Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most popular and loved actresses in Hollywood. She has an impressive resume that includes four Oscar nominations and one win. Apart from several critically acclaimed roles, she is widely known for playing the iconic role of Mystique in the X-Men franchise.
But did you know that Lawrence actually hated playing Mystique in the franchise? And will she ever return to the role in the future? Here are some facts you may not know about Lawrence’s experience as Mystique and her relationship with the X-Men movies.
The Journey Of Mystique
Lawrence first donned the look of Mystique in 2011, when she appeared as a young Mystique in ‘X-Men: First Class‘. The film was a prequel to the franchise exploring the origins of the X-Men and their enemies, the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto. Lawrence follows in the footsteps of Rebecca Romijn, who plays the older version of Mystique in the original trilogy. In ‘X-Men: First Class‘, Mystique is portrayed as a close friend and foster sister of Charles Xavier. She also has a brief romance with Hank McCoy aka Beast before she joins Magneto at the end of the film.
Lawrence reprised her role as Mystique in three more films: ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past‘ (2014), ‘X-Men: Apocalypse‘ (2016), and ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix‘ (2019). The films follow Mystique’s journey as she becomes a leader and mentor to the younger generation of X-Men, while also struggling with her loyalty to Magneto and her identity as a mutant. In the final installment of the prequel series ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix‘, Mystique meets a shocking fate as she is killed at the hands of Jean Grey, aka Phoenix, who lost control of her cosmic powers. The film also hinted at a possible resurrection for Mystique, as Phoenix was seen flying over Paris, where Mystique’s grave was located.
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Why Does Lawrence Hate The Role?
The main reason why Lawrence hated playing Mystique was the extensive process of makeup that involved her turning into Mystique. According to Lawrence, it took up to eight hours to apply the makeup and prosthetics to transform her which prevented her from using the bathroom or eating comfortably. In addition to this, she also suffered skin irritation and allergies due to the blue makeup. In an attempt to avoid this discomfort, Lawrence suggested a full bodysuit instead of paint in the sequels.
The filmmakers were open to this idea and designed her a new suit for her that was more flexible and breathable. Despite this, she still had to wear makeup on her face and hands, which still took a tedious amount of time. Another reason why Lawrence hated her role was that she felt her character was not given enough depth or opportunity to develop in the later films. After Disney acquired Fox in 2019, the future of the X-Men franchise became uncertain. Lawrence has said she will be open to reprising her role if she had a good story to tell and that she would love to work with her co-stars again, especially Michael Fassbender, who played Magneto.
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