With the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix fast approaching, we’re reaching the end of 20th Century Fox’s near-20 year X-Men franchise, with the rights to the mutant superheroes now under the control of Marvel Studios following Disney’s Fox acquisition.

Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg has been involved with the franchise in a writing and producing capacity since 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, but it seems he’s now come to terms with the fact that the series is drawing to a close, and had always approached this newest movie as if it would be the last:

“I think we’ve all made our peace with the idea that we may have had our time with these characters,” Kinberg tells Empire. “If this is our last, make it count. I approached this in a way as the culmination of this cycle. It’s the ultimate X-Men story. I didn’t approach it the way I approached some of the other X-Men movies, thinking, ‘What’s left to tell after this?’ I left it all on the field.”

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Unfortunately for Kinberg, it seems the X-Men series may be about to go out with a whimper rather than a bang befitting of the ‘Ultimate X-Men Story’; coming off a troubled production and extensive reshoots, the $200 million-plus budgeted Dark Phoenix is tracking a franchise low opening at the box office, while many fans already have an eye on the characters’ inevitable introduction to the MCU in the coming years.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix sees Simon Kinberg directing a cast that includes franchise veterans Michael Fassbender (Magneto), James McAvoy (Professor X), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) and Evan Peters (Quicksilver) alongside new additions Kota Eberhardt (The Persian Connection) as Selene, Andrew Stehlin (Hacksaw Ridge) as Red Lotus, and Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game) and Lamar Johnson (Kings). It is set for release on June 7th, 2019.

Via Empire