SPOILER ALERT: This article contains some potential SPOILERS for ‘Dark Phoenix’, so proceed with caution.
This should permanently shoot down any rumors that ‘Dark Phoenix’ will be shelved. A new trailer is here! And it seems to confirm certain rumors that have been floating around about the movie’s plot. In fact, this trailer has the most dialogue of any so far and gives the greatest clues as to the events of this final Fox ‘X-Men’ installment. Before we proceed, check out the trailer for yourself. Be warned that the information after that could be considered SPOILERS!
Where to begin? For starters, this trailer sheds the most light on Jessica Chastain‘s villain role, yet. It depicts her seemingly manipulating reality around herself and Jean (Sophie Turner). This is probably a form of psychic manipulation on the astral plane, reinforcing rumors that Chastain’s character is a gender-swap of Mastermind/Jason Wyngarde.
Unlike in the comics, this Mastermind is working alone for her own hidden agenda. In the comics, Wyngarde operated with the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, but those characters were mostly used in the 1960s-set ‘X-Men: First Class’, making appearances here anachronistic. (And among them, Emma Frost is known to be deceased.) The Hellfire Club is also occupied on the TV series ‘The Gifted’, even though that doesn’t take place during the same time period.
The other big reveal is that it seems to confirm earlier rumors that Jean would kill Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). In the comics, Dark Phoenix destroys an entire solar system, including an inhabited planet. But while the film looks to kick off with a journey into space, it definitely isn’t as cosmic as the books. (So, sorry, still no Shi’Ar in the movies.)
Rather than wiping out an entire planet, it seems the point of no return for the movie is Jean is killing one of her teammates, and that would be Mystique. Not only is the sequence of Raven trying to talk Jean down heavily emphasized, but Lawrence is clearly absent from any scenes that appear to take place after that.
This seems to contradict the first two ‘X-Men’ movies which were believed to still be in-continuity, since an adult Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) is a major character in those, but at this point, with Fox’s series ending and the characters going to Marvel… honestly, who the hell cares anymore? The ‘X-Men’ movies’ continuity has always been a hot mess, so going out on a similar note seems fitting.
‘Dark Phoenix’ will be release IN THEATERS on June 7.
