Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead
After many delays, the second Dark Phoenix trailer is finally here and it looks like the film will be the X-men’s endgame. With Disney’s acquisition of Fox, the rights to the X-Men will revert to Marvel Studios and director Simon Kinberg is looking to go out with a bang. Therefore, this trailer showed us some dark themes and even revealed a surprising character death. So, let’s head to Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and get some schooling for this Dark Phoenix trailer breakdown.
The X-Men Confront Jean in Red Hook
At the beginning of the trailer, the X-Men are approaching Jean in a small quaint town. This town is the same one we saw in the first trailer, where Jean flips over a couple of police cars. As we learned from the name posted on the cruisers, the town is called Red Hook, New York and could provide an interesting connection between the film and the FX show, Legion.
During Legion, a Division 3 agent says, “After what happened in Red Hook, I’d say that was an understatement.” However, the town and the incident were never mentioned again. This left fans baffled and scrambling for answers, but it looks like the Dark Phoenix trailer may have just told us that the incident in Red Hook could refer to something Jean is about to do in Dark Phoenix.
The Phoenix Force Merges with Jean
We see the X-Men in space on what looks like a rescue mission. If you look in the distance, there’s an ominous red force and a small, white light to the right of it. This white speck could be a space shuttle that the X-Men have been sent to rescue.
During New York Comicon 2018, con-goers got to see the first 13 minutes of Dark Phoenix and during those opening moments, we saw a NASA shuttle blast off with strange anomalies on their radar. The President then calls Charles Xavier to help and the X-Men assemble to get the astronauts home safely. Jean seemingly dies during the mission, but miraculously survives because the Phoenix force has integrated with her body.
If you look closely at the trailer, the red force that enters Jean’s body turns into the physical form of a Phoenix when it completely overtakes Jean. Hence, the name of the movie.
The X-Men’s Black Bird
Right when Jean blasts Mystique away in the trailer, you can catch a glimpse of the X-Men’s Black Bird in the background. Also known as the X-Jet, this sleek black jet appears throughout Marvel Comics and previous X-Men films as the team’s transportation of choice. It has been through many iterations over the years, but it’s typically piloted by Cyclops and Storm.
The Quicksilver Scene Drops Some Interesting Hints
Quicksilver is a fan favorite and therefore, needed to make an appearance in the trailer. However, he might have actually been used as a distraction from everything else going on throughout the 2-minute sneak peek.
Right before Quicksilver starts ninja-jumping through bits of broken wood, there’s a quick shot of him moving into action. If you pause the trailer here, you’ll see a Bishop Fowler truck in the background. This could potentially be a shout out to the X-Men character Bishop and comic artist Tom Fowler.
Then, if take a look at the scene where Quicksilver is jumping on the wood boards, you may notice a boot floating in the air, to the left of the speedster. 20th Century Fox purposefully spent a lot of time showing us Mystique’s boots when she approached Jean earlier in the trailer and it was surrounded by a lot of wood boards. So, could this random floating boot actually belong to Mystique? If so, what happened to her? Also, interestingly, Quicksilver isn’t seen in any of the other scenes throughout the trailer, so what happens to him?
Jessica Chastain’s Character
Throughout the film, we see Jessica Chastain’s character as a dark and ominous force looking to harness Jean Grey’s powers for her own. However, this is all we really know about the character.
IMDb refers to Chastain’s character as“Smith”, but director Kinsberg has confirmed that Smith is not her real name. What he has told fans is that she is “not of this world”. She’s an extraterrestrial character based on an “amalgam of a couple of different characters and iterations of those characters over the span of different tellings of the Dark Phoenix story.” Some reports even suggest that she is a shapeshifter like Mystique.
Chastain also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this week and told the host, “I get to beat up a lot of X-Men in the movie… maybe kill some?” So, we could potentially see the end of even more X-Men than we originally thought.
The Death of Mystique
The trailer shows us a shot of the X-Men attending a funeral. According to hints from the director, this ceremony is likely in honor of Mystique.
At the beginning of the trailer, we see Jean flinging Mystique to the side. Although this doesn’t seem like something that will kill her, Director Simon Kinberg has confirmed in an interview with EW that Mystique will die in Dark Phoenix as a result of Jean’s uncontrollable powers. Her death will ultimately divide the remaining X-Men and pit them against each other. Half of the group will vow to protect Jean while the other will try to avenge Mystique’s death and attempt to assassinate her.
Ultimately, Kinberg wants to create his own Infinity War. With the impending acquisition of Fox by Disney, it is highly likely that each of these characters will cease to exist in the cinematic universe as is. Therefore, Kinberg is going out with a bang and showing everyone that “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.”