‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ Trailer Features the Death of a Character

Fans finally caught a glimpse of X-Men: Dark Phoenix with the debut of the first trailer, and it promises a tough time for Marvel’s merry mutants coming when the Phoenix Force comes to Earth.

It wouldn’t be an X-Men movie without a death in the family, and as we learned from the trailer it looks like the superheroes will lose a member. Quick scenes in the trailer, and from the photos released earlier, show Beast, Professor X, Cyclops and someone else standing at the grave of someone recently departed.

The trailer did not reveal who it was, but it’s possible it could be Jean Grey herself, considering the comic book lore deals with Jean Grey’s death and rebirth. Of course her return after being possessed by the Phoenix didn’t happen for a few years (or in the second instance, more than a decade), so it could be someone else.

The story has to do with the Phoenix Force possessing Jean after a rescue mission in space goes awry. It’s possible that the power overwhelms her, resulting in her accidentally killing one of her teammates.

This is not unlike what happened in the X-Men movies’ first stab at telling the story of “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” as the resurrected Jean Grey immediately murdered her lover Cyclops moments after returning. It doesn’t seem like writer and director Simon Kinberg wants to go down this route, considering he used X-Men: Days of Future Past to correct that mistake.

“I co-wrote X-Men 3, the ‘Dark Phoenix’ story, which is probably the most sacred of the X-Men storylines in the comics,” Kinberg told THR. “Fanboys and girls did not love the movie [X-Men: The Last Stand]. When I wrote X-Men: Days of Future Past years later — it was a time travel story — I thought, ‘Well, here’s an opportunity to rewrite this mistake — bring Jean Grey back to life.’ I got to go back and essentially erase a $200 million movie.”

Fans have wondered about the status of X-Men: Dark Phoenix ever since the movie’s release date was pushed back from this November. Rumors of extensive reshoots started cropping up, but Jean Grey actress Sophie Turner shot those down earlier this year.

“I think it’s just a few bits and bobs, reshoot-wise,” Turner previously told Digital Spy. “To be honest, I don’t even know what we’re reshooting at the moment. So I couldn’t really tell you much about that one. All I know is that I’ll be back in Montreal at some point soon, and that the Valentine’s Day release date is quite a positive thing, because Black Panther got released on Valentine’s Day. So we’re keeping positive about it.”

Fans will get to see X-Men: Dark Phoenix when it premieres in theaters on February 14.