Those who follow the X-Men franchise will already know who Jean Grey is. She is an extraordinarily strong telepath and a mentee of Professor X, who has helped her get her powers under control. Grey has appeared in several X-Men movies, but now, she is finally getting a movie that focuses on her story as she struggles to control her emergent alter-ego.
What It's About
When last we saw the X-Men, the band had gotten back together after the ancient Apocalypse had divided some loyalties. Realising that humankind would never be completely out of danger, Professor X decided to train the newcomers to become X-Men.
Set a decade after X-Men: Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix will follow Jean Grey as she begins to discover the full extent of her powers. The X-Men undertake a rescue mission in space which goes wrong when a solar flare hits them and brings out Grey's powerful and terrifying alter ego, Dark Phoenix, who has some seriously destructive tendencies.
Who's Who
Crew
- Simon Kinberg, who wrote several of the X-Men movies, including X-Men: The Last Stand, which featured Phoenix's last on-screen appearance, will make his directorial debut with this film. He also wrote the script.
- Famed composer Hans Zimmer is scoring the film.
Cast
- Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) is playing Jean Grey, the powerful young mutant.
- James Mcavoy (Split) will continue to play Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, the telepath and leader of the X-Men.
- Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) returns as Mystique, the shapeshifter.
- Michael Fassbender (Assassin's Creed) will play Erik Lehnsherr, a.k.a. Magneto, the morally questionable metal manipulator and Charles Xavier's best frenemy.
- Jessica Chastain (Molly's Game) will play a mysterious shapeshifter called Smith.
- Evan Peters (American Horror Story) will play Quicksilver, a mutant with super speed. We last saw him as he joined the X-Men.
- Tye Sheridan (X-Men:Apocalypse) will play Cyclops, a mutant whose eyes shoot lasers, and the romantic interest of Jean Grey.
- Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse) will play Psylocke, a telekinetic mutant who was one of Apocalypse's horsemen, but parted ways with the X-Men.
- Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse) will play Storm, a mutant with the ability to control the weather who joined the X-Men.
- Kodi Smit-Mcphee (X-Men: Apocalypse) will play Nightcrawler, a friendly mutant with a dextrous tail that enhances his already superhuman agility. We last saw him joining the X-Men.
- Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max) will play Beast, a mutant who has claws as well as extraordinary strength and intelligence.
What's Been Released So Far
So far, very little has been released in anticipation of Dark Phoenix. There is no trailer, but there are a few images, one of which features a few of the X-Men at what looks like a funeral, which teases a potential death in the film.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, some members of the cast and crew offered details on the upcoming film. Kinberg, the director, talks about how he felt very invested in this storyline after writing X-Men: The Last Stand, which is why he wanted to write and direct Dark Phoenix. He also talks about how Xavier's ego is one of the factors that leads to the accident that triggers Dark Phoenix. They teased at a plot twist in the film.
Sophie Turner also talks about studying schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder in order to prepare for the role because of how quickly she has to go from one version of Grey to another.
Interestingly, the movie's release was delayed due to extensive reshoots which changed some of the plot.
What We Want At Comic-Con
Mostly, we want to know more about the Dark Phoenix alter-ego and Jessica Chastain's character. Ideally, we would get a trailer, but sadly, 20th Century Fox is focusing on The Predator this year, which means that it's unlikely that we will get much information.
We're not expecting a lot from 20th Century Fox in regards to Dark Phoenix, mostly because of The Predator but also because Disney recently acquired the company and they have scaled back their Comic-Con presence quite a bit this year. So it seems that we'll just have to wait for the movie to hit theaters on February 14, 2019.