Which cast members from the X-Men should Marvel Studios keep

With Disney purchasing the rights for the X-Men from Fox, fans cannot wait for the debut of mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How they will debut still remains a question that is causing heads to explode. One of the questions that is being asked is will any of the X-Men cast transfer over to Marvel Studios. We have seen Evan Peters appear in WandaVision as a ‘version’ of Quicksilver and his appearance has posed the question of what other characters from Fox’s X-Men universe could potentially cross-over with the same actor reprising their role. Looking at the main characters from the X-Men franchise, here is who I think should reprise their role in the MCU.

Wolverine:

Arguably one of Marvel’s most iconic characters is Wolverine. Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of the savage mutant has spanned 17 years and has made Jackman a megastar. He made the character come to life like nobody expected and delivered the character traits that Wolverine has in the comics. This is one of the reasons why many fans do not want anyone new to play the role. It would be hard to eclipse what Jackman achieved in the role. His final film in the role, Logan was a perfect ending for the character and made it clear to everyone that Hugh Jackman was the perfect choice for the role back in the year 2000.

However, Hugh Jackman has said he is done with the character which means that somebody new will be forced to step into the yellow boots. Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo has gone on record saying that when the MCU introduce Logan that it will have to be something different. I would agree with him because nobody can replicate what Jackman did for the character and copying what he did wouldn’t work. Therefore when he is introduced a new actor would have to take the character in a new direction. I would argue that the new direction should focus on a more brutal side of Wolverine which was only really shown in Logan. This would be the way to give the character a new edge, making him different from Jackman’s Wolverine.

Professor X:

Being the headmaster of a school for mutants is a hard job, but portrayals from Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy have been worthy of that title. The original portrayal of Professor X from Patrick Stewart is hard to match. McAvoy has done his best to bring his version of Charles Xavier to the big screen, but it is Stewart who everyone thinks of in the role.

That being said, Stewart is 80 years old which sadly doesn’t mean he could continue playing Professor X for many more years. Simular to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, his character had a good ending in Logan. This means that for the MCU a new actor would need to play the professor. I wouldn’t recast McAvoy because he will always be in Stewart’s shadow. Therefore, like Wolverine Marvel Studios should go in a new direction with the Charles Xavier and casting a younger actor would be wise. Name value would also be important for the role and an established actor playing the part would be important to give Xavier the status that he demands.

Magneto:

Like Professor X, Magneto is an iconic character. He is the main villain to the X-Men and one of the most powerful mutants in Marvel Comics. Ian McKellen’s Magneto was one of the reasons for the success of the X-Men movies and like Patrick Stewart if he was younger, it would be a no brainer that he reprises his role. Michael Fassbender was the one who took the mantle of Magneto in the more recent movies and he also thrived in the role. Although, he doesn’t have the same name value as McKellen, his portrayal of the evil mutant justified his casting.

For the MCU, Fassbender would be a perfect choice to continue playing Magneto. Re-casting Magneto again would be harder to achieve because of the 2 successful actors before that provided different sides to the character. A new actor would find it hard to make himself differ from Fassbender and McKellen. This is why Michael Fassbender continuing as Magneto would work in the MCU because of his excellent portrayals in the past. With Fassbender continuing in the role we can expect his origin to be further developed. His origin story was one of the best parts of X-Men First Class and we know Fassbender also has the aggression in him to fit with the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. For this reason we think Fassbender still has a lot to give in the role and we would love to see him continue this in the MCU.

Mystique:

Mutant shapeshifter Mystique is a classic X-Men antihero. Rebecca Romjin and Jenifer Lawrence are the actors that portrayed her in the X-Men movies. It is Lawrence whom people associate with the character, but it is Romjin who gave the better performance of the character. This isn’t down to Lawrence being a bad actress it was more down to the story, which made Mystique a leader of the X-Men. Although this was a nice change, it wasn’t what made the character of Mystique so popular. We want to see Mystique be the anti-hero that Romjin showed she can be in the original X-Men trilogy.

With Mystique there is always the ability to re-cast because she is a shapeshifter. This means that for the MCU anybody could play the role. Jenifer Lawrence could still make the role work, but for the MCU we don’t want Mystique to be a leader. So, this means it would make sense that there is a re-casting. Rebecca Romjin reprising her role could also be an option, but with Mystique’s unique shapeshifter ability it would be a perfect opportunity for someone new and possibly unknown to take on the role and make it their own.

Storm:

Both Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp brought something different to the mutant known as Storm. Shipp showed the younger version of the character and how she grew up poor in Africa, whereas Berry showed an experienced Storm whom has the ability to lead the X-Men. For the MCU’s Storm, she should be experienced and be an established member of the X-Men. This is what Halle Berry brought with her portrayal of Storm. We are not saying Shipp wasn’t a good choice for the role because she was. In fact she was the suitable choice in X-Men: Apocalypse. However, the redemption story of mutants gaining powers and joining the X-Men is a story which has been told before and will no doubt be repeated with other characters. For that reason it would make sense to make the MCU’s Storm an established leader.

If the direction Marvel Studios goes is to have established mutants then Storm should be one of them. Halle Berry would be the no brainer to be re-cast in this role. She was excellent in the original X-Men trilogy and would also bring name value to the role. For this reason we plead with Kevin Fiege and Marvel Studios to please re-cast Halle Berry. There is so much more she could do in the role as well which will excite fans.

Cyclops:

One of the leaders of the X-Men, Scott Summers is a unique character. Taking the alias Cyclops, he is a strong leader but at times also questions his abilities. Tye Sheridan and James Marsden have both tackled the character of Cyclops. Both actors made the character their own, but neither fully managed to capture the true personality of Summers. This was mainly due to the lack of focus on the character in the X-Men movies, with his role being overshadowed by the likes of Wolverine and Professor X. Hopefully in the MCU we can explore more of what makes Scott Summers Cyclops.

If Marvel Studios choose to focus on Summers more than what was done in the X-Men movies before then a new actor would be needed to portray this. A fresh body could revitalise the role and we could get a fully fleshed out version of the leader of the X-Men. Nobody wants to see a younger Cyclops or a lost in love version Scott Summers. Something new for the character is needed and a new exciting actor would provide this in the MCU.

Jean Grey:

Jean Grey has had a tough time on the big screen. Sophie Turner and Famke Janssen have portrayed her and actually did a good job in movies that did not try and adapt the Dark Phoenix story from the comics. Both X-Men: Dark Phoenix and X-Men: The Last Stand are two of the worst movies from the X-Men franchise. For that reason either Turner or Janssen reprising their roles would give fans bad flashbacks to these terrible movies.

When introduced into the MCU, we want Jean to be established first before the thought of Dark Phoenix is mentioned. For that reason the actress playing Jean would need to be able to grow like the character. We want to see Jean be a member of the X-Men and develop into a leader. The story that Jean goes through in the MCU should be long and detailed like Captain America and Iron Man. Comparing her to these iconic characters means that the actress would need to deliver. My pick for the role would be Bryce Dallas Howard because she has proven herself in action movies before and has the potential to be a major star. Jean Grey should be how she reaches this stardom.

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