| Jean Grey | |
|---|---|
| X-Men character | |
 Famke Janssen as Jean Grey / Phoenix inX-Men: The Last Stand | |
| First appearance | X-Men (2000) |
| Last appearance | Dark Phoenix (2019) |
| Based on | |
| Adapted by | Bryan Singer Tom DeSanto |
| Portrayed by | Famke Janssen (2000–2014) Haley Ramm (child, 2006) Sophie Turner (2016–2019) Summer Fontana (child, 2019) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Phoenix |
| Species | Mutant |
| Occupation | Scientist / physician (original timeline) |
| Affiliation | X-Men |
| Family | John Grey (father; deceased) Elaine Grey (mother; deceased) |
| Significantother | Scott Summers Logan |
| Nationality | American |
| Powers and abilities |
|
Jean Grey is a fictional character featured in seven films in theX-Men film series, starting withX-Men (2000) and ending withDark Phoenix (2019), based on theMarvel Comicscharacter of the same name, created byStan Lee andJack Kirby. Jean was portrayed by Dutch actressFamke Janssen in five films, with "Jean" inThe Wolverine (2013) being a posthumous hallucination inLogan's head and her appearance inX-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) being a brief flashforward scene. ForX-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Jean was recast with English actressSophie Turner, who would reprise her role inDark Phoenix.
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X-Men: The Last Stand andDark Phoenix each have aflashback sequence for Jean; because of the events ofX-Men: Days of Future Past, these two flashbacks take place in two different realities.[1]
In the original timeline, Jean is visited by Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Erik Lehnsherr (Ian McKellen) after her parents had been concerned about what they believed to be a type of "illness" in their daughter. The girl is shown levitating multiple cars and other objects with her telekinetic powers and the two elder mutants, still friends at the time, invite Jean to theXavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The professor later explains that while she was young, he put psychic dampers on her mind to help control a supposed "dark side" within her subconscious, preventing her powers from spiraling out of control and hurting others and herself.[P 1]
In the second timeline, Jean is in a car with her parents, causing a car crash with her out-of-control mental powers, killing her mother and leaving her father afraid of his own daughter and refusing to see her later on; Jean is led to believe that her father also died in the crash. She is approached by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), who tries to help the troubled girl, inviting her to enroll in his school.[P 2]
Throughout the filmsX-Men (2000),X2, andX-Men: The Last Stand, Jean serves as a member of the X-Men until she was possessed by the Phoenix Force and eventually killed byWolverine. Additionally, she makes minor appearances inThe Wolverine, in which his guilt over killing her haunts the titular character, andX-Men: Days of Future Past, in which she was revived after the X-Men averted a post-apocalyptic future. In the filmsX-Men: Apocalypse andDark Phoenix, the second incarnation of Grey (portrayed bySophie Turner) joins the X-Men to fightApocalypse, before sacrificing herself to use the Phoenix Force's power to defeat theD'Bari. In the film's epilogue, her return is foreshadowed by the Phoenix Force soaring in the distant sky.
The casting call for the firstX-Men film specifies Jean Grey's character as a "Beautiful and intelligent scientist. Also an X-Man. She has telepathic and telekinetic powers. Engaged to Cyclops and yearned for by Wolverine. Late 20s".[2] Reports from pre-production in 1999 indicated that Jean being written to be a scientist - which she is not in the comics - was due toBeast, the team's resident scientist, originally being part of the script but dropped due to budget concerns.[3] Since directorBryan Singer had gone with a younger, teenage portrayal ofRogue (Anna Paquin), he felt that he wanted a more mature Jean in contrast.[4]
He also noted that Jean Grey would have committed suicide by the end, which was redundant with the ending ofX2. The "Dark Phoenix" storyline was thus relegated to a secondary substory inThe Last Stand. Simon Kinberg was disappointed by this outcome, calling the Dark Phoenix Saga "the ultimate X-Men story" and compared reducing it to a secondary subplot to sidelining theBook of Genesis chapter from theBible.[5] At one point,Matthew Vaughn (the original director ofThe Last Stand before Brett Ratner took over) wanted Wolverine to carryLeech with him to Jean to depower her; Penn felt that this was a cop-out and Jean had to pay for her crimes, and depowering her would also not fix her broken state of mind.[6]
The 2019Dark Phoenix film was originally meant to be a two-part storyline, one film named onlyPhoenix and thenDark Phoenix as its sequel. However, the producers were unhappy with the outcome ofX-Men: Apocalypse and cancelled the second sequel, forcing Simon Kinberg to compress his storyline into one film. His original ending had Jean dying at the end, but this ending was poorly received with test audiences for the film and was changed to a more hopeful outcome.[7]
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In 1998, it was rumoured thatJulianne Moore was in the talks for theX-Men film at the time, presumably for the role of Jean Grey.[8][9]Helen Hunt was offered the role, but turned it down,[10] as didCharlize Theron.[11]Peta Wilson auditioned for the role.[12]Ashley Judd,Alicia Witt,Selma Blair,Robin Wright-Penn,Minnie Driver, andMaria Bello were also all rumoured to have been auditioning for the role at the time.[13][14]Lucy Lawless was invited to audition, possibly for the role of Jean, but choose to abstain due to her real-life pregnancy and her otherwise busy schedule withXena: Warrior Princess.[15] In early August 1999, it was reported byDaily Variety that Dutch model turned actressFamke Janssen had been cast as Jean Grey.[14]
ForX-Men: Apocalypse (2016),Hailee Steinfeld,Elle Fanning,Chloë Grace Moretz,[16] andSaoirse Ronan[17] had been among those who auditioned for the role of the younger Jean.Grace Fulton, who would go to playMary Bromfield in theDC Extended UniverseShazam films, also auditioned to play Jean.[18]Sophie Turner, after being cast as younger Jean, contacted Famke Janssen about advice on playing the role, but was told that there was nothing that Janssen could teach that her she did not already know, as well as being wished good luck with the role.[19] To prepare for the role, Turner studied howschizophrenia anddissociative identity disorder works in real life.[20]
InX-Men: The Last Stand, Jean's appearance when the Phoenix takes control was created byJohn Bruno working withMoving Picture Company. MPC usedparticle systems to create the effect of Jean's hair seemingly moving when the Phoenix effect takes over. MPC made hundreds of skin and eye treatments and used a 3D model of Famke Janssen's face whencompositing them into Jean's digital makeup. According toNicolas Aithadi (MPC),
Joe Garza ofSlashFilm ranked Jean Grey from theX-Men film series 1st in their "Most Powerful X-Men Characters" list.[22] Alexandra Moroca ofCBR.com ranked Jean Grey 1st in their "10 Strongest X-Men In The Fox Movies" list.[23]The A.V. Club ranked Janssen's portrayal of Jean Grey 60th in their "100 best Marvel characters" list.[24]
Famke Janssen received praise from multiple critics for her portrayal of Jean Grey. Scoot Allan ofCBR.com ranked Janssen's performance 4th in their "10 Best Performances In The X-Men Movies" list, writing, "Janssen brought the character’s love for Scott Summers and her interest in Wolverine to the big screen. She also perfectly portrayed Jean’s struggle with her powers that ultimately led to her loss of control inX-Men: The Last Stand. Janssen’s portrayal of Jean Grey and her final moments impressed fans."[25] Christian Bone ofStarburst ranked Janssen's performance 8th in their "10 Greatest Performances in the X-Men Movies" list, stating, "Though most famous to film fans at the time as the OTT Xenia Onatopp inGoldenEye, Famke Janssen proved to be the best choice to bring Jean Grey to life in the original X-Men trilogy. Her Jean is a gentle, caring woman who nonetheless has an apocalyptic power within her that she can’t comprehend."[26] K.J. Stewart ofWhatCulture ranked Janssen's performance 25th in their "50 Greatest Performances In Marvel Movies" list, saying, "Janssen has had to portray both the good Jean Grey and the malevolent Phoenix and each role has been performed comfortable. She has conveyed the wise and moral Jean just as well as the evil Phoenix entity."[27]The A.V. Club stated, "Janssen is the emotional anchor of those early X-Men movies, setting a high standard for psychological honesty as a method to cut through some overwhelming X-Men lore that requires a Cerebro to decode. Watching Janssen’s big Moses moment duringX2's climax, it’s clear that she’s a pioneer in these massive CGI set-pieces."[24]
Hugh Armitage and Simon Reynolds ofDigital Spy called Sophie Turner's portrayal of Jean Grey "hugely likable" acrossX-Men: Apocalypse.[28] Robin Reynolds ofMovieWeb ranked Turner's portrayal as Jean Grey inX-Men: Apocalypse andDark Phoenix 2nd in their "Sophie Turner's 5 Best Performances" list, writing, "The best part about having Turner play this character is getting to see how Jean transforms over the course of the films. Her acting is top-notch, and she brings so much depth to the character's struggles that anyone can relate."[29]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Supporting Actress – Science Fiction | X-Men | Famke Janssen | Nominated | [30] |
| 2006 | Teen Choice Awards | Teen Choice Award for Choice Liplock(Shared withHugh Jackman) | X-Men: The Last Stand | Nominated | [31] | |
| 2007 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Won | [32] | ||
| 2017 | Kids Choice Awards | Favorite Squad | X-Men: Apocalypse | James McAvoy,Michael Fassbender,Jennifer Lawrence,Nicholas Hoult,Evan Peters,Tye Sheridan,Ben Hardy,Kodi Smit-McPhee,Sophie Turner,Alexandra Shipp,Olivia Munn | Nominated | [33] |
| 2019 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie Actress | Dark Phoenix | Sophie Turner | Nominated | [34] |
The Jean Grey from the first 2000 film was released as an action figure byToy Biz in 2000. The figure has been criticized as "a static, unflattering, and oddly posed representation of Famke Janssen."[35] The 2007 "Dark Phoenix" version of Jean Grey fromX-Men: The Last Stand has been released as an action figure inMarvel Legends series.[36]