When X-Men: Dark Phoenix premiered to mixed reviews, the confusion extended beyond the storyline itself. Jessica Chastain, who starred in the film, revealed that she didn’t even know her character’s name until after the movie had already hit theaters.
The reason behind this was that the film underwent extensive changes for various reasons, including the Fox-Disney merger and the need to avoid similarities speculatively with Captain Marvel. Consequently, Jessica Chastain’s character, Vuk, likely took shape during post-production, adding to the film’s already tumultuous journey to the screen.
Why Jessica Chastain Didn’t Know Her Character’s Name in X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Looking back on her role as Vuk in the 2019 box office disappointment X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Jessica Chastain revealed that she didn’t learn her character’s name until she watched the film herself.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2021, Chastain described her experience with the franchise to be unique due to the 2019 merger between 21st Century Fox and Disney. She explained,
My situation — I think the studio was bought at a certain point. I didn’t even know what my character’s name was until I saw the film, What’s happening?
James McAvoy, the Professor Charles Xavier actor, later came out saying that extensive reshoots completely revamped the third act of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, resulting in significant changes to the storyline. He explained to Yahoo,
The end changed a hell of a lot,–The finale had to change. There was a lot of overlap and parallels with another superhero movie that came out…a while ago.
Jessica Chastain also added to the conversation, saying,
My character changed a lot, which is an interesting thing because I’m not playing someone from the comics. So it was always everyday trying to figure out ‘Who am I? Who is the mystery that is this character?’ And then understanding with the reshoots ‘Oh, it’s changing again.’ It was a constant evolution…. So yeah, my character changed.
This likely means that Simon Kinberg, the director, changed Jessica Chastain’s character during post-production. Many suspect McAvoy was referring to Captain Marvel, which also came out in 2019, where the Skrulls start off as villains but are revealed in the final act to be sympathetic refugees fleeing their devastated homeland. The similarities likely prompted this X-Men film to reshoot its ending to avoid confusion or comparisons.
Who Was Vuk? Fans Give Jessica Chastain a Pass on Not Knowing Her Character’s Name!
In X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Jessica Chastain played a character named Vuk introduced in, Avengers Vol. 1 #4, a member of the D’Bari alien race whose original star system was destroyed by the Phoenix Force. In the comics, Vuk is a male D’Bari seeking vengeance against the Phoenix after it obliterated his planet.
In the film, Chastain’s character, although not the same in some details like the D’Bari being shape-shifters, followed a similar narrative, which was to lead a group of D’Bari to earth to hunt for the Phoenix Force.
In hindsight, fans feel Jessica Chastain was robbed of a character that could have been good and deserved far better than what she was given with her character. Here is what the fans are saying,
She definitely diserves much, much better than this.
— Twisted Cliffster🗽🇭🇹 (@SmrtphonRtistCF) July 24, 2024
What an absolute waste of her talents.
Which can also be said for about 90% of those films
— Jeremy (@_JeremyWrites) July 24, 2024
I don’t even remember her name
— David Painter ۞ ⚔️🍵 🐝 (@DJ__Paint) July 24, 2024
She had a name?
— Rick (@freelance616) July 24, 2024
I don’t think they ever actually say her name in the film. Come think of it, I don’t think they actually namedrop any of the shapeshifting alien characters in this.
— FrequentUser99 (@FrequentUser99) July 24, 2024
I have seen this movie no less than 3 times and gun to my head I couldn't tell you her name.
— n c (@bacta_tank98) July 25, 2024
It seems fans aren’t blaming Jessica Chastain for not knowing her character’s name, considering the film did a poor job of clarifying who the character was or shaping her storyline. Dubbed as the worst X-Men movie ever, fans aren’t holding out hope for much else.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix is available to stream on Disney+.
