The Marvel Cinematic Universe is becoming a very different place, as it has to face the 2020s without many of its greatest characters. This is going to force some changes on it and a big one will be the introduction of the X-Men. Bringing them over to the MCU is going to open a lot of story potential, as some of Marvel's greatest stories of the last forty years have been X-Men stories.
The MCU's legacy with adapting Marvel stories is checkered and one story that has proven to be a failure every time it's adapted is The Dark Phoenix Saga. There's always a chance that the MCU gets it right —the third time might be the charm.
10 Should Try To Adapt It: Everyone Wants To See It Done Right
Ask any X-Men fan and the one story they want done more than any other is The Dark Phoenix Saga. It's taken an indelible place in the minds of comic fans and casual fans alike, as many of them remember the only good adaptation —the one in the Saturday morning X-Men cartoon. However, the desire to see it done correctly in live-action spurs them on.
Fans have given the concept more than one chance and they would give it another, especially since so many consider the MCU good at adaptation.
9 Shouldn't Try To Adapt It: There's A Lot To Mess Up
One of the problems with The Dark Phoenix Saga adaptations is that there's just so much to get wrong. The comic version of the story is very, very complicated and no movie has ever gone as in-depth as the comic has. This is one of the biggest factors in the story failing at the movies —mess up any part and the whole thing falls apart.
One messed-up thing can easily torpedo the whole story and there are so many easy ways to make mistakes with this story. The MCU isn't perfect and it's very possible they'd fall into the same trap.
8 Should Try To Adapt It: It's Outside Of The MCU's Wheelhouse
The MCU tells very particular kinds of superhero stories. They're kind of formulaic and work as crowd-pleasers, with the heroes always winning and being generally good people, rarely falling from their moral high horse. Adapting The Dark Phoenix Saga would move them out of their wheelhouse and that's a good thing.
The MCU's formula has been showing for a while and it needs a shake-up. The Dark Phoenix Saga is the perfect opportunity to take the MCU —and its fans— out of their comfort zone and tell a very different kind of story.
7 Shouldn't Try To Adapt It: It's Outside Of Their Wheelhouse & That Ups The Chance Of Failure
While challenging preconceived notions is good, it also can be a recipe for disaster. The MCU hasn't proven that it moves out of its wheelhouse very well. WandaVision seemed like it would be something different but it basically turned into a pretty regular MCU product by the end. The MCU makes mistakes even at the things it's ostensibly good at, so the chances of it happening with The Dark Phoenix Saga is immense.
Making such a massive change could be detrimental to the MCU. They've proven very good at cliché superhero tales and going from that to something like The Dark Phoenix Saga could be a huge mistake.
6 Should Try To Adapt It: They Can Do It The MCU Way
One of the things the MCU does very well is build up to things. It's why their first three Phases were so well accepted; they built their way up throughout the Infinity Saga, adding heroes and plot points, whetting appetites. The Dark Phoenix Saga is the perfect story to take this approach with.
One of Fox's mistakes with the story was barely building it, whereas, in the comic, there was so much build. The MCU has proven adept at playing the long game and this is the perfect way to tell this story, laying out the seeds over time and letting them flourish.
5 Shouldn't Try To Adapt It: It Does Away With Jean Grey
Jean Grey is one of the most important X-Men of them all. She's basically the patron saint of the team and a huge reason for that is The Dark Phoenix Saga. However, the problem also comes in that Jean Grey is such an important character and The Dark Phoenix Saga takes her off the table for a while.
There are some that would argue it's the most important Jean Grey story but thanks to retcons, it's not even a Jean Grey story. The whole thing was changed so that it was the Phoenix Force as Jean, not Jean herself. Beyond that, losing Jean Grey just isn't a good idea, especially since so far, the MCU hasn't really done resurrections yet, meaning it might take her out of play forever.
4 Should Try To Adapt It: The Spectacle Of It All
One of the many places the Fox adaptation failed is they never really captured the spectacle of the story. The Dark Phoenix Saga is a cosmic space opera/morality tale/Shakespearean tragedy that begins on Earth and goes all over the place, to the deeps of space and then ends on the moon. It sees the X-Men battle not only the Dark Phoenix but also the Shi'Ar Imperial Guard.
The MCU has proven that spectacle is one of its specialties over the years. If any studio could capture the story's spectacle, it's them.
3 Shouldn't Try To Adapt It: It's A Bad Name To The General Public
While X-Men fans will just about always give the story another chance, the general public isn't so forgiving. Adaptations of The Dark Phoenix Saga are among the worst of the Fox X-Men movies and it's left a bad taste in the mouths of casual fans. Even a vaunted MCU version might not be enough to get people to re-evaluate their distaste for the story.
To a lot of people, it seems like the ultimate unfilmable comic story and has killed two different X-Men franchises. That's not a good look.
2 Should Try To Adapt It: It's The Greatest X-Men Story Of All Time
Everyone has a different favorite X-Men story; some people like Mutant Genesis. Some people like E Is For Extinction. Some people like Second Coming. However, ask any of them what the best X-Men story is and they'll answer the same thing: The Dark Phoenix Saga. In fact, a lot of fans would call it the best Marvel story ever.
This is why they need to try it again. Everyone needs to understand just how great The Dark Phoenix Saga is. It's a story that only comes around once in a lifetime, full of powerful themes, amazing characters, pulse-pounding action, and breathtaking moments. It's the epitome of everything great about the X-Men.
1 Shouldn't Try To Adapt It: It's Time To Give Other Stories A Chance
The Dark Phoenix Saga is one of the most beloved X-Men stories of all time and while that may seem like a reason to adapt it, in this case, it works against the story. See, as great as it is, there are X-Men stories that have never gotten a chance on the big screen that deserve it. At this point, The Dark Phoenix Saga is a two-time loser; maybe it's time to give another story a try.
No one can deny the impact that it had on the comic world but the impact it had on the movie world is pretty much completely negative. As good as it was, it's time to give some other amazing X-Men stories a chance.
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