First Look At Jessica Chastain In X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Details about Jessica Chastain's character in X-Men: Dark Phoenix are still hazy, but a new report brings a few things to light.

When it was announced that Oscar-nominated actress would play a villain in the flick, many assumed it would be Shi'ar Empress Lilandra Neramani because that character factors heavily into the Dark Phoenix comic storyline. However, Chastain quickly shot down those rumors in a since-deleted Instagram post.

Entertainment Weekly has an in-depth feature on the upcoming X-Men sequel from director Simon Kinberg, and it confirms that Chastain is playing someone else. The character is an "otherworldy shapeshifter who manipulates Phoenix (Sophie Turner) for her own agenda." 

Chastain said the villain is "quiet" but "brutal." When talking about her inspiration for the character, she said, "Simon and I were talking about the character and I said, 'I keep thinking of the vet who tells you you need to put your dog down.' There's something very clinical about it."

In a photo (below), we get our first glimpse at the character, which has Chastain abandon her red locks for a platinum blonde look. She also wears all black with a long overcoat, looking especially stoic.

There are plenty of shapeshifters in the Marvel universe, but it seems possible that Chastain could play one of the Skrulls, an extraterrestrial humanoid race that created the oldest known empire in the Andromeda galaxy. If that's true, Chastain might play Princess Anelle, daughter of the empire's ruler.

We'll be on the lookout for more clues as we get closer to the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix on Nov. 2, 2018.