The news concerning the X-Men film franchise just keeps rolling in. With Simon Kinberg confirmed to direct X-Men: Dark Phoenix you can bet that casting announcements and returning cast confirmations are slated to be coming out very soon. With that being said, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that two-time Oscar nominated actress Jessica Chastain is in talks for the role as the main villain in Dark Phoenix.

Jessica Chastain has definitely not been silent about wanting to see women in Hollywood being offered a diversified option of roles to choose from. She has also expressed her desire to be apart of a comic book franchise. Even fans around the geek world have expressed their interest in seeing Chastain portray iconic characters like Medusa, the Queen of the Inhumans, or the beautiful and deadly Batman villain Poison Ivy. If the rumors are true, Chastain is said to portray Lilandra, the leader of the alien race known as the Shi’ar Empire.

Lilandra and her team were first allies of the X-Men when her brother D’Ken tries to steal an intergalactic artifact known as the M’Kraan Crystal which is said to have the ability to destroy all life in the galaxy. Lilandra has also been a love interest of Professor Charles Xavier but soon those alliances turned sour with the emergence of the Phoenix Force. Lilandra and the Shi’ar Empire saw Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force as a threat to all life in the universe and sought to destroy it. The film is based on the same comic storyline and with Jean Grey using the Phoenix Force to destroy En Sabah Nur in X-Men: Apocalypse, the presence of the Shi’ar Empire is not far behind.

Jessica Chastain is a formidable actress who won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination for her role in the critically acclaimed film Zero Dark Thirty. She was also Oscar nominated for her role in The Help opposite Emma Stone and Viola Davis. We certainly hope these “talks” turn into a confirmation because her presence in X-Men universe will definitely be an asset. What do you think of the possibility of Chastain being cast as villain? Are you excited to see the Shi’ar Empire be portrayed in live action? Let us know in the comments below.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter

X-Men: Dark Phoenix blasts into theaters on November 2, 2018