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CBR interviewed Kieron Gillen, the new writer of the Uncanny X-Men. He answered some questions about Emma Frost. There’s an unlettered preview page of Sebastian and Emma from the next Uncanny X-Men issue as well.

Kieron, I have been a fan of the X-Men for many, many years and Jean Grey has always been my favorite character. Therefore, I’m curious — are we ever going to hear more regarding when Emma saw Hope and the Phoenix effect manifesting behind her (which triggered Emma remembering Jean telling her to prepare)? It just seems like it’s been kind of forgotten. I would also think Emma would have said something to Cyclops by now.

She has. And you definitely get some more on the Hope/Emma axis in #5. It’s there and it’s shaping the Mutant-High-Command’s decisions. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to mention it directly to her. I mean, one of the key things which pushed Jean into her Dark Phoenix moment was the fact she was mentally unstable due to the influence of the Hellfire Club. They’ve got a tough but grieving girl. How are you going to drop “Oh, we think you may have a cosmic world-destroying deity in your head. Don’t stress now!” on her without possibly precipitating something bad? They’re watching her, and watching her closely.

3) I know Matt Fraction will be writing “Fear Itself,” but how will the events of that series affect “Uncanny X-Men” and “Generation Hope?” And which characters will take center stage?

I can’t say the villain for our arc tying to “Fear Itself” yet, but he’s one of my favorite X-Men villains. Since the arc is on such an epic scale, it’s the sort where you’ll see cameos from just about everyone, but its core emotional focus is on Emma/Scott/Namor and Peter/Kitty/Magik. And “Fear Itself” doesn’t really affect “Generation Hope” that much — though they’ll appear in ‘Uncanny’ as part of the army of cameos. Generation Hope are, er, up to other stuff, which I can’t talk about yet.

4) You’ve mentioned that an upcoming issue of “Uncanny X-Men” will cover the public’s perceptions of Magneto joining the X-men. Given his history, how will the X-Men and their PR firm convince everybody that Magneto won’t cause trouble? Do the X-Men even believe he’s going to stay on their side?

Given his past, Magneto joining the X-Men will be a polarizing roster move
Dude! That’s the plot for the issue. Leave me with something to amuse you with when you read it. Alternatively, I could tell you now and then change the script so it’s just the X-Men on Utopia, performing an enormous, thrilling dance-routine. I like this idea! It’s the perfect excuse for the Dazzler Spotlight issue I’ve been dying to write.

In short — Kate knows it’s a hard-sell, but has a few ideas. Convincing Magneto that they’re a good idea is the first battle, however.

Do the X-men believe Magneto’s entirely redeemed? Hell, no. He’s Magneto! A good chunk of them don’t even trust Emma yet.

SOURCE: X-Position: Kieron Gillen

For kicks, the unlettered Uncanny X-Men: Annual #3 Preview.