When the initial casting information started to surface for X-Men: Dark Phoenix, there was one bummer of an absence. While it’s pleasantly surprising to see that James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and Nicholas Hoult are re-upping their contracts to return for the X-Men: Apocalypse sequel, one of the best parts of this new iteration of the franchise—Evan Peters’ Quicksilver—was not mentioned. It was unclear if Peters had a schedule conflict with American Horror Story or what, but his name was not in those initial reports.

There’s no reason to fret, however, as THR now confirms that Peters will indeed be reprising his role as Quicksilver in Dark Phoenix, while adding that The Next Step actor Lamar Johnson is joining the film in a role that’s currently being kept under wraps. Peters’ Quicksilver was actually the butt of a joke before his debut in X-Men: Days of Future Past, as many pegged Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s impending turn as the same character in Avengers: Age of Ultron as the better bet. But when we saw both films we realized that Peters was doing something really special with the character, while director Bryan Singer had devised a complicated sequence that showed off Quicksilver’s full powers.

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Quicksilver had the standout scene in both Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, so it’ll be interesting to see how he’s put to use in Dark Phoenix. If they keep the timeline of these last two films and jump to the 90s, there's plenty of opportunities for a great needledrop—"The Power", anyone? The sequel is marking the directorial debut of X-Men writer/producer Simon Kinberg, who’s cutting his teeth on a massive film with a daunting cast. In addition to the aforementioned performers, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, and Kodi Smit-McPhee will all be returning after making their debuts in Apocalypse as Cylcops, Jean Grey, Storm, and Nightcrawler, respectively. Jessica Chastain is also said to be in talks to play the film’s villain, Lilandra, but it doesn’t sound like that deal has closed yet so it’s possible someone else ends up filling that role.

Production on X-Men: Dark Phoenix begins in Montreal this week, so we should be hearing more about the film soon. I’m especially curious to find out who’s serving as Kinbeg’s cinematographer. The film is slated for release on November 2, 2018.

 

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Image via 20th Century Fox
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Image via 20th Century Fox

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