The makers of "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" say the upcoming film will be all about the women of the franchise.
For the most part, the "X-Men" franchise has been widely dominated by men, with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) always taking the front seat, along with Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr (Ian McKellen/Michael Fassbender) and Professor X/Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart/James McAvoy).
Even in "The Last Stand," which was about Jean Grey's (Famke Janssen) battle with herself, her character was only supporting the men.
But in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the movie's writer and director Simon Kinberg promised to change that. He said Jean (Sophie Turner) will be front and center in the "Dark Phoenix" installment. The other female mutants -- Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and the still unnamed, top-secret character of Jessica Chastain -- will also be in the main focus.
"I really wanted to acknowledge the strength of the women in the comic and in the actresses that we have and the central storyline demands it," Kinberg told Entertainment Weekly.
Turner added that she is excited about the "revolution" in superhero movies nowadays. "I feel like this movie is a revelation because of it being like a drama but the hero is a female and she's also the villain," she said.
Turner said that the film would focus on Jean's relationship with the other female mutants, particularly that of Chastain's character. With both lead characters as female and "so complex," Turner promised that the film will be "really interesting."
Chastain, for her part, shared that she has always wanted to star in a comic book franchise, but she has also always been vocal about female representation in films, and no script has ever satisfied her until "Dark Phoenix."
"I was really pleased with this script because I think it's a departure from the norm. This definitely passes the Bechdel test and I don't know how many comic book films can say that," she said.
Apart from the strong women mentioned above, "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" also stars Olivia Munn, McAvoy, Fassbender, Tye Sheridan, Nicholas Hoult, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Evan Peters. It is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 2, 2018.
