X-Men: Dark Phoenix is a direct sequel to the soft reboot that was X-Men: Apocalypse, but not every cast member is set to return.
Boasting a whole host of strong female characters, it's somewhat surprising that Rose Byrne won't be reprising her role as CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert in Dark Phoenix. Speaking to CinemaBlend during a junket for her upcoming movie Peter Rabbit, Byrne confirmed that while she had fun filming Apocalypse, she's not going to appear in the sequel.
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"Unfortunately, Moira is not showing up," Byrne said. "I wish she was. I had such fun on X-Men: Apocalypse. I love that cast. It is a really fun, what do you call it? Superhero film... ensemble exactly. I can't wait to see what [Jessica Chastain] does, cause I'm such a fan."
Other female characters such as Sophie Turner's Jean Grey, Alexandra Shipp's Storm, Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique and Jessica Chastain's mysterious Smith (not Lilandra, as widely speculated) are all set to have sizable roles in the upcoming film. There's a good chance that MacTaggert will at least receive a mention though, considering her romance with James McAvoy's Charles Xavier.
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Arriving in theaters on Nov. 2, 2018, director Simon Kinberg’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix stars James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkholme/Mystique, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, Tye Sheridan as Scott Summers/Cyclops, Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast, Alexandra Shipp as Ororo Monroe/Storm, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver, Olivia Munn as Psylock and Jessica Chastain as Smith.