The “X-Men” franchise, with the original release dating back to 2000, originally focused not on the formation of the X-Men or them learning their powers, but on the question of what is right and wrong when both of them are good. Charles Xavier (Professor X) could be seen as a brilliant pacifist, successfully keeping terms between humans and mutants peaceful, or he could be seen as a naive, privileged rich guy who does not understand true struggle. On the opposing side, Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) could be seen as an aggressive terrorist who only cares for mutants, or he could be seen as a compassionate Holocaust survivor who is simply trying to stop history from repeating itself.

Regardless of what side the viewer places themselves on, there is one thing that the trailer for “Dark Phoenix” wishes to make abundantly clear: Jean Grey is no longer the kind, brilliant girl that fans love. The trailer shows not only Grey flipping police cars, but also close-ups to display just how little she feels while doing it. This is quite different from when we last saw her in “X-Men Apocalypse,” where she saved both Xavier and the entire world from Apocalypse.

“I’ve seen evil. I’m looking at it now”: Magneto, the infamous villain of the X-Men, claims this of what Jean Grey had become. The question is what happened that made her turn evil to the point that extremist Lehnsherr would consider too far. The trailer implies that Xavier is to blame, and when he is confronted with this by multiple characters, he does not deny it. The voice over by James McAvoy (“Split”) claims that the mind is fragile, and it takes only a tap to push it in the wrong direction. This would imply, of course, that Xavier, the second most powerful telepath in the world, pushed Grey in the wrong direction.

After a film that was a direct copy-paste out of the superhero movie rulebook (“X-Men Apocalypse”), it will be refreshing to see a new take on a favorite character. Superhero films, even the grittiest of them (“The Dark Knight,” “Venom,” etc.), rarely take on the perspective of the hero and, seemingly, the protagonist turning down the wrong path. On top of that, filmmakers have been careful to portray Magneto as a relatively grey-area antagonist, while Professor X has always been portrayed as a naive protagonist. Therefore, Xavier making a potentially world-changing mistake is a plot twist to any fans of the franchise.

Of course, not all questions will be answered by a single trailer. Otherwise, there would be no movie to watch. The only question for fans is how the timeline of films will end up making sense, since “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “Logan” both took place in such different timelines and worlds. The sky appears to be the limit for this film, especially since it has a female lead, which will automatically draw more attention and praise to it, as long as it is executed with some decency.

Image from 20th Century Fox via YouTube.com