DARK PHOENIX
HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET
This 2019 movie entry in the Marvel X-Men universe was a relative disappointment, creatively as well as at the box office. The original comic-book arc on which it’s based, Chris Claremont’s “Dark Phoenix Saga” in which powerful mental mutant Jean Grey turns evil, is one of the most famous narratives in Marvel history. So getting it right should have been more of a priority, but Dark Phoenix, to succeed, might have required being darker than the Marvel movie universe would permit. In this film version, Sophie Turner plays Jean Grey, with James McAvoy as Prof. Xavier, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, and Jessica Chastain as the film’s new, mysterious antagonist. It’s not a great movie – but Saturday night isn’t a great TV night, either.