Back in April, a report surfaced that claimed director Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse will bring the entire franchise to a close, which started with the filmmaker's 2000 blockbuster X-Men. The fate of this franchise has not been set in stone quite yet, but projects like Deadpool, Gambit and Wolverine 3 will also be connected to the franchise in some ways. While we wait to find out what will happen with the X-Men franchise after X-Men: Apocalypse, actress Jennifer Lawrence revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that she is holding out hope to play Mystique once again.
"There is hope. I don't want to not be asked."
X-Men: Apocalypse is set in the year 1983, 10 years after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, which set up a whole new present-day timeline for the franchise. It isn't known if X-Men: Apocalypse will connect to this new timeline after the time-travelling events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, or how Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique would fit into any stories that take place in the present. Of course, it's always possible that 20th Century Fox could put a Mystique spinoff movie into development, set between 1983 and the present day timeline, but that is only speculation at this point.
It's worth noting that another rumor surfaced that the studio wants Bryan Singer to direct The Fantastic Four 2, which already has a June 9, 2017 release date set by 20th Century Fox. According to this unconfirmed report, the sequel will help set up an impending X-Men and Fantastic Four crossover. Producer Simon Kinberg wouldn't clarify on any future plans for the franchise, stating he just wants to make sure X-Men: Apocalypse is done right.
"I just wanna finish this movie and then figure out the next one. But I do think about the next chapters of these stories. My hope is we can bring these guys back. And if we didn't then I would adjust."
It isn't known if any of the new mutants introduced in X-Men: Apocalypse, such as Lana Condor (Jubilee), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Alexandra Shipp (Storm) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) will return for future sequels, but it certainly seems possible, depending on how X-Men: Apocalypse plays out. It's possible that the studio could try to create a cinematic universe with X-Men: Apocalypse stars along with Deadpool and Gambit, but we already know that Hugh Jackman is planning on stepping away from his beloved Logan character after Wolverine 3.
Would you like to see Jennifer Lawrence keep playing Mystique after X-Men: Apocalypse? If the movie is as big of a hit as X-Men: Days of Future Past was, that may pave the way for a spinoff or another series of movies. But the studio is keeping mum on their plans, for now. Hopefully we'll find out more about this potential cinematic universe as we get closer to X-Men: Apocalypse's release on May 27, 2016.