For the past year, there’s been a lot of talk concerning Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Mystique in X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past, exiting the franchise following X-Men: Apocalypse. The actress has been pretty open about how much she dislikes the blue makeup necessary to play her character, and has hinted in interviews that she was ready to move on from the franchise. When you add into consideration that, since first signing on for three X-Men movies, she has gone on to win an Academy Award and headline The Hunger Games franchise, it isn’t hard to imagine that she’s ready to for her contract to be up.
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But maybe that’s not quite the case. Lawrence’s stance on a possible return seems to have taken a 180 degree turn, telling Empire, “I am dying to come back. I love these movies, I love being in them. I love ensemble movies because it’s not on anyone’s shoulders.”
However, the decision isn’t entirely Lawrence’s to make. X-Men: Apocalypse is the natural end of the prequel trilogy begun in First Class, and should bring Mystique’s story arc to a conclusion. 20th Century Fox will then have to decide what direction they want to take the franchise in next, and Mystique, and Jennifer Lawrence, may or may not be a part of it.
Lawrence also isn’t the only actor whose contract expires following Apocalypse. The other X-Men prequel trilogy primaries – James McAvoy as Professor X, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, and Nicholas Hoult as Beast – also have contract renegotiations in their future, though Empire quotes McAvoy as speaking casually about “the next one” while on the set of Apocalypse, and writer/producer Simon Kinberg has stated in the past that he would like these actors to continue on as these characters if possible.
“The next one” may be a while away though. Director Bryan Singer has said that he would like to take break from directing the X-Men before beginning the next film, likely to work on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In the meantime, Fox will continue developing franchise spinoffs and solo films like Deadpool 2, The Wolverine 2, Gambit, and The New Mutants.
Check out when X-Men: Apocalypse and other movies are coming out in ComicBook.com’s Movie Release Schedule.
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