The latest X-Men: Dark Phoenix trailer has arrived. Thanks to Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the upcoming movie might very well be the final movie to take place in the cinematic universe which originally began with the first X-Men movie in 2000. However, from the looks of the new trailer, it seems like the once-mighty franchise will be ending with a whimper instead of the swansong farewell it could have been.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-q8C_c-nlM&w=560&h=315]

Although I’ve already anticipated this turn of events, it’s still very worrying that I’m getting X-Men: The Last Stand vibes from the new X-Men: Dark Phoenix trailer. It looks doomed to repeat the mistakes of its predecessor, which also attempted to adapt Chris Claremont’s iconic X-Men storyline from the comics; The Dark Phoenix Saga.

Albeit what I believe will turn out to be a disaster of a movie, I’ll still try to break down some of the more important reveals from the new X-Men: Dark Phoenix trailer.

The Death of Mystique Sparks The Events Of The Movie

The new X-Men Dark Phoenix trailer begins by showing us the X-Men confronting an emotionally-distraught Jean Grey in front of her childhood home. Raven Darkholme AKA Mystique tries to calm her but fails, getting blasted by an energy burst courtesy of Jean’s Phoenix Force.

Who Is Jessica Chastain’s White-Haired Character?

Throughout the new X-Men: Dark Phoenix trailer, we can see Jessica Chastain’s character manipulating Jean Grey into embracing her Phoenix Force and goading the Dark Phoenix persona to emerge. In the source material, it was a villain with psychic powers named Mastermind who succeeded in causing the Dark Phoenix to surface.

The biggest difference is that Jessica Chastain’s character is confirmed to be an alien shapeshifter with a mysterious connection to Professor Xavier. Unlike Mastermind in the comics, she seemingly knows the true potential of the Phoenix Force inside Jean Grey. Therefore, I could only think of three characters from the comics who could possibly fit the bill here.

Lilandra Neramani

The first likely identity of Jessica Chastain’s character is Lilandra Neramani, best known as the Empress of Majestrix of the intergalactic Shi’ar Empire. This character is so closely connected to the X-Men that she was once married to Charles Xavier in the comics at one point in time.

In the comics, Jean (or rather, her Dark Phoenix persona) committed genocide by causing the destruction of a populated planet in Shi’ar space. Lilandra wanted to put her to death, which put her at odds with the X-Men. However, she’s most often an ally to the X-Men and one of the ‘good guys’, so it doesn’t make sense for them to suddenly make her a villain.

Cassandra Nova

The second likely identity of Jessica Chastain’s character is Cassandra Nova, best known as the twin sister of Charles Xavier. She has caused much suffering to Professor X and the X-Men, due to the fact that he tried to kill her in the womb before they were born. Don’t ask me how that makes sense because that came from the mind of Grant Morrison.

She was never involved in The Dark Phoenix Saga in the comics, though there’s no reason why they couldn’t give her a part in the movie. Cassandra Nova is one of the X-Men most powerful antagonists, capable of god-like psionic powers and shares the same abilities with Charles Xavier himself.

Lucifer

The third likely identity of Jessica Chastain’s character is Lucifer. I’m not talking about the biblical Lucifer, but rather an alien named Lucifer who is best known as the one who crippled Charles Xavier. His powers include telepathy and ionic manipulation.

In the comics, Lucifer is a male, though there’s no reason why they couldn’t just change his gender. He’s also an “alien” with a “mysterious connection to Professor Xavier” so he fits the bill pretty well, although he doesn’t have “shapeshifting” powers.

X-Tinction Agenda?

There’s nothing much of note in the rest of the new X-Men: Dark Phoenix trailer. The scene where the X-Men are being restrained by inhibitor collars and transported by soldiers to what could turn out to be Genosha indicates that the movie could be adapting another iconic X-Men storyline, X-Tinction Agenda.

In X-Tinction Agenda, the X-Men were abducted by the Magistrates to be turned into mindless slaves serving the nation of Genosha. This might be the debut of the famous mutant island nation from the comics.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is slated to arrive on 6 June 2019.