Skip to main content

Game Of Thrones actress compares X-Men: Apocalypse’s Jean Grey to Sansa Stark

The upcoming third installment of the rebooted X-Men franchise arrives in theaters next year, but Game Of Thrones actress Sophie Turner is already talking about her role in the film, which will have her play a young version of the telepathic mutant Jean Grey.

According to Turner, her characters in the hit HBO fantasy series and the upcoming superhero story aren’t all that different.

Recommended Videos

“I think maybe one of the reasons that they chose me for [Jean Grey] is because they saw the dark side of Sansa,” said Turner of the similarities between the mutant telepath (played by Famke Janssen in the original X-Men trilogy and spinoffs) and her Game Of Thrones character, Sansa Stark, in an interview with IGN.

“Maybe they’re thinking, ‘Oh, Phoenix, Jean Grey.’ I definitely see a lot of parallels in there,” she explained. “[Jean] struggles with her power … and not being accepted in the human world. I think in terms of [Game of Thrones], that’s kind of the way Sansa felt in that she really wanted to be a normal princess/queen and live a normal life — and she doesn’t, because of all this havoc happens. I think Jean, in a way, feels that.”

Expected to be both the continuation of the rebooted X-Men franchise that began with 2011’s X-Men: First Class and the conclusion of a narrative trilogy, X-Men: Apocalypse will introduce young versions of many of the primary X-Men characters, including Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Storm, among others. This new cast will then kick off another set of films featuring young versions of these and other characters that appeared in 2000’s X-Men and its sequels.

Turner acknowledged that Janssen’s portrayal of the character over the course of the original trilogy, both Wolverine spinoffs, and the recent X-Men: Days Of Future Past looms large over her own take on the character.

“I think Famke played Jean incredibly well, but also, I’m playing a younger version of her,” she explained. “I want to emulate Famke in a sense, because she has to seem like the Jean in the first two movies, but I’m also going to put my own twist on her. I think I’m also going to take inspiration from the comics. I don’t know, we’ll see.”

Directed by Bryan Singer, X-Men: Apocalypse also stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Oscar Isaac, Alexandra Shipp, and Tye Sheridan. The film hits theaters May 27, 2016.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
3 rom-coms on Netflix you need to watch in July 2025
A woman and a man stand next to each other.

The romance section on Netflix has some heavy hitters in July. What's more romantic than The Notebook? The beautiful drama starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams has not aged one bit. Trust me, crying remains mandatory, especially at the end. Speaking of tears, A Star Is Born will have you riding the entire wave of emotions from start to finish.

While those two movies are undoubtedly charming, they will leave you in a puddle. This article features three rom-coms that should put you in a better mood. Check out our picks and their streaming information below. 

Read more
3 underrated HBO Max movies you should watch this weekend (July 11-13)
A group of people stand in a line and look.

Last week marked the arrival of Sinners, which is in the running for the movie event of 2025. Ryan Coogler's vampiric horror stars Michael Jordan as twin brothers who return to their hometown to open a juke joint. The opening night transforms into a nightmare with the arrival of a supernatural creature with sinister intentions.

Sinners is now available to stream on the newly named HBO Max. Beyond Sinners, the streamer has an abundance of underrated movies waiting to be streamed. One of our picks is The Suicide Squad, James Gunn's first crack at a DC story. View all three selections below.

Read more
3 underrated Amazon Prime Video movies you should watch this weekend (July 11-13)
Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory.

Finding a movie to watch on a hot July weekend can be difficult, especially when you feel like you've watched everything obvious. If you're sick of scrolling through Amazon Prime Video and spending more time looking at titles than actually watching one, then we've got you covered.

We've pulled together a list of three underrated movies that are all available on Prime Video. While these movies might have made an impact upon their release, they aren't as well remembered as they should be. Here's why you should check them out.

Read more