For a while there, things didn’t look too good for Fox’s X-Men franchise. Apocalypse was a wholly mediocre affair and after it under-performed with both critics and at the box office, things went quiet in regards to where the mutants would head next. It didn’t take long though before the rumors began to swirl and a few weeks back, the studio finally issued an official statement telling fans exactly what they can expect, and when.
As it turns out, 2018 will be a massive year for the franchise, as it’ll see the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, New Mutants and Deadpool 2. While all three of those films are hugely exciting, Dark Phoenix is perhaps the one with the most anticipation surrounding it, simply because all eyes are on the main saga to see if it can recover after Apocalypse. A big part in getting things back on track will of course be the cast that’s signed on for the film, and that’s why everyone’s eager to find out which actors and actresses will be returning.
Given the plot of the next instalment – it’ll adapt “The Dark Phoenix Saga” arc from the comics – we already know we can count a few people in with absolute certainty, like Sophie Turner, who plays a young Jean Grey. More important though is which of the older actors will make an appearance here? For a while now, we’ve heard that folks like Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence may be putting their X-Men days behind them, but with nothing official coming from the studio yet, we’re left to sit here and wait for things to firm up behind the scenes.
That doesn’t exactly change today, but if MTV’s Josh Horowitz is to be believed, Fassbender won’t be going anywhere and will be returning to play Magneto in Dark Phoenix. Speaking to the actor on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Horowitz was able to learn a little bit about the Assassin’s Creed star’s plans for the future, as he Tweeted out the following earlier today:
Want to know Fassbender's X-MEN future? Bet big on him appearing in DARK PHOENIX but not NEW MUTANTS. Oh, I just saw Michael Fassbender BTW
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) May 15, 2017
Of course, that’s hardly a confirmation, and until 20th Century Fox comments on it we’d caution you not to take Horowitz’s word as the absolute truth. That being said, he’s got no reason to lie and it makes sense that the studio would want one of the franchise’s most bankable stars back for the next instalment. In fact, we imagine that they’re doing everything they can right now to get him, Lawrence and McAvoy to return for more and we wouldn’t be surprised if all three actors end up signing on in the end.
Time will ultimately tell who Fox is able to get on board for X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but with or without Fassbender, we’re certainly excited about the franchise’s future and with how many great projects are coming down the pipeline, it really does seem like there’s never been a better time to be a fan of those iconic mutants.