X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX Stills Provide New Looks At Storm, Jean Grey And Jessica Chastain's Alien Villain

X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX Stills Provide New Looks At Storm, Jean Grey And Jessica Chastain's Alien Villain

Some more promo stills for X-Men: Dark Phoenix have been shared online, and they give us new looks at Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) & the mysterious villain played by Jessica Chastain.

By MarkCassidy - Jan 21, 2019 07:01 AM EST
Filed Under: Dark Phoenix
Some new images from Simon Kinberg's X-Men: Dark Phoenix have found their way online via Instagram, and they feature Storm (Alexandra Shipp), the mysterious alien villain played by Jessica Chastain, and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) sporting an outfit that looks quite similar to the one Famke Janssen wore as Jean in X-Men: The Last Stand.

There's also a shot of Chastain's character conversing with Charles Xavier (James McAvoy).

Despite a pretty good teaser, anticipation is not exactly high for Dark Phoenix, with even some of the franchise's staunchest supporters expressing doubts about what will likely be the final X-Men movie under the 20th Century Fox banner.

Still, a great second trailer has the opportunity to assuage those concerns and build some real hype for this retelling of Chris Claremont's classic comic book arc.




We also have a breakdown of the first trailer from director Simon Kinberg, who revealed some intriguing details about the film during a recent interview with Empire.

Simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!


Young Jean

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


Just like The Last Stand, Dark Phoenix will depict the first meeting between a young Jean Grey and Charles Xavier via flashback, and it sounds like their relationship will be a major part of the story.

“There are not a lot of flashbacks in the movie," said Kinberg. "But that foundational relationship between Young Jean and a younger Charles is one of the core themes of the film.”

Controlling Her Powers

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


Also very similar to a plot point from the third X-Men movie is the decision to have Xavier limit Jean's capabilities out of fear of how dangerously powerful she could become.

“Charles has been hiding secrets about Jean’s past from her that get revealed over the span of the movie, and only make her more unstable,” say Kinberg.
“It’s the most inopportune time for this character to become unstable emotionally, because she’s becoming unstable in a much different way after this cosmic thing that happened to her in space."

Because of this, the director maintains that Dark Phoenix will be "the most intimate, emotional and personal movie we’ve made."

The X-Men Are Viewed As Heroes In 1992

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


Kinberg also confirms that Dark Phoenix is set in 1992, nine years after the events of Apocalypse. Yes, Xavier and Magneto are looking well for a couple of dudes pushing 60.

When we catch up with the mutant team in the '90s, they've established themselves as heroes.

“The X-Men have become the X-Men that many of us know from the comics – they are heroes. They’re still viewed as different by society, but they’ve been more embraced than ever before. And when the movie starts in 1992, they are a known superhero team.”

The Costumes

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


More colorful, comic-accurate costumes were teased at the end of Apocalypse, and in Dark Phoenix the team will be sporting matching yellow and blue outfits, very similar to the ones from Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men back in 2001.

Kinberg reveals that he was just waiting for the opportunity to change-up the designs.

“Avi and Kevin Feige were the chief two people that called me about an X-Men movie 15 years ago. We talked about the costumes, and what Bryan Singer had done I understood and liked, but they were very different to what I had grown up seeing in the comics. So I was excited finally as the director to have more of a say and clothe them in their classic costumes.”

Mystique

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


Mystique finally chose a side and joined The X-Men at the end of Apocalypse, remaining part of the team in the intervening years. However, it sounds like the events of Dark Phoenix will once again drive a wedge between Raven and Xavier.

“Raven is a part of the X-Men, but she’s critical of some of Charles’ methodologies, in terms of him feeling as though they can just dress up in those costumes and be considered the same as the rest of humanity,” Kinberg explains. “So there is a schism forming between her and Charles."

Jean And Scott

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


The relationship between Jean Grey and Scott Summers/Cyclops has been the backbone of several major X-Men comic arcs, and it carried over to the initial big-screen adaptations. Here, Kinberg confirms that the pair will indeed be an item in Dark Phoenix, with Scott refusing to give us hope that Jean can be brought back from the void.

"As Jean starts to become more unstable, there are people in the X-Men who don’t think she can be helped and saved, many of whom think the world and others need helping and saving from her. And so Scott is probably the most prominent person who’s holding on to the hope that Jean can be saved.”

Genosha

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


As we figured, the lush commune where we see Jean encounter Magneto in the trailer is indeed Genosha... or at least, it will be.

“What you’re seeing is the beginnings of Genosha,” confirms Kinberg. “That’s where Erik is when we meet him. It’s like Magneto’s Israel – a land built for mutants, a homeland where they can be safe and self-sufficient."

 It seems Jean will seek Eric out because he's the only person she knows that has done terrible and destructive things in the past before finding a way to turn things around.

The Villain

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


Unfortunately, Kinberg doesn't reveal exactly who Jessica Chastain is playing here, but he does reiterate that she is an extra terrestrial threat of some kind.

“I won’t say much more in detail on the specifics of that. While everyone else is trying to control this power inside of Jean, she’s much more interested in essentially encouraging her to go further with it and try to be the peaceful side of herself. She is the devil on Jean’s shoulder, so to speak.”

The Skrull Queen? Lilandra? Someone else entirely? We'll just have to wait and see.

Phoenix Force

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


Towards the end of the teaser we get a glimpse of Jean enveloped in flames, followed by a shot of her face streaked with glowing white lines. This signifies that whatever the entity was that latched onto her in space is beginning to manifest - but according to Kinberg, it's far from her "final form."

“That’s not maximum [Phoenix]. That’s a two or a three on the Dark Phoenix spectrum,” warns Kinberg. “It is a manifestation of her transformation from the Jean we know into Phoenix."

The Title

X-Men: Dark Phoenix


The Dark Phoenix title treatment is very different from the previous movies in the franchise - and not just because Fox decided to drop the "X-Men" part altogether in The US.

Kinberg explains that the non-metallic, slighter font is "emblematic of a new tone for the franchise."

"I wanted it to feel more naturalistic, I wanted it to feel edgier, more handmade, more real. I was very inspired by what James Mangold did with Logan, and I felt like if I could bring a measure of that aesthetic in the film that all of the intergalactic and larger-scale things that happen in the movie would feel more shocking, more realistic, more emotional."
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Asturgis
Asturgis - 1/21/2019, 7:45 AM
Let's look at the bright side, it can't be worse than the last one… Can it?
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 1/21/2019, 7:53 AM
@Asturgis - oh yes it can
Asturgis
Asturgis - 1/21/2019, 7:55 AM
@HeavyMetal4Life -

JonAwesome
JonAwesome - 1/21/2019, 10:10 AM
@Asturgis - i just wish they would stop having Beast being able to transform back and forth.
LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 1/21/2019, 12:04 PM
@Asturgis - I mean let me put it this way, I envision myself being asked the same question post release by some of my boys with my response resembling something similar to this...



I mean just the circumstances surrounding it and with Kinberg directing ...well with that alone

KWilly
KWilly - 1/21/2019, 7:46 AM
Cap1
Cap1 - 1/21/2019, 7:49 AM
Don't worry, they'll be Ex-Men soon
NoobNoob
NoobNoob - 1/21/2019, 7:54 AM
just kill this damn franchise, Fssbender will be missed but the series started to died when singer took the helm
rebellion
rebellion - 1/21/2019, 9:37 AM
@NoobNoob - strongly disagree with that statement, cuz dofp was fantastic, imo. apocalypse was a turd in the wind, can't argue that. gets worse everytime i watch it.
NoobNoob
NoobNoob - 1/21/2019, 5:47 PM
@rebellion - first class was amazing, then singer took the helm and made dofp a mystique movie wich was "good" cause it had the original cast, they made it again without them in apocalypse and it was a mess... this seems even worse, now you see my point?
Ronan3Accuser
Ronan3Accuser - 1/21/2019, 7:56 AM
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 1/21/2019, 7:57 AM

LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 1/21/2019, 12:10 PM
@HeavyMetal4Life - I got nothing against light skinned actresses as many of them are talented and beautiful. But I can't wait til we get a legit AFRICAN QUEEN.

sixthsense
sixthsense - 1/21/2019, 7:58 AM
I still consider DOFP the best Xmen movie, I haven't decided what to feel about this...

One thing is for sure. Jimmy got canned again,3 times in 20 days..
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 1/21/2019, 8:01 AM
@sixthsense - Age of Ultron is still the best X-Men movie if we're talking about what an X-Men movie should be, and I think First Class is a close second, but I think DOFP is the best movie to use the X-Men license, for what it's worth
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 1/21/2019, 8:02 AM
(Yes, I know Logan is probably better than DOFP, but Logan isn't an X-Men movie)
Spidey91
Spidey91 - 1/21/2019, 8:00 AM
boring looking people in boring environments wearing boring clothes. riveting.
color motherf*cker, do you know it?
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