Who Chastain Could Be Playing In X-Men: Dark Phoenix

X-Men: Dark Phoenix's main villain will be played by Jessica Chastain, and while Fox have been incredibly secretive over who exactly she's playing, we may have cracked the case: she may be playing a Skrull Empress.

Dark Phoenix, as the title suggests, will be a loose adaptation of iconic comic arc The Dark Phoenix Saga, in which Jean Grey gets taken over by the all-powerful Phoenix Force and commits cosmic atrocities. While Phoenix is technically the antagonist, there is a more tangible villainous presence from Lilandra. When Chastain was first linked to the film, it was believed she'd be taking on that role. However, as the film began to get into production, the actress revealed this wasn't the case.

Since then, rumors have suggested we're looking at the wrong alien race and that the X-Men would be dealing with the shapeshifting Skrulls. Now those reports have credence thanks to the film's EW cover story, which revealed Chastain was "an otherworldly shapeshifter who comes into contact with Phoenix". That definitely makes it seem that she's playing a Skrull. The only other information was the actress describing her part as "the vet who tells you [that] you need to put your dog down." Clearly, the shapeshifter believes Jean Grey is too powerful to live.

But just who is Jessica Chastain playing in Dark Phoenix? We have a theory.

Who Is Empress R'Klll

Meet Empress R'Klll Of The Skrull Empire

You probably haven't heard of Empress R'Klll. After all, the character's only appeared in sixteen Marvel comics and was killed off in 1984. We were introduced to R'Klll as the manipulative wife of Skrull Emperor Dorrek VII. She was the oldest daughter of the previous Skrull Emperor, and her husband had taken the throne by forcing her to marry him. Needless to say, their relationship was hardly a pleasant one.

It's hard to know exactly how important R'Klll was to the Skrull Emperor. Dorrek VII was hardly a master strategist, so it seems likely she was the mastermind behind a lot of his gambits. Whatever the truth may be, Dorrek became increasingly focused on his hated enemies the Fantastic Four. R'Klll was furious with this obsession and treated him with increasing disdain. Finally, an act of cowardice on Dorrek's part led R'Klll to shoot him dead, and declare herself ruler of the Skrull Empire.

Under Empress R'Klll, the Skrull launched a number of espionage programs that made the most of their shapeshifting powers. It was also R'Klll who decided to bring an end to the ancient war between the Kree and the Skrull races. Most interestingly, R'Klll actually appears in The Dark Phoenix Saga; it featured two scenes in which Lilandra consulted with other galactic leaders over the threat of the Phoenix. R'Klll agreed with Lilandra's approach, believing that Phoenix must die. She also reluctantly accepted the ancient Shi'ar rites of combat that gave the X-Men a fighting chance.

Why Chastain's Villain Could Be Empress R'Klll

At the very least, the evidence certainly seems to point to the Skrulls as the villains of Dark Phoenix. Film rights to the Skrull race are shared between Marvel and Fox as the aliens have appeared in a wide range of comic book franchises. That said, rights to named members of the race will be divided between the studios (just as they are with the Watchers). Characters who are strongly associated with the Fantastic Four or the X-Men sit with Fox; those who are tied to franchises like the Avengers remain Marvel properties.

So we're looking for a female Skrull who is associated with the Fantastic Four and/or the X-Men. If those initial reports are reliable, that that Skrull should also be a member of the Royal Family. A common theory is the Princess Anelle, but that just doesn't seem likely; Anelle's character doesn't fit with the scant details we've had so far. What's more, casting calls for Captain Marvel have suggested Marvel Studios are about to use that character.

It's true that, in the past, Marvel and Fox have doubled-up on occasion; Quicksilver appeared in both X-Men's main series and Avengers: Age of Ultron, for example. But the often-strained relationship between Marvel and Fox has improved dramatically over the last year or so, with the two studios even doing a deal over Ego the Living Planet and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. That probably also means you shouldn't expect to see any more doubling-up.

So, ruling Anelle out, there's one other female member of the Skrull Royal Family who would be available to Fox: Empress R'Klll.

What Does R'Klll Mean For X-Men: Dark Phoenix?

Regardless of if Chastain is actually R'Klll, there is still the intriguing question of why is Fox so wary of revealing the character's name; it's likely that her role offers an important clue to the film's plot. As it's also gradually becoming clear that Fox hasn't simply adapted the Dark Phoenix Saga, there's the possibility of them working in another story.

In the comics, the destruction of the Skrull homeworld actually led to the Shi'ar putting Reed Richards on trial. He'd recently chosen to spare Galactus's life, and the Shi'ar intended to hold him responsible for every world Galactus subsequently devoured. Reed escaped a death sentence by arguing that Galactus was part of the universal balance, and that his death would have had cosmic effects. In almost exactly the same way, the Phoenix is a cosmic force of death and rebirth; the Phoenix has literally destroyed entire worlds and civilizations in order to drive change and evolution.

There are a lot of thematic ties between the Dark Phoenix Saga and the trial of Reed Richards, making it fairly easy to combine them. Additionally, having Chastain playing an Empress seeking vengeance for the Phoenix force destroying her planet would fit up with the scant descriptions we have of her character, as well as explaining several of the confusing deviations from the comic source. With that in mind, R'Klll makes a lot of sense and you can easily see why Fox would choose to hide her identity; it fills in far too many plot gaps.

What we can say for certain is that Fox is hiding the identity of Jessica Chastain's X-Men: Dark Phoenix character for a reason. We probably won't find out exactly why until the film's marketing picks up, but they could do a lot worse than Empress R'Klll.

Next: There's Still Hope For The X-Men In The MCU