LOS ANGELES-Jennifer Lawrence could be returning as Mystique for ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ in 2018, although producers are still ‘’sorting out’’ which characters will feature in the movie.

The 26-year-old actress has played Raven Darkhölme and her alter-ego Mystique in the popular Marvel Comics adaptations since 2011’s ‘X-Men: First Class’, and although she completed her contract with the franchise last year with the release of ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, producers have hinted she - along with Michael Fassbender who plays Professor Xavier - could return for the next instalment.

Producer Hutch Parker said when asked if the two stars would appear in the movie: ‘’I’d rather not confirm any of those officially, but yes, the current story that we’re working on has that group involved as well as some of the younger characters that we introduced last time.’’

Hutch added that the production team are still ‘’sorting out’’ which characters will definitely feature in the movie, but has confirmed it will be more ‘’expansive’’ than the recently released ‘Logan’, which marked the final moments of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.

He added to CinemaBlend.com: ‘’We’re all sorting out exactly which mutants will be part of it, and which ones won’t. It is a bit more expansive than ... obviously ‘Logan’ was a bit more intimate of a story. This one’s a bit more expansive, and you know the comics, so you know how and why. We’re still kind of sorting that through.’’ Meanwhile, it was previously confirmed that ‘Game of Thrones’ star Sophie Turner would be reprising her role as Jean Grey in the movie, which is based around her character’s alter ego Dark Phoenix.

‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ will be one of three ‘X-Men’ films released in 2018 including ‘Deadpool 2’ and teen-orientated ‘The New Mutants’.

The film, originally titled ‘X-Men: Supernova’, can be seen as a potential reboot of the 2006 ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ which was the end of the original trilogy.