First Look At #XMen #DarkPhoenix & Mystique's Makeover

The Dark Phoenix has risen again.

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we finally have a first look and some new details at 20th Century Fox’s upcoming “X-Men: Dark Phoenix”. While the iconic Jean Grey storyline was reduced into a subplot in 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand”, fans will finally get the full taste next year.

“X-Men: Dark Phoenix” will venture into space for a rescue mission within the first few moments of the film. When a solar flare hits the X-Jet, the surge of energy will awaken a malevolent and power-hungry force within Jean that is the Phoenix. The film becomes a fight for Jean’s soul as the Phoenix seeks to control her mind and divide the X-Men.

“It’s about the butterfly effect of this thing happening. What happens when the person you love the most falls into darkness?” Sophie Turner commented. The actress studied schizophrenia and multiple personality disorders to prepare. “I have to go from broken-down Jean to this confident, arrogant, know-it-all character within milliseconds,” she said when asked about her biggest challenge.

As comic fans may know, this wouldn’t be a proper Phoenix tale if someone didn’t die. It has been teased that a “major twist” will occur halfway in “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” as one of the X-Men is going to bite the dust. Having said that, it is still anyone’s guess on which mutant will meet their unfortunate death.

As seen the photo below, we see Charles Xavier, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, and Storm attending someone’s funeral. “This is probably the most emotional X-Men we’ve done and the most pathos-driven. There’s a lot of sacrifice and a lot of suffering,” James McAvoy told the publication. The victim would have to be a major a character for it to impact the audiences. Our guess is either Mystique, Beast, Quicksilver, or Magneto that could be killed by Phoenix.

There’s also Jennifer Lawrence sporting a new bob for her blue mutant, Mystique. “Acting-wise it was the best experience I’ve had. (Simon Kinberg has) been writing these characters for so long and he knows them so deeply. I suddenly felt more connected to my character than I ever have been before,” the Oscar winner shared.

She added, “She’s grown up a lot. She’s more maternal which surprised me. She starts to get more protective of the (school) children and Charles wants to push them to prove to the world that mutants can be good for humanity and I just see them as small children.”

Additionally, these exclusive photos also reveal Jessica Chastain’s villain. She is reportedly playing “an otherworldly shapeshifter” named Lilandra of the Shi’ar, who seeks to manipulate Jean and the Phoenix for her own nefarious goals. It’ll be exciting to see if the various comics appearances will make it unto film.

“X-Men: Dark Phoenix” opens in cinemas 2nd November 2018.

Source: Collider, Entertainment Weekly, io9.