Before the boom of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its widely popular superheroes, there was an era of the X-Men films. The first film of the franchise was released in 2000. The audience was drawn by the new concept, and films became blockbuster hits. However, the sequels could not follow through with the success of the initial films. Sophie Turner’s Dark Phoenix was her best acting, however, it failed in the theatres.
Dark Phoenix was the final installment of the prequel series and focussed on the story of Jean Grey. Actress Sophie Turner had put in a lot of preparation for her role, which may have risked her mental health.
Sophie Turner’s preparation for her role in Dark Phoenix
The Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner played the role of Jean Grey in the film. Dark Phoenix tells the origin story of Jean Grey and how she becomes the Phoenix. The character Jean is shown struggling with mental illness after a cosmic force enhances her psychic powers. It also unlocked her childhood trauma, which made her mind and powers unstable.
In a behind-the-scenes documentary on the Dark Phoenix, it was shown, that the cast and crew were stunned by the dedication of the actress.
Simon Kinberg, the writer and director of Dark Phoenix, was impressed by Turner’s understanding of Grey’s psychological chaos. He shared in the documentary,
“Sophie did all kinds of research, especially on schizophrenia. She would walk around in preparation for the movie with headphones in her ears with just random voices playing so that she would know what it felt like to have to walk through the world hearing voices you couldn’t control, that weren’t embodied voices of the people who were in the room or the space with you.”
The film was written, co-produced, and directed by Simon Kinberg.
Sophie Turner talked about her role as Jean Grey in Dark Phoenix
The actress opened up on her role as the powerful Phoenix in the film Dark Phoenix. The actress shared feeling nervous about playing the lead in the film but offered her the opportunity to showcase a wide range of skills. Sophie Turner shared with Giojournal,
“I was quite nervous. I mean, in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ I didn’t really have a crazy amount to work with. I had a little bit of the character. And so, I wasn’t prepared when (director) Simon Kinberg told me. But I read the script and it was a delicious five-course meal for an actor.”
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is incredible’. It just meant a lot of preparation, and a lot of hard work, but Simon was the perfect partner in crime to go along with that. He was the most collaborative, supportive director ever. And it was his first time directing, so we were both cheering each other on from the sidelines, which was very cool.”
On being asked if she enjoyed playing a powerful and kickass character in the film, Turner shared,
“It was very fun. But I guess I’m just attracted to kick-ass female characters. It’s nice to play empowering women. That’s all I currently look for in scripts—strong, powerful women. But I think that’s what every female actress is looking for in scripts right now.”
The film was released in 2019 and grossed $252.4 million worldwide on a $200 million production budget. It was one of the biggest failures of the franchise.
Dark Phoenix is available for streaming on Fubo and Disney+.
Source-Giojournal and HaBaLa
