Jessica Chastain reveals her thoughts on ‘Dark Phoenix’ flop

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.