So Why is J. Law Leaving 'X-men'?

Grab your tissues, nerds, because I have some unpleasant news: Jennifer Lawrence is leaving the X-Men franchise following X-Men: Apocalypse. The Oscar winner and Pizza advocate told MTV News at the red carpet premiere of Serena that the film was her "last one," and then gave ZERO explanation further. Why, JLaw, why? Are we just supposed to sit here and ponder, head in our hands, weeping buckets upon buckets?

JLaw first got big time mainstream recognition with the X-Men series, taking on the role of cerulean bad ass Mystique in the prequel films. And although it'll be a while before she takes her final bow in that role—X-Men: Apocalypse tentatively premieres in May 27, 2016—it's still disheartening to hear of her departure. It also puts the fate of Mystique in some questionable hands.So again I ask, why, JLaw? Why are you breaking our hearts like this?

As one of the most coveted actresses of our generation, I doubt she's doing it without good reason. It's not like she has all this free time to play a shapeshifter for the next decade and a half. Still, until she releases a formal statement—or the movie comes out—we won't know her explanation behind bouncing. Until then, here's some potential theories to quell your sadness.

1. She's overwhelmed by the other 16 Bradley Cooper films she has to put out between now and April.

It's exhausting, but Harvey Weinstein isn't out of Oscar fodder yet, so why the hell not? Unfortunately X-Men was the casualty in unloading her busy schedule. It was that, or cut out her daily trips to In-And-Out, and like HELL she's going to do that.

2. Rebecca Romijn begged her to quit it as an act of good will.

She's not up to much now, Mystique is really all she had, and it's not a role that can be shared. Except, you know, the entire premise of Mystique is that she can be literally anyone. Point is, JLaw was like, "I'm Katniss Everdeen, I can be generous here."

3. She's sick of being locked down to the world of blockbuster cash-grabbing franchises, and wants to return to the thankless world of indie films.

JLaw is SO over Hollywood, she really wants to go back to making movies nobody would see (Serena being her big transition film). She's also thinking about doing another My Super Sweet 16 commercial, to further get back to her roots.

4. She's just too emotionally riled up about the possibility of working with Nicholas Hoult again.

Not so much because she's still harboring feelings with him, just because it's totally awkward standing in front of each other all blue and, occasionally, barely clothes.

5. On that note, she was sick of getting blue body paint over her white linen sheets.

This one is ridiculous, of course, she doesn't have white linen sheets. They're Powerpuff Girls sheets, and they're amazing.

Regardless, the stains have got to go.

6. She's making too much money right now that it's actually embarrassing.

She's starting to use 100 dollar bills as toilet paper, she just doesn't know what to do with it anymore.

7. She really wants the free time to pick up a hobby, like knitting.

Or bird-watching, or interpretative dance. She's open to different possibilities.

8. She's just at that point where it's like, how many X-Men films can a 24-year-old multimillionaire DO, you know?

The max is four, everyone knows that.

Images: Giphy (8)