If you’ve been keeping track of Dark Phoenix‘s production cycle – and if you’re reading this article, chances are you have – you’ll know that the forthcoming Fox prequel features a somber scene of four X-Men situated in a graveyard.
Subsequent reports have identified those characters to be Xavier (James McAvoy), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Scott/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who appear to be mourning the death of a fellow mutant.
This picture in question (see below) originally debuted as part of Entertainment Weekly’s recent cover story, but a new theory compiled by the folks at Cinema Blend claims to have identified Dark Phoenix‘s major character death. And, well, it’s actually pretty obvious.
As you’ll notice, the power-hungry and egotistical Charles Xavier is joined by three of his closest mutants, which led many to believe that X-Men: Dark Phoenix will kill off either Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and/or Magneto (Michael Fassbender) come November.
The latter mutant, who was once known as Erik Lehnscherr, has continually been angled as something of an anti-hero within Fox’s prequel saga. Couple this with the newly-unveiled shot of Magneto cast astray in a ditch and it’s small wonder why X-Men fans are beginning to fear for Michael Fassbender’s series stalwart.
But if Cinema Blend’s theory is to be believed, this graveyard scene actually involves Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), who faces the full wrath of a stray solar flare just as Dark Phoenix begins to unfold. Upon arriving back on Earth, a “malevolent, power-hungry new force” begins to stir within Jean, though should today’s theory hold true, Sophie Turner’s mutant will actually die as a result of her injuries, before she’s inevitably resurrected as the titular entity. If nothing else, it would align with the whole rebirth motif associated with the phoenix, but file this one in the rumor cabinet for the time being.
Aiming to “revolutionize” the superhero genre as we know it, X-Men: Dark Phoenix has been angled for a release on November 2nd. It’s one of three big-name blockbusters to come from Fox in 2018, given it’s rubbing shoulders with both The New Mutants and Deadpool 2.