Ashes to Fasses: Michael Fassbender Set to Return as Magneto In Fox's 'Dark Phoenix'

You'd better get polishing that helmet, Mike, because it looks like acclaimed actor #MichaelFassbender is returning to the #XMen franchise. Taking over from Sir Ian McKellen in the role of Erik Lehnsherr, a.k.a. Magneto, in 2011's X-Men: First Class, Fassbender went on to play the part in Days of Future Past and Apocalypse. Mixed success with the franchise means that news has been scarce around Fox's plans for its "main series" of X-Men films, and Fassbender's involvement in the future of phoenixes and psychics has remained sketchy until now.

Fire 'Em Up

Work is already well underway with David Leitch's #Deadpool2, and Josh Boone is recruiting some teeny tots for his #NewMutants film. With the likes of Josh Brolin, Maisie Williams, and Anya Taylor-Joy all suiting up to join the "Marvel-lous" new world of Xavier and co., Fox is certainly bringing out the Hollywood big guns to rival the #MCU.

However, what about its days of old, which began with Bryan Singer's superb X-Men in 2000 and enjoyed peaks like X2 in 2003? The next slated film for the classic iteration of the X-Men was originally thought to be titled "Supernova," however, the team settled on Dark Phoenix for more of a dumbed-down tease of what is in store.

It was pretty much a given that Sophie Turner and James McAvoy would reprise their respective roles as Jean Grey and Charles Xavier, but now MTV News' Josh Horowitz is reporting that Fassbender will be bending spoons to reprise his role as Magneto in Dark Phoenix:

It may be just a tweet, but having reportedly just met with the actor, it would be a pretty scandalous lie to make up. So, we may have a cast (of sorts) for the thirteenth X-Men film, but that is about it. Our next outing will presumably be based off Uncanny X-Men #129–138 and the "Dark Phoenix Saga," which charted Jean Grey's ascension to a higher power after being overtaken by her mutant abilities. Alongside "Apocalypse," it is one of the greatest X-Men arcs out there and primed for Fox to royally f*ck up.

Rising From The Flames

Although there is still no director attached to the tentative production, it is not a hot seat I would like to sit on. Let's not forget that we already tackled "The Phoenix Saga" in Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand, and we all know how that ended. Secondly, I have no issue with Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, but by the time we reached The Last Stand , we had established two whole films of Famke Janssen as Grey before we took her down this path. Although Turner played a pretty major part in Apocalypse and Singer left a breadcrumb trail to this storyline, are we really ready to go there yet?

Thankfully, Fassbender's involvement is certainly a positive. Given his stellar career in cinema and his previous runs as Lehnsherr, it is no surprise that the studio is keen to lock him in for Dark Phoenix. Secondly, Magneto is a crucial part of the arc, so without him on board, there would've been a huge scarlet helmet hole in proceedings. With the lackluster reviews and critical panning of Singer's Apocalypse, expect Fox to do anything in their power to turn the franchise around, and getting the likes of McAvoy and Fassbender on board are the first steps.

Can we rise from the ashes to give Jean Grey the story she deserves, or will we be burned twice by the phoenix?