'X-Men: Apocalypse' news: Film setting up Dark Phoenix saga?

X-Men: Apocalypse poster20th Century Fox

The recent trailer for "X-Men: Apocalypse" mostly focuses on the new X-Men characters such as Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) and Cyclops (Tye Sheridan). However, according to a report from Comic Book, it is also hinted that the film will begin planting the seeds for the "Dark Phoenix" saga.

According to the report, the trailer begins with a figure which has been identified as Jean as she approaches the machine Cerebro. Director Bryan Singer also confirmed that this is indeed Jean Grey. Jean is then shown to have a nightmare about the end of the world but Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) tells her that it is no more than a dream.

Singer then confirms that the scene in the trailer will play out differently in the actual movie. 

"The take I used for the movie is a less sincere take," Singer states in the report. "In the movie it's an intense moment, a psychic moment happens between them and the take is a much more suspicious take."

It is then presumed that Xavier is not trying to calm Jean Grey down but is in fact trying to stop the rise of the Dark Phoenix. As explained in "X-Men: The Last Stand," Xavier had kept the Dark Phoenix trapped deep within Grey's mind in order to prevent it from breaking out and taking over her mind. 

The Dark Phoenix is a separate entity that when unleashed can cause the end of the world. Phoenix was only stopped when Jean Grey allowed herself to die. This storyline played out in the aforementioned "The Last Stand" but the events of the film were erased from the franchise's history due to the events of "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

According to Cinema Blend, this may also be an opportunity for Bryan Singer to build future films around the new cast now that Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Lawrence will no longer be a part of the franchise.

"X-Men: Apocalypse" will release on May 27.