The first trailer for X-Men: Dark Phoenix has been released, and unsurprisingly, there's
a lot of anger, sadness, and foreshadowing packed into the two-minute clip — and we've
watched it a whole bunch of times to help you uncover all the small details and hints
you might have missed.
Power flare
X-Men fans will notice that the trailer boasts a shot of familiar X-Jet, the Blackbird, hurtling
through space and looking a bit out of control.
In the issues leading up to the original Chris Claremont-penned comic arc known as The Dark
Phoenix Saga, the X-Men plummet to Earth in a damaged ship piloted by Jean Grey.
Jean is unable to shield herself entirely from solar radiation and the resulting injury
and crash landing lead to the birth of the Phoenix: sort of Jean, and sort of not-Jean.
It's complicated.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, writer and director Simon Kinberg confirmed
that in Dark Phoenix, the X-Men do go to space, where they're hit by a solar flare that sparks
an unexpected change in Jean.
The trailer seemingly offers a glimpse of this moment, when we see a shot of what appears
to be the solar flare right on the tail of the X-Jet.
Catching fire
We saw Sophie Turner's Jean first tap into her fiery Phoenix powers at the end of X-Men:
Apocalypse.
In the Dark Phoenix trailer, we're treated to several shots of Jean aflame.
One shows her completely engulfed in a fire that appears to get drawn into her body.
She's sporting an X-uniform, so it's possible this shot comes from the scene when Jean is
overcome by the solar flare.
We're treated to a few other moments when fire burns in the irises of Jean's blue eyes
as she embraces her newfound powers, as in the final shot of the trailer when flame veins
creep over her face.
We also saw Famke Janssen's Jean grappling with her Phoenix powers throughout The Last
Stand.
That Jean failed to control the cosmic force.
Will this Jean have a better outcome?
The title card at the end of the trailer seems a bit foreboding, and shows a vaguely Phoenix-shaped
flicker of light behind a group of clouds.
Island retreat
In late 2017, it was confirmed that Dark Phoenix would take Jean to the island of Genosha,
where Magneto has set up a sort of mutant refugee home.
As in the comics, the big-screen version of Magneto is more complicated than your average
villain, with his struggles against the X-Men often coming down to opposing ideologies more
than a truly evil moral code.
Genosha offers another example of his efforts to aid mutantkind.
Genosha is a well-traveled location for mutants in the source comics, first appearing in 1988
as a wealthy island nation that achieved its riches by exploiting the mutants born there
as slaves.
Magneto has taken over the island before, in the 1999 limited series Magneto Rex, during
which he also converted it into a haven for mutants.
Home free
Kinberg makes his directorial debut with Dark Phoenix, and based on what we see in this
trailer, Kinberg revisits key moments we saw in The Last Stand — which he also wrote.
Rumor has it that studio pressure led to much of his script for that film being edited down,
sidelining Jean in the process.
In Dark Phoenix, Kinberg appears to bring Jean back to her childhood home as she struggles
to restrain her emerging Phoenix powers, as he did in his script for The Last Stand.
"You have more power than you can imagine, Jean.
The question is, will you control that power?"
Here, we see Jean confront the X-Men in the street outside a house in a suburban neighborhood.
It's likely this marks a turning point in the film, as the symbolism of Jean destroying
the home of her late parents can't be denied in the context of a film that centers on her
struggle to retain her identity in the face of her increasingly unrestrained power.
Sharp dressed team
During that face-off with her X-Men teammates, we're treated to our first clear long shot
of the new X-uniforms — and it should be a very welcome sight for longtime fans of
the comics series.
The design is nearly identical to the revamped look drawn by renowned artist Frank Quitely
for Grant Morrison's influential take on the franchise, which was published as the New
X-Men series starting in 2001.
This series also dealt with happenings on the island of Genosha, but only time will
tell whether the New X-Men influence on Dark Phoenix stretches beyond costuming, or if
this is simply a nod to the characters' illustrious history on the page.
Cross X-amination
Throughout the Dark Phoenix trailer, Professor X's handling of Jean and her link to her Phoenix
power is questioned by those closest to him.
"What did you do?"
"I had to keep her stable.
I protected her."
Mystique isn't the only blue mutant who questions Professor X's judgement on the matter.
Later we see Hank McCoy confronting the Professor and telling him that it's all his fault.
Whatever Hank is blaming Charles for, it's clearly pretty serious because a still later
shot shows the Professor in a standoff opposite Magneto and several of his mutant team — and
who's among them but McCoy in his Beast form.
What could drive this intelligent, measured academic to take up with Magneto against his
mentor and friend?
A close-up of Hank pressing his anguished blue face to Mystique's may hold the answer.
In The Last Stand, Jean's powers truly moved beyond her control following her murder of
Cyclops and the Professor.
Could her turning point in Dark Phoenix come when her power leads to the death of Mystique,
which leads a heartbroken Beast toward the dark side as well?
Mystery blonde
A closely guarded secret of Dark Phoenix is the identity of Jessica Chastain's character.
The studio has been tight-lipped, with Kinberg revealing only that:
"Her character is way way smarter than we are.
What she realizes is she can use [Jean Grey] to manipulate this world, to turn it against
itself."
Fans have theorized the unknown woman to be a version of Mastermind, the mutant who invaded
Jean's mind to brainwash her further toward the dark side in the comics.
This was shot down by Kinberg, who did concede:
"There are elements of the way Mastermind manipulates Jean that Jessica's character
does employ.
[...] You'll see that Jessica's character has elements of a few different characters
from the comics."
Fans wondered if one of those characters could be Lilandra, the Shi'ar Empress who's been
entwined in the story of the Dark Phoenix throughout several of Marvel's comic continuities.
Fans have also speculated that she could be based on Emma Frost, AKA the White Queen,
a telepath who went also appeared in the Dark Phoenix Saga.
Of course, January Jones already portrayed Emma Frost in 'X-Men: First Class', so who
knows if that will be the case.
Dark duds
Speaking of Mastermind, one of the most campy and visually striking moments from The Dark
Phoenix Saga is Jean Grey "Black Queen" identity, which she takes on as a result of Mastermind's
mental manipulations.
A shot late in the trailer shows Jean wearing a dark leather jacket with a raised collar,
along with a more dramatic hairstyle and earrings.
We see her in a similar getup in her earlier clip speaking to Chastain in the church.
Could this be a modified Black Queen ensemble, a subtle nod to the change in outfit from
the original comics?