20th Century Fox unveiled the very first trailer for Dark Phoenix last night, offering us our first look at the 90s-set X-Men sequel, and there was a lot to unpack. As such, we’ve gone through the trailer and pulled out 50 screengrabs to take a closer look at what’s in store for audiences when the follow-up hits theaters next Valentine’s Day. Simon Kinberg, the writer/producer of The Last Stand, Days of Future Past, and Apocalypse, steps into the director’s chair this time around to make his directorial debut with a script he wrote that adapts the iconic Dark Phoenix comics arc. That puts Sophie Turner front and center as Jean Grey, and judging by both the trailer and these images, this is going to be one of the most dramatic X-Men movies yet.
I’ll put a slight spoiler warning here because, while I have no knowledge of what happens in the film, these Dark Phoenix images appear to make a suggestion about a major plot point. It was previously revealed that the film has a “major twist” halfway through that changes the course of the franchise, and both the previously released images and this trailer show a funeral for a beloved character. Judging by what we see here, I would not be surprised in the slightest if Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique bites the dust at the hand of Jean Grey.
What’s the evidence? Well, there’s not a ton of Lawrence in the trailer and she’s one of the most in-demand actresses working today, so it would make sense if she had a minor but key role in the film. But beyond that, we see Hank (Nicholas Hoult) and Charles (James McAvoy) sitting in a dark kitchen after the funeral looking incredibly somber, and Hank is angry. Then later we see Hank has joined ranks with Magneto. Moreover, at the funeral, Hank is the only one without an umbrella. Who does Hank love the most? Raven. So, yeah, things don’t look good for that particular character.
But overall this trailer has a strong air of drama to it, and I’m excited to see the franchise take a more interior turn after the loud, somewhat incoherent Apocalypse. Take a closer look at the trailer with 50 Dark Phoenix images below, and sound off with your own thoughts in the comments. The film also stars Michael Fassbender, Jessica Chastain, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, and Alexandra Shipp. Dark Phoenix opens in theaters on February 14, 2019.
Here is the official synopsis for Dark Phoenix:
In DARK PHOENIX, the X-MEN face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jean’s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.