James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence all signed three picture deals when they joined the cast of X-Men: First Class, and following the release of X-Men: Apocalypse, they’re no longer committed to these roles. The door is open for them to come back of course, but it’s far from a sure thing, particularly in the case of Lawrence.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, the actress (who plays Mystique) expressed an interest in returning to the role, but also seems wary of committing to more instalments of the X-Men franchise, particularly because they’re so time consuming and the uncomfortable process of covering her entire body from head to toe in that blue make-up.
“Fassbender and McAvoy and I were all talking. Like, ‘Will you come back?’ ‘I dunno.’ ‘I’ll come back if you come back.’ Fox should be terrified because the deal we made was like if one of us doesn’t come back, none of us are. I would love to come back. I love the fans and I love the character. But then you realize how important your year is, like how important three months out of your year is. I don’t know. I shouldn’t be that honest.”
Now that Mystique has an actual costume, that would mean Lawrence would only have to have her hands and face painted blue, something which could help convince her to return to the role. Ultimately though, it will probably come down to how much Fox are willing to offer her, McAvoy and Fassbender, and all three of them have said similar things about possibly returning.
Whether or not they’ll be back is something we’re just going to have to wait and see on. For now at least, we can enjoy watching all three of them in X-Men: Apocalypse (perhaps for the last time).