BB Exclusive: Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, & Nicholas Hoult Reveal What’s to Come in Dark Phoenix

In a little under two months, 20th Century FOX will release their next movie in the X-Men franchise, Dark Phoenix. Last month, we had the chance to sit down with three of the stars from the movie, Sophie Turner, Nicholas Hoult and Tye Sheridan, to find out what is in store for each of their characters in this movie.

In the interview, the trio talk Jean’s progression in this movie, the relationship between Jean and Scott, Raven’s death, taking props and so much more.

Tell us about how Jean’s progression in this film differs than the progression of your roles on episodic television?

Sophie Turner: “It’s interesting. It’s certainly different. With Game of Thrones we had ten years to create this wonderfully rich story arc, and this movie you have two hours. It’s quite difficult, everything is quite compacted and everything is far more emotional. Mistakes are higher. It was just a very, very intense shoot. But they really captured the arc of her wonderfully.”

How does the changes that Jean is going through change the dynamic of this team?

Sophie Turner: “One of the things we looked at as a reference was addiction and how that can affect not only the person struggling with it, but the people around them, the family unit and the friends. That’s what happens to the X-Men. Some people, they can’t handle her, they don’t understand her, so they abandon her and others seek to find the Jean that they once knew before all of this. It’s very real and it will resonate with a lot of people.”

Did Simon encourage you all to read the original comic? Some directors do, some directors don’t or did you feel obligated to because it is such an important story to the fans of the X-Men?

Tye Sheridan: “It’s one of those things, if you wanted to do it, you could. There’s a lot there in the screenplay that helps you understand all the dynamics and the complexities. If you were looking for something greater to help you understand your character’s backstory, that’s not already apparent on the page, I guess, reading the comic is helpful.”

Nicholas Hoult: “It’s good to have the roots of that knowledge and read it, to be aware of it. The story and the relationships we’re focusing on are slightly separate from the comic in a way.”

You read the rest of our interview under the jump. Make sure to see Dark Phoenix when it hits theaters on June 7.

This is such an emotional story and you have to go into some deep places, especially for your character, to be able to emit so many emotions. How is it, finding that place for your characters?

Nicholas Hoult: “Simon told people that Raven dies, and that’s the relationship that’s been culminating in these last few movies for the Beast role. That was obviously an emotional moment. That acts as a catalyst for Hank to depart from being with Charles and the X-Men and seek redemption and revenge. Emotionally this film is much more of a realistic, family drama. That’s what makes it different from the other X-Men movies in some ways, it’s darker and less grit.”

Nicholas this is your fourth time playing Hank, how much of yourself is now a part of Hank? And Hank how has now influenced you as an actor?

Nicholas Hoult: “When I first played him, I took over from Kelsey Grammer, so I was watching a lot of Frasier and trying to build that into the performance. Then gradually as I played him more, I put my own stamp and took it into different areas. They [the creators] let the character grow from being a student, into becoming a teacher, and become much more comfortable in his own skin, and have new abilities. In terms of how he’s influenced me, I normally go home and build jets in my spare time. Just to, you know, scratch that itch.”

Are we possibly going to get a Deadpool cameo in Dark Phoenix?

Nicholas Hoult: “That would be cool wouldn’t it? We got to show up in his, which was a great honor.”

Sheridan: “We just pop up and wave, then run away.”

Turner: “That would be fun.”

Nicholas Hoult: “With this film, with Jean’s story and everything that she’s going though, that would be quite out there, it would take you out of the film.”

We know that the two Marvel universes are now coming together under one roof. What happens from this point forward?

Nicholas Hoult: “Certainly for you [Sophie and Tye], this is your second film. Watching you as the characters, particularly as this version of Phoenix, watching their performances, I’m like, ‘Let these people play these roles more, because they’re doing an incredible job of it.’”

Sophie Turner: “So sweet!”

Nicholas Hoult: “Where Marvel intends to take it and Disney intends to take it, we don’t know. But I do feel like all of us have really enjoyed where we’ve got to take the characters to within this movie. If we don’t get to play them again, at least we got to experience that. We’ll see what happens.”

Do we see any development regarding Jean and Scott’s relationship in the movie?

Tye Sheridan: “You get to see it early on in the film, and it’s where we pick up. They’ve been together for quite some time now, they have this concrete relationship, and then everything kind of unravels after a mission gone wrong.

It’s important to see that. Nt only in their relationship, but with everyone, you see the X-Men have been accepted by society and they’re going on these missions and have created a name for themselves and saving people. And then stuff hits the fan.”

How many different action figures or toys do you have of the characters you play?

Nicholas Hoult: “I’ve got three.”

Sophie Turner: “Really?”

Nicholas Hoult: “Yeah, yeah, yeah!”

Sophie Turner: “I think I have one. Personally.”

Nicholas Hoult: “They were given to me as gifts, by the way. I didn’t go out and I wasn’t like ‘Hey, I’m going to get my action figure!’”

Sophie Turner: “Do you have any [to Tye Sheridan]?”

Tye Sheridan: “No, I should get one!”

Nicholas Hoult: “Do you keep any props? Have you kept any props?”

Sophie Turner: “Oh yeah!”

Tye Sheridan: “Yeah, I…”

Nicholas Hoult: “You got his cyclops glasses!”

Sophie Turner: “Did you!? You kept your visor!?”

Nicholas Hoult: “Got them on you? Do you where them on the beach?”

Tye Sheridan: “Yeah, I just like to take them out. ‘Oh, better take these!’”

Sophie Turner: “That’s really cool. Do you have any props [to Nicholas Hoult]?”

Nicholas Hoult: “I normally try and steal some props from each film. I’ve got the Beast’s feet.”

Sophie Turner: “No, really?”

Nicholas Hoult: “I wear them as slippers.”

Sophie Turner: “I don’t have anything.”

Nicholas Hoult: “You haven’t got that Iron Throne?”

Sophie Turner: “No, there’s only one. It’s very heavy.”

Along with having toys of yourself, what is it like to see the first prop come out with your image on it? That’s either for promotional use, or a toy that’s going to be in the store?

Tye Sheridan: “It doesn’t feel like it probably does with Spider-Man or Batman, I feel like the representation of the characters in X-Men are pretty ambiguous, pretty general.”

Nicholas Hoult: “I’ve got a Beast action figure, but it doesn’t really look like me. But I’m like, ‘Hey, cool I like that role, I played that role.’ But I’m sure it will be the same action figure for the next person who plays that role.”

Sophie Turner: “No-one could ever play Beast again.”

Nicholas Hoult: “You think so?”

If they do decide to reboot it, down the line, is there anyone younger, or anyone you would love to see?

Sophie Turner: “In our roles?”

Tye Sheridan: “Play the characters that we play now?”

Sophie Turner: “Hell no! I don’t want to see anyone else in my role!”

Tye Sheridan: “I’d see Ryan Gosling.”

Sophie Turner: “That’s good!”

Tye Sheridan: “You just want to retire.”

Sophie Turner: “No, I actually would like to see what other people do with our roles. I don’t know, Ryan Gosling for you, who for you? Tye Sheridan?”

Nicholas Hoult: “Tye Sheridan.”

Tye Sheridan: “We’ll switch.”

Nicholas Hoult: “Yeah, we’ll switch. You want to switch too?”

Sophie Turner: “Let’s do it.”

Tye Sheridan: “I don’t know, who do you guys imagine playing our roles?”

Nicholas Hoult: “Kelsey Grammer. I’d like to see what he’d do with it.”

Can you talk about how Hank will react to the death of Raven?

Nicholas Hoult: “We’ve explored a lot of his [Beast’s] nature, so finding out what was going to happen, and where that would take Beast, that was the most important thing for me. In terms of the emotion of the character, and how the team splits apart, Hank becomes his own man outside of Charles, and what he’d known up until that point all changes.”

We briefly touched upon the Disney merger with Fox. Has that affected the film in anyway? Like, notes coming in to say “No, we need re-shoots, because this is how we want X-Men’s direction to go in, coming from across the street”

Sophie Turner: “The film was done by that time, and we had even started marketing as well. The same people are staying on with marketing, so this film I think is the very last of Fox’s.”

What was your favorite part about filming this movie?

Nicholas Hoult: “Getting to hang out with these guys.”

Sophie Turner: “That’s always the best part, I think. It’s a really strong crew, it’s a lot of fun, everyone’s really good friends on it.”

Sheridan: “We also shot in Montreal, it’s fantastic. Great food, great people. It’s a great place to spend the summer, making an X-Men movie with a bunch of people that you love.”

Sophie Turner: “It’s like summer camp.”