X-Men: Dark Phoenix Set Photo: Professor X & Magneto Reunite

Screen Rant

Professor X & Magneto Reunite in X-Men: Dark Phoenix Set Photo

New photos from the set of X-Men: Dark Phoenix reveal a reunion between Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) in the film.

A new set photo for X-Men: Dark Phoenix show a reunion between James McAvoy's Professor Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender's Magneto. This will be the fourth X-Men film for both actors. The two have played the roles of Professor X and Magneto in First Class, Days of Future Past, and Apocalypse.

Set in the 1990s, the upcoming film will adapt "The Dark Phoenix Saga", a well-known X-Men storyline that involves Jean Grey becoming the host of a powerful cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force, that will eventually cause her turn against her teammates. As the Dark Phoenix, Jean possesses the power to destroy worlds, making her one of the most destructive forces in the universe.

Posted by mariopower.official on Instagram, new photos from the set of Dark Phoenix show a bald McAvoy playing chess with Fassbender, which is actually something their characters have done in previous films. The circumstances behind the reunion between Professor X and Magneto are unclear. The scene is part of a series of reshoots in Montreal. The X-Men: Dark Phoenix reshoots began in late August and are expected to continue until the end of September.

Filming actually completed in October of last year, so fans were surprised when 20th Century Fox announced that its Nov. 2 release date was moved back to February 14, 2019. The delay was partly made to accommodate reshoots. This caused some to have concerns, considering that early reactions to Dark Phoenix were reportedly underwhelming. However, it appears that the reshoots have less to do with problems with the film and more to do with scheduling conflicts, due to the movie's all-star cast.

It's been reported that the reshoots deal primarily with material from the third act of the film, which could suggest that this scene with Professor X and Magneto takes place during or near the conclusion of the movie.

In X-Men: Apocalypse, Magneto was being controlled by En Sabah Nur, but was eventually restored to his senses. He helped Professor X and the X-Men find a way to defeat the villain, and in the aftermath of the film he assisted Professor X in rebuilding his school. However, he refused Professor X's offer to stay on as a teacher. Though Magneto may not necessarily be considered an ally to the X-Men, he could be one of the first people Professor X will turn to for help when the Phoenix Force - or Jessica Chastain's mysterious shapeshifter - emerges as the X-Men's latest threat.