Jessica Chastain has appeared in critically acclaimed films like Zero Dark Thirty and The Martian which have managed to engage audiences on a global scale. However, her decision to star in the 2019 comic book adaptation X-Men: Dark Phoenix where she played the role of Vuk – the leader of an alien race obsessed with the idea of capturing a mutant called Phoenix (played by Sophie Turner).
The film was a critical and commercial failure, with fans expressing their disappointment at the low-quality effort. According to multiple reports, the losses caused due to distribution costs extended up to $133 million. Director Simon Kinberg claimed that the failure of his directorial debut was his fault but also blamed it on the release date.
“I always felt that we had a tough date for this particular movie,” Kinberg explained. “It wasn’t made as a classic superhero movie, it was made as more of a dramatic, intimate, smaller film. Originally it was going to come out in November, then it was going to come out in February, and those were the date that I felt like it actually would have felt more appropriate to.”
When Chastain was recently asked about the film, she claimed: “I think the studio was bought at a certain point. I didn’t even know what my character’s name was until I saw the film. What’s happening?”. According to the actress, the project did not really register in her mind and it was a half-hearted effort.
“It was an interesting thing. Simon Kinberg, who directed it, is an incredible human being, and I’ve worked with him again [on The 355]; I love him,” Chastain praised Kinberg. Due to contractual obligations, Chastain might have to have play the role of a superhero but she said she doesn’t want to. However, she is interested in playing antagonists.
“Give me a supervillain; I don’t want to be a superhero because if you’re a superhero, you’re doing ten films,” Chastain said. “I don’t want to sign a ten-year contract.”
Chastain is set to star in The 355 which is a spy film starring the likes of Lupita Nyong’o and Penélope Cruz and is scheduled for a January 2022 release.