The same mindreading and storm-brewing powers aside, the next X-Men film is set to be unlike its predecessors. The X-Men will launch into battle once again in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, the next film in the X-Men franchise, under the watchful eye of director, writer, and producer Simon Kinberg.
Kinberg’s influence has, reportedly, made Dark Phoenix the best ride X-Men adventure yet.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Thursday, Mystique actress Jennifer Lawrence revealed just how different Dark Phoenix will be than any X-Men movie before it.
“I kind of f—ed myself,” Lawrence said. “Because when I was trying to talk Simon into directing, he said something like, ‘If I direct it, you have to do it,’ and I was like, ‘Of course! Duh!’ Then they offered me the movie, and I was like, ‘Goddammit!’”
Working with Kinberg on Dark Phoenix, Lawrence said, “was the best experience I’ve had [on these films]. He’s been writing these characters for so long and he knows them so deeply. I suddenly felt more connected to my character than I ever have been before.”
In addition, X-Men films have, famously, been a bit of a mess from start to finish. But Kinberg’s positive influence struck again, apparently, when it came to the film’s organization and timeline.
“These movies have always been fun amidst chaos, and now they were fun with no chaos,” Lawrence said.
Reading between the lines might result in the conclusion that Dark Phoenix went so smoothly from start to finish because previous X-Men boss Bryan Singer was not involved with the film. Singer previously directed X-Men, X-Men 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the apocalyptically and popularly bad X-Men: Apocalypse, two of which Lawrence was involved with.
And while nothing is confirmed and we still don’t know too much about Dark Phoenix, at least Lawrence seems enthusiastic about this project.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix premieres in theaters on November 2, 2018.
