marvel smashed box-office expectations, so too the long running X-Men franchise is preparing to hand over top-billing to a female lead.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is releasing in China on Thursday, one day ahead of its North American debut. The film is about the evolution of female mutant, Jean Grey, into the titular character.

Last week, director Simon Kinberg, alongside cast members Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Tye Sheridan and Evan Peters, showed up in Beijing to promote the forthcoming film, widely seen as a conclusion to 20th Century Fox's 19-year-long iteration of the franchise.

They held a premiere for 2,500 fans that was also broadcast live to thousands of enthusiasts in Shanghai, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Wuhan, making it the biggest-ever X-men fan event in China to date.

Set in the 1990s, the film sees Grey, one of the first X-Men team members, nearly killed during an ill-fated mission to space. She survives by absorbing a cosmic entity, which gives her super abilities, but also puts her in conflict with a dark power that threatens to spiral out of control.

For director Kinberg, who joined the X-Men franchise in 2000 to work as a scriptwriter and producer, the upcoming film marks a significant leap forward in his career, as he occupies the director's chair for the first time.

"I grew up reading X-Men comics. The Dark Phoenix Saga was my favorite of the X-Men storylines. I've always dreamed of seeing it on screen," says Kinberg, who recalls that his fascination began at a young age.

As a comics aficionado, Kinberg says he had shaped the aesthetic look and darker feel of the film visually before the project started.

"I didn't think I'd be responsible for being a part of bringing Dark Phoenix to screen, but when the time came to actually sit down and start thinking about the next X-Men movie, I just couldn't imagine handing this story to someone else to direct," he adds.

The London-born, American filmmaker reveals that he collected bits and pieces from other films to create "mood boards", an array of images and materials to evoke the film's style.

He even had a mood soundtrack and a score that mostly comprised pieces by celebrated German musician Hans Zimmer. Kinberg eventually invited Zimmer to compose the soundtrack for Dark Phoenix. Over his 40-year career to date, Zimmer has composed music for more than 200 films, including The Dark Knight, Gladiator and Interstellar, as well as winning an Academy Award in 1995 for best original score with Disney's The Lion King.

As well as Zimmer, Kinberg's experience as a producer provides him with a rich resource to convince the best in the business to join the team, recruiting top talent in a wide range from the cinematographer to the costume designer.

Reprising her role of Grey from X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), British actress, Turner, is familiar to Chinese fans as Sansa Stark from the recently-concluded HBO fantasy TV series, Game of Thrones.

Comparing the two characters, Turner says both are strong and powerful women, but the challenge of playing Dark Phoenix was researching mental illness to understand how two different personalities can inhabit - and clash - in one body.

"This girl (Grey) is fighting with herself. She really struggles through this movie," explains Turner.

Fassbender, who will appear as the powerful mutant, Magneto, for the fourth time, says the past 10 years has given him opportunities to "explore the character in different stages in his life".

Describing the shooting of the films as "a wonderful journey", Fassbender says the X-Men franchise has also affected his own life. "It has allowed me to set up my own production company and get smaller films made."

McAvoy, who stars as the founder and leader of the X-Men, Professor Charles Xavier, for the fifth time, says the role has always been that of a helpful and positive force in the stories, which will continue in the new film, albeit with a more driven edge.

One of the things that makes Professor X a darker figure this time is that he's more interested in spreading the message of integration between humankind and mutants than just protecting the mutants, says McAvoy.

As of Tuesday, X-Men: Dark Phoenix had topped the presale box office charts for its opening day, accounting for nearly 48 percent of all the takings for Thursday's screenings in China.

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Global 06/06/2019 page16)