[Spoilers for X-Men: Dark Phoenix]
Jennifer Lawrence is a four-time Oscar nominee and one of the most recognizable actresses on the planet. So, honestly, it’s a little surprising that she’s still making X-Men movies. Lawrence was Katniss for only four years; she’s up to eight years for Mystique, dating back to X-Men: First Class. The mother! star will be free of her contractual (and well-paid) obligation soon enough, because in Dark Phoenix, Mystique gets killed by Jean Grey. If you’re mad about that spoiler, blame 20th Century Fox; it’s there in the film’s trailer.
When asked why the would-be shocking death was revealed in what’s essentially marketing material, director Simon Kinberg told Entertainment Weekly, “Well, the thought process behind that was to primarily show that this is a movie that is unlike other X-Men movies” (except for The Last Stand). Via EW:
“It’s a movie where shocking things happen, where intense, dramatic things happen. People don’t just fall off buildings and dust themselves off and walk away. There’s a reality to this movie and a consequence to this movie. Even more than that, it was to show that Jean/Dark Phoenix is genuinely a threat to everyone, including the X-Men.”
Infinity War: oh no who’s gonna die haha idk maybe no one ommaybe everyone
Dark Phoenix: YEAH SO MYSTIQUE IS PROBABLY GONNA DIE
Simon Kinberg: OH MYSTIQUE IS DEFINITELY DEAD DO NOT WORRY YOURSELF OVER THAT ONE JEAN DID IT
— Walton Goggins as, The Ghoul (@Damac1214) February 28, 2019
Kinberg had reservations about sending Lawrence to that big mutant mansion in the sky, but he felt it was “the strongest, most dramatic thing for the movie, and sometimes you have to make those kinds of hard decisions to service the larger story.” He also wanted the death to sting for X-Men fans, and not just have Mean Jean Grey blow up “a building with anonymous people in it… Mystique is someone who in our universe has been part of the X-Men and has been part of Magneto’s world. Her death impacts literally everybody.”
Dark Phoenix opens June 7.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)