‘Dark Phoenix’ Headed Back for Reshoots, But How Long Will They Be?
Dark Phoenix is set to be the last main X-Men movie to come out of Fox (not counting spin-offs The New Mutants and X-Force), and reshoots are happening for the film. Depending on who you ask, they could last for as little as two weeks or as long as three months.
It’s been no secret for a while that Dark Phoenix was going to undergo reshoots in Montreal, which is generally normal for this kind of a movie in this day and age, and it was stated that the reshoots were intended to fix issues with the film’s third act. While the film was initially expected to only film for two and a half weeks or so, Canadian news outlet LaPresse has a report from the Quebec Film and Television Bureau that filming for Dark Phoenix will be a lot more expansive and expensive with three months of filming, and the cast is expected to hang around Montreal for quite some time. The initial round of filming lasted for three and a half months, so filming lasting nearly as long would suggest that the vast majority of the film is being reshot, and not just the third act.
However, the people at Collider have heard a few things that have led them to take issue with this report. Their sources apparently reached out to Fox and they claim that the amount of filming required will indeed be for about two and a half weeks as initially reported. It may be very well that the movie may only need a few days of reshoots spread out over a long period of time to make sense of the cast’s schedules, as many of them have their own commitments. (More on that in just a moment.)
So, who’s correct here? I’d personally be one to side more with Canada’s press in this situation, since that’s where the movie’s being filmed and the people explicitly stating that filming will last for months are part of an actual bureau that would know this kind of thing. A potential reason why the period of reshoots could be so long is because James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain are both stars of Dark Phoenix and IT: Chapter 2, and they are currently filming the latter. IT: Chapter 2 wraps filming in October, meaning that the two would be completely free for the final months of the alleged reshoot period described by LaPresse.
Worth noting is that McAvoy plays a character with a full head of hair in the IT sequel, meaning that to play the bald Professor X, he has to deal with a handful of potential options: he’d have to shave it off once he’s done with principal photography, he’d have to wear a bald cap, or that the studio would have to use CGI to digitally-remove McAvoy’s hair if they schedule him for reshoots while he’s still needed for IT.
If the movie is indeed going to undergo reshoots that last for three months, then fans should expect a second delay. For now, Dark Phoenix is currently scheduled for a February 14, 2019 release date.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
