When the X-Men: First Class cast was announced, fan reaction to Jennifer Lawrence’s addition as Mystique was generally positive. But as the X-Men movies moved forward toward Apocalypse, it became more and more apparent that the actress was just phoning it in. Also, it didn’t help matters that the character was inconsistent from one movie to the next. So maybe it was time for a change.

Lawrence’s contract ended with X-Men: Apocalypse, so it was reasonable to assume that she would move on after that. In addition, the actress mentioned how time-consuming the role was, citing hours in the makeup chair, and added that she was ready to leave the X-Men Cinematic Universe.

When the X-Men: Dark Phoenix cast roster was announced, we were surprised to hear that Lawrence was included. Why did she change her mind? While promoting mother!, the actress told Digital Spy that she didn't want to leave Mystique's story unresolved:

My contract was up. I didn’t have to do another one, but if I didn’t do another one, what would her story be? I felt like I owed it to the fans, and I owed it to the character, to follow her journey, to be fair to the movies, and not be like, “I don’t want to do another X-Men!” And then I just never show up, and everyone’s very confused about the Mystique they’ve been following for the last three films.

So there you have it. Jennifer Lawrence is returning as Mystique so that the character’s journey continues on through its rightful conclusion. The question of when her journey will actually end remains unanswered.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is scheduled for release on November 2, 2018.