Given that the character is absent from the original comic book storyline, it may have come as a surprise to some that Michael Fassbender’s Magneto was confirmed as featuring in the cast of next year’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix (although it really shouldn’t have, given that Erik is one of the mainstays of the movie series).
Well, the folks at Nerdist claim to have the inside scoop as to Magneto’s role in the latest chapter of the X-Men franchise, with the site reporting that he’ll be sporting a new “messianic” costume and may have attracted followers of his ideology. Their source suggests therefore that the Acolytes may make their big screen debut in the film, while the fictional county of Genosha is also set to feature.
If you’re unfamiliar with the comic book source material, the Acolytes are a group of mutant supervillains who subscribe to Magneto’s beliefs, even going as far as to worship him as a “mutant messiah”. Genosha meanwhile is an island which falls under the control of Magneto as a mutants-only nation after the previous regime – which enslaved mutants – is toppled.
Quite how these elements will fit into the storyline is anyone’s guess. Hopefully it won’t detract from the Dark Phoenix plot, a la X-Men: The Last Stand and its focus on the mutant cure.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix is set for release on November 2nd, 2018. Simon Kinberg is directing a cast that includes franchise veterans Michael Fassbender (Magneto), James McAvoy (Professor X), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) and Evan Peters (Quicksilver) alongside Jessica Chastain as Lilandra and Lamar Johnson in an as-yet-unrevealed roles.
Originally published July 5, 2017. Updated December 16, 2019.
