Having already been through the four-film Hunger Games franchise and (including Apocalypse) the three latest X-Men installments, Jennifer Lawrence is clearly not showing signs of slowing down any time soon. She’s set to appear in a number of big upcoming projects, including the very anticipated sci-fi drama Passengers coming this December. And even though the mutant franchise is in full-swing right now, Lawrence seems to have a bit of doubt of her future in it.
She is the second actress to play the dual role of Mystique/Raven, appearing once the prequels began with X-Men: First Class. In the follow film, Days of Future Past, she played a very integral role in the story, and it’s possible we could be seeing much more of her in Apocalypse. But recently speaking to EW, Lawrence expressed worry about whether or not she would return or not in upcoming installments.
I would love to come back. I love the fans and I love the character. But then you realize how important your year is, like how important three months out of your year is. I don’t know. I shouldn’t be that honest.
Because of Lawrence’s increasing schedule, not to mention possibly having the want to get out of franchises for a while, it’s understandable that she may want out. But there’s something else that may actually put the future of the X-Men franchise in doubt. She went on to discuss the indecision of many of the prequel actors, such as Michael Fassbender (Magneto) and James McAvoy (Professor Xavier).
Fassbender and McAvoy and I were all talking, like, ‘Will you come back?’ ‘I dunno.’ ‘I’ll come back, if you come back.’ Fox should be terrified because the deal we made was like if one of us doesn’t come back, none of us are.
So we may just have to see how Apocalypse fairs at the box office, and whether or not 20th Century Fox can convince the big cast members to stay. But even a strong performance from the film may not necessarily make Lawrence stay aboard; if she decides to focus on more independent projects, there’s no one that can really blame a hugely profitable actress like her for wanting to find roles elsewhere.
X-Men: Apocalypse opens in theaters on May 27, 2016.