The X-Men saga films are never short on star power. From Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart to Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Jennifer Lawrence, these films have found a way to rope in some very high-profile names into their superhero universe. And now you can add Jessica Chastain to that list. Reports are saying that the Academy Award-nominated actress is currently in negotiations to play the lead villain in X-Men: Dark Phoenix.

More on the story below.

The Hollywood Reporter says that if a deal is reached, Chastain would play Lilandra, the empress of an alien empire called the Shi’ar, who leads the quest to imprison and execute Dark Phoenix, leading her into conflict with the X-Men. Though the character isn’t quite as villainous as we’d like to think, as she had a loving relationship with Charles Xavier and sought help from Xavier and his X-Men to help her defeat her evil brother in the comics.

While it stands to reason that Simon Kinberg‘s script would deviate from the original source material, it is said that the film will try to stay true to the story that was written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne.

Sources also say that in addition to writing Dark Phoenix, Kinberg is set to direct the film. Although, that has yet to be confirmed. But Kinberg has remained an intricate part of the franchise. He wrote the script for X-Men: The Last Stand, produced X-Men: First Class, co-wrote and produced X-Men: Days of Future Past, and co-wrote and produced X-Men: Apocalypse. He also produced Logan and Deadpool and is acting as producer on New Mutants and Deadpool 2. So he’s long overdue to direct an X-Men film.

Sophie Turner will reprise her role as Jean Grey, who becomes imbued with the powers of the Phoenix when she is exposed to a powerful cosmic power called the Phoenix Force. As a result, her telepathic powers are amplified tenfold, and she becomes one of the most powerful mutants on Earth. However, when those powers became too much for a mere human, even a mutant as powerful as Jean Gray, to control, the Phoenix personality took control. And soon, she became corrupted thanks to some manipulation from the Hellfire Club.

Fox is also working on new deals to bring back Fassbender, Lawrence, McAvoy, and Nicholas Hoult. The four have said that they would not return to reprise their roles for any upcoming sequels unless their fellow cast members also sign on. So it looks like the studio is taking that into consideration. No word yet if they have a plan b should all four not sign on. But we’ll keep you up to date should any developments come in.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is rumored to start filming this year for a November 2, 2018, release.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]