After the so so critical response of X-Men: Apocalypse, it looked like that was it for the majority of the franchise's stars, with Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, and James McAvoy all expected to move on.

However it now looks like Warner Bros. have finalised deals to get the band back together again. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has reportedly closed deals to get the aforementioned stars to return for another outing. What's more is they're looking to add even more star power to the franchise, with Jessica Chastain being sought to play the villain in the movie. 

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is going to be an adaptation of the Dark Phoenix comic that ran in the 1980s. The storyline sees Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), a telepath who sees her powers amplified to the nth degree when she becomes imbued by a cosmic energy called the Phoenix Force. It eventually leads her down a villainous path, forcing the X-Men to stop her. 

The storyline popped up in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand but that plot, like the movie itself, didn't go down overly well with fans. 

Should Chastain sign on the dotted line, she is expected to play the role of Lilandra, the empress of an alien empire called the Shi’ar, who leads the quest to imprison and execute Dark Phoenix, sending her into conflict with the X-Men. 

Via THR