Fox's next X-Men film has been confirmed to be called X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and will once again try to adapt the classic X-Men storyline of the same name (the first attempt being X-Men: The Last Stand). However, that's just about all that's been confirmed, with no official word on the director and returning cast. It seems likely that Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Storm (Alexandra Shipp) will come back - three of the main characters of the original X-Men trilogy who were re-introduced in X-Men: Apocalypse. It seems like another character who may be getting that same treatment, however, will be Rogue.
The website Omega Underground is claiming to have come into possession of audition tapes from three young actors who are hoping to be in X-Men: Dark Phoenix - reportedly codenamed Teen Spirit. Actors Rarmian Newton and Paul Mescal are auditioning for characters named Shane and Sam, which could possibly be fake names to disguise the real role. Alexa Swinton, however, is auditioning for a character called Marie, which just so happens to be the first name of the X-Men character Rogue. It seems mighty unlikely that they would choose the same name as a popular character for just a placeholder, but it's a curiosity.
Rogue was originally played by Anna Paquin in the original run of X-Men films, first appearing in 2000's X-Men. If Rogue were to be in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Alexa Swinton, who is about seven years old, would be the perfect age to play the character, seeing as how Dark Phoenix will be set in the nineties, and we saw an adult version of the power-stealing mutant in the future at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past. It's really only a matter of time until Rogue makes her debut in the newer X-Men films, which have not only "rebooted" Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm, but also Nightcrawler, and Angel.
The bigger issue will be if the movie has enough time to devote to Rogue. Fans have been outspoken for years about seeing a Rogue on the big screen that is closer to her comic book counterpart, who is more of a fighter than Anna Paquin's version was (and also has the ability to fly thanks to an unfortunate power-stealing incident involving Ms. Marvel). X-Men: Dark Phoenix will likely have a big cast and it'd be a shame if Rogue was pushed to the wayside - much like what happened to Olivia Munn's Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse. Time will tell if anyone learned their lesson in that movie.
As noted, very little is known about X-Men: Dark Phoenix at this point, but we do know that it will retell the legendary comic arc it shares its name with. In the original source material, Jean Grey becomes possessed by a cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force, which causes her to break all kinds of bad. Viewers saw a tease of the Phoenix in X-Men: Apocalypse when Jean Grey unleashed her full power to stop the evil titular mutant, but now that incredible power will become the focus of an entire plot.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix is currently slated for a November 2, 2018, release date, which means that production will start up before the end of the year. We will continue to provide you with updates about the project as they arrive.
