X-Men Dark Phoenix: 10 Biggest Unanswered Questions We Still Have

10. Didn't Jean Already Have The Phoenix Force In X-Men: Apocalypse?

X-Men: Apocalypse concluded with Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) unleashing the Phoenix Force in order to destroy Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), so why does this film seemingly ignore that and have Jean re-obtain her Phoenix powers from a solar flare in space?

The Likely Answer

It's not very well explained in the movie, but the implication seems to be that Jean did indeed have the Phoenix Force lying dormant within her during the nine years since Apocalypse, but the solar flare simply "unlocked" its full potential.

Again, it's sloppy and awkward writing, but otherwise the viewer is left to assume that Simon Kinberg simply wanted people to quietly forget about the end of Apocalypse (which, admittedly, isn't terribly difficult).