Over a decade ago, X-Men: The Last Stand dropped the ball on adapting comic book fans’ most beloved “Dark Phoenix Saga” storyline. The end result wasn’t everything that it could be, but Days of Future Past gave Fox a second chance to adapt one of the greatest X-Men adventures of all time. With X-Men: Dark Phoenix just under a year away, Entertainment Weekly has unleashed the first look at Sophie Turner‘s Jean Grey as she lets her dark side come to the surface.
Prepare for the rise of #DarkPhoenix. @SophieT is ready to play with fire in the upcoming #XMen film: https://t.co/9eK1K0AItH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SfOnRgHkTF
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) December 7, 2017
The initial story from EW‘s preview issue is that X-Men: Dark Phoenix will take place in 1992, with Mystique still in place as the leader of the team featuring Jean, Cyclops, Beast, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Quicksilver. The biggest twist and separation from X-Men canon (aside from Mystique’s presence) is that the team will be celebrated by the public as heroes instead of feared and hated. According to EW‘s report, however, that media attention might be going to Charles Xavier’s head, and he ends up pushing the team to undertake riskier missions. That includes an ill-fated mission to space that will ultimately trigger Jean’s transformation into the Phoenix.
Dark Phoenix: Your first look at 2018’s incendiary X-Men movie https://t.co/1gMT3fjuNt
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) December 7, 2017
EW makes it sound like the honeymoon period of Phoenix’s stint with the team has begun to give way to her darker turn. It’s also unclear if this adaptation will actually deal with the alien Shi’ar Empire; Jessica Chastain had been rumored to be playing Empress Lilandra in the film, but Chastain cast doubt on that report when she denied it with a post on her Instagram account.
The first images from ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ feature Jessica Chastain, a new look for Mystique, and a funeral… https://t.co/pgMepy9d9c
— Collider (@Collider) December 7, 2017
Via Collider, there are additional images and details from tomorrow’s issue of EW, including an image of Chastain’s character, who is described as “an otherworldly shapeshifter.” The preview photos also depict a funeral in the film, which suggests that one or more of the X-Men will die before the conclusion.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix will open in theaters on November 2, 2018.
What do you think about the first look at Jean Grey in X-Men: Dark Phoenix? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: 20th Century Fox
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