10 Characters We Want To See In X-Men: Dark Phoenix

After the misstep that was 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, 20th Century Fox will be hoping that the upcoming X-Men: Dark Phoenix will set the mainline X-Men movies back on track and raise them up to the level of spinoffs Logan and Deadpool, which have eclipsed the core franchise in recent years. One way they've decided to do this is to start redoing storylines already covered in previous movies but tackle them in a much more comic book accurate way. For instance, Jean Grey's transformation into Dark Phoenix was bungled in X-Men: The Last Stand, but will be treated as the grand space opera it is on the page in this new film, which will also move ahead into the 1990s, allowing for a fresh bunch of mutants to turn up. These creative decisions are promising, as they suggest that some brilliant comic book characters we've always wanted to see in the films, or would like to see brought back to the screen for another go, could make an appearance. We already know that Lilandra and Dazzler will show up, but they could just be the tip of the iceberg. On that note, here are our picks for who we want to see in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. 10) Psylocke Fans were overjoyed when it was announced that Olivia Munn was going to play Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse. The actress was a perfect fit for the part and her purple outfit - while obviously gratuitously revealing - was lifted straight from the page. Unfortunately, in the film itself Psylocke was totally wasted. Munn hardly got to speak in the movie and was only used as a lackey for Apocalypse. It later came out that the character was never originally intended to be in the pic but director Bryan Singer and writer Simon Kinberg decided to shoe-horn her in after seeing some fan art of Munn as Psylocke online. It's fun to know that fans can influence things like this, but it was a shame to see such a storied character being used as an afterthought. Though depicted as a villain in the film, Psylocke is usually a good guy in the comics. She escaped to live another day in Apocalypse as well, so let's hope she turns up again as an ally of the X-Men in Dark Phoenix. 9) Angel Another character introduced in Apocalypse we want to see redeemed in X-Men: Dark Phoenix is Angel, as played by Ben Hardy. After being under-utilized back in X-Men: The Last Stand, it sounded like a good idea to recast Warren Worthington III for Apocalypse and tackle his villainous Archangel identity as one of En-Sabah-Nur's Four Horsemen. Like Psylocke, though, Angel was treated pretty poorly in the movie. Ben Foster's version from The Last Stand wasn't in it very much, but at least it was a serviceable version of the long-running character from the comics - a billionaire teen whose wings were a solid metaphor for embracing your idiosyncrasies and not hiding who you are. Hardy's version, however, was just a thug for Apocalypse, albeit with some cool metal wings. Angel looked to have died at the end of the film, which would be an ignominious end to such a major X-Man. Fingers crossed, then, that he's revealed to have survived and will follow Psylocke and join the good guys next time around. 8) Gladiator Enough about the failures of the last movie, though, let's look at the massive potential that X-Men: Dark Phoenix has in its cosmic setting. Matching the original arc from the comics, the movie will see the X-Men travel to space and encounter the Shi'Ar Empire, who want to execute Jean Grey before she can do untold damage to the universe. We know that Empress Lilandra will appear in the film, with Jessica Chastain rumoured to be lined up for the role. Apart from her though, the most obvious Shi'Ar character who should feature in the movie is Gladiator. The leader of Lilandra's royal protectors the Imperial Guard, Gladiator is a super-strong anti-hero who's been an ally and enemy to the X-Men over the years. His extreme loyalty (and unrequited love) for his queen is probably his most identifiable characteristic, so we'd expect him to be portrayed as a major thorn in the X-Men's side in Dark Phoenix. The rest of the Imperial Guard are all interesting, colourful characters, as well, with their own array of powers, and it would suit the movie's apparent comic book fidelity if they also appeared. 7) Corsair Obviously Dark Phoenix will focus on Jean Grey, but where Jean goes there's always Scott Summers. Cyclops and Jean have been the X-Men poster couple for decades and this movie will presumably move their relationship on from their early connection in Apocalypse. We could even explore Scott's backstory in the film, maybe even meeting his dad. Who, as it happens, is a space pirate. You see, it was revealed in the comics that NASA test pilot Christopher Summers and his family were once abducted by the Shi'Ar Empire. Though Christopher got his sons Scott and Alex (Havoc) back to safety, his wife was murdered. Alone in space, Summers went onto become the Corsair, leader of the Starjammers (more on them in a moment). If the Corsair's included, his presence could help flesh out Cyclops' character more than we've ever previously seen in the movies. A couple of years ago, this storyline would have seemed so outlandish that there was no way it would be brought to the screen. This year, however, we got a planet-sized Kurt Russell as Chris Pratt's father, so everything is now up for grabs. 6) Starjammers If X-Men: Dark Phoenix is heading into outer space, it might as well go all out in embracing the full scope of the X-Men universe on the page. And one of the best ways of doing that is to feature the Corsair's team of space pirates, the Starjammers. Formed by Christopher Summers, the Starjammers are made up of several misfit aliens who'd been enslaved by the Shi'Ar. The group formed a tight bond based on their mutual hatred of the Empire and their main goal is to get vengeance on the Shi'Ar for what they did to them. Over the years, the Starjammers have allied with the X-Men on several occasions - as well as other Marvel heroes like Hulk and Silver Surfer. Captain Marvel herself, Carol Danvers, was even a member at one point. Like the Corsair, we'd never have hoped to see such an obscure group from the comics on the screen a little while ago, but now, including the Starjammers in Dark Phoenix seems like the perfect thing to do. If Fox want their own version of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, introducing the Starjammers here before maybe featuring them in their own movie in the future would be a very canny way to go. 5) Rogue (Recast) Ever since 2011's X-Men: First Class, the prequel movies have given us a range of recast characters previously seen in the original films. Many of these have brought the characters much closer to their comic book counterparts, something that would be great to see continued in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. In particular, there's one X-(wo)Man we'd love to see finally done justice on screen. Anna Paquin's Rogue might have been a fairly major part of the first X-Men trilogy, but she was nothing like the sassy, Southern belle from the comics. Characterized as a mostly helpless ingenue and damsel in distress, the movie Rogue nailed the character's tragic power - she can't touch anyone without killing them - but not much else. Let's hope that a more accurate Rogue - preferably with her green coat and yellow jumpsuit combo, too - appears in the next outing. After all, seeing as Dark Phoenix is set in the 1990s, it makes perfect sense to reintroduce a character who was a big fan favourite on the beloved 1994 X-Men animated series, right? 4) Emma Frost (Recast) Even more so than Rogue, the movies really wasted Emma Frost. Though January Jones had the perfect look for the character, unfortunately her turn in First Class was wooden and dull and the villain was reduced to eye candy. Sure, Frost's skimpy wardrobe is an iconic part of her character on the page, but she's actually a fascinating individual once you get past that. Beginning as a villain, the so-called White Queen later turned to good and has had a major role in the comics over the past couple of decades. It would be great to see this mined in the movies, and dropping a new version of Emma into Dark Phoenix would be a good way to start. The character even has a role in the original comic book storyline. Interestingly, Bryan Singer's initial idea for how to tackle "the Dark Phoenix Saga," back when he was still planning on directing The Last Stand, included a big role for Emma Frost. With Sigourney Weaver lined up to play her, the White Queen would have been the main villain as she manipulated Jean into unleashing her powers. This storyline probably wouldn't gel with everything else that's being squeezed into the film, but a role for Emma Frost would still be welcome. 3) Scarlet Witch Here's a left-field idea: how about the X-Men movies introduce their own version of Scarlet Witch? Due to the unique position of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as members of both the X-Men and the Avengers, both Marvel Studios and Fox have access to these characters. We've seen two Quicksilvers already, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the MCU and Evan Peters in the X-Men universe, but there hasn't yet been another Wanda Maximoff. Peter Maximoff's little sister was briefly glimpsed in Days of Future Past, though, confirming that she exists at least. Seeing as events have moved on twenty years from the events of that film in Dark Phoenix, Wanda would now be a young woman presumably in full possession of her powers. If she did show, Scarlet Witch would be hugely useful in a battle against Jean, as Wanda is a pretty powerful being in her own right. It has to be said that Elizabeth Olsen's MCU iteration is pretty far from the comic books portrayal, and this is something that an X-Men version could put right. And with the franchise's newfound love for authentic costumes, we could even get a Scarlet Witch with her red headress from the comics. 2) Mr. Sinister Remember that tease at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse about Essexcorp? It immediately got fans excited that comic book ubervillain Nathaniel Essex AKA Mr. Sinister was making his way to the movies. It was generally accepted that he would be the main villain of Logan, but that didn't turn out to be the case. Though it is possible he was behind the evil schemes of Transigen. So, what's happening with Mr. Sinister? Have director/producer Simon Kinberg and his team decided to go in a different direction and drop that post-credits tease - it wouldn't be the first time that the X-Men franchise has taken a sharp swerve left. Or is Sinister going to become Fox's version of Thanos? A powerful big bad who waits in the shadows until he steps into the light in an event movie at some point in the future? We have a feeling it will be the latter and if that's the case, it's probably time to see Mr. Sinister in the flesh. Nothing major, just a quick glimpse at the villain, ala Thanos' cameo at the end of The Avengers. Fingers crossed for Bryan Cranston! 1) Cable If there's one character we want to see turn up in Dark Phoenix above all the others on this list, it's Cable. Fans have been waiting to see him in the movies for a long time and, after a tease at the end of Deadpool, the character will finally arrive in Deadpool 2, as played by Josh Brolin. But wouldn't it be awesome if he actually ended up making an appearance twice in the same year? You see, while Deadpool 2 drops on June 1st, X-Men: Dark Phoenix lands on November 2nd. Audiences will already be familiar with the cyborg by then and would get a real kick out of seeing the Deadpool films crossover with the mainline X-Men movies. With the Phoenix's reality-warping powers, a cameo could be easily arranged. Cable could appear via, say, a vision of the future. A bigger reason it should happen, though, is that it would be a hugely interesting moment for the characters. Cable is really Nathan Summers, after all, the son of Jean Grey and Scott Summers returned to the present day from the future. What would the pair do if they knew that they were going to have a son at some point? That knowledge could even be instrumental in bringing Jean back to her old self. In short, a Cable cameo could work as either a fan-gratifying moment or a major dramatic turn in the film. It's a win-win either way!