Although her character was never officially confirmed by 20th Century Fox, it has been assumed that Jessica Chastain is taking on the role of Lilandra, the Shi’ar Empress, in the next instalment of the main X-Men series, X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Well, as it now turns out, that might not be the case after all, as Chastain has taken to Instagram to mark her first day of filming on the mutant superhero sequel by posting the now-deleted comment: “Hey folks, want a scoop? I’m not playing Lilandra…”
Assuming that Chastain isn’t just having a little fun with fans, it now begs the question whether the Shi’ar Empire will feature in the movie at all, particularly as Simon Kinberg has recently stated that the film will be “grounded” and “not too cosmic”. And if she isn’t Lilandra, then just who could she be playing?
SEE ALSO: Jennifer Lawrence explains why she decided to return as Mystique for X-Men: Dark Phoenix
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 new additions Jessica Chastain and Lamar Johnson.
Originally published September 8, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
