Production hasn’t even officially begun on the upcoming X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but the cast and crew are already preparing for the cameras to roll later this summer. Star James McAvoy took to Instagram to tease his return as Professor X in a rather unique way, which you can find below along with the first photo of one of the sets (via CBM)!
Longtime X-Men series writer and producer Simon Kinberg will write and direct X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which will bring back the cast of X-Men: Apocalypse, including Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler). Actress Jessica Chastain is in talks to play the villain of the film, Lilandra. An empress of the Shi’ar Empire, Lilandra leads an alien race that is in search of and eager to eradicate the Phoenix Force. Sophie Turner will reprise her role as Jean Grey in the film, the host of the Phoenix Force and subject of the Shi’ar’s search.
Kinberg will also produce the film alongside Lauren Shuler Donner and Hutch Parker. X-Men: Dark Phoenix is set to open in theaters on November 2, 2018.
Kinberg previously confirmed that the next X-Men movie would jump ahead ten years from Apocalypse, offering a 1990s setting for the sequel. The X-Men comics saw a commercial boom during the ’90s, following character redesigns by Jim Lee, which went on to be the basis for the fan-favorite animated series.
2018 is set to be a banner year for the X-Universe as Dark Phoenix will cap off the year following Josh Boone‘s New Mutants on April 13, 2018 and Deadpool 2 on June 1, 2018.
First pic from the #XMenDarkPhoenix movie set!#Xmen #DarkPhoenix #XMCU #TeenSpirit pic.twitter.com/Dsm8YTpf49
— JENLAWFILMS (@JenLawFilms) June 19, 2017