The MCU is reportedly eyeing Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston to lead their new X-Men team. Cranston is rumored to play Charles Xavier — the leader of the mutant academy and de facto soul of the entire franchise.

Some fans were excited by the news of this possibility. The source of the rumor is MyTimeToShineHello. Usually, there are a lot of rumors leading up to new MCU releases or casting announcements, and most fans tend to ignore them. But it’s different with this particular source. It’s worth noting that this was the same insider who first announced that Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire would enter Spider-Man: No Way Home via a portal — well before it was even confirmed that the two would be in the movie. So there’s certainly some credibility to their past leaks. Hopefully they can give us some Spider-Man: Brand New Day leaks soon too.

Bryan Cranston is reportedly being eyed to play Charles Xavier in the MCU.

(Via: MyTimeToShineHello) pic.twitter.com/hrmOMvwicZ

— Marvel Updates (@marvel_updat3s) May 27, 2025

As for Cranston, while there’s a temptation to dismiss the excitement as people just wanting to see him bald again, he arguably embodies Xavier more than he ever did Walter White. White was Cranston playing against type — that’s what made that performance so captivating. With every ing episode, White got a little worse. But when you watch Cranston in interviews — especially the ones where he gets ionate about politics — he’s actually a very convincing orator. And considering Xavier’s main strength is talking both heroes and villains off the ledge, this suggests Cranston could be a worthy successor to Sir Patrick Stewart. Many fans seem to feel that exact same way, with some posting photoshopped images of Cranston as Xavier and boldly proclaiming, “Let him cook!”

Let him cook pic.twitter.com/xzMkYOoHZD

— Blockchain Disrupt (@bchaindisrupt) May 28, 2025

But there’s also a much less discussed aspect to this potential casting: weren’t these movies working best when they hired actors? One social media expressed how tired they were of seeing the “same faces.”

I miss when they went out of their way to hire up and coming actors. Stop recycling the guys with amazing careers, give us someone new for once. Tired of seeing the same actors in everything I see

— Benjamin. (@bheadr75) May 27, 2025

When the MCU grew into the force it is today, it got there through relatively less popular (at the time) names like Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth. These are household names now, but let’s not get it twisted — they weren’t before the MCU shone a light on their talent. Now, the franchise casts the Angelina Jolies and Christian Bales of the world. This shift in strategy has yielded very diminishing returns. There’s a specific way these movies work, and that’s by making the superhero the biggest star in the room. They’re meant to be bigger than any one movie — as they recur across franchises — and certainly bigger than any one particular movie star. Movie stars will always have their place in the greater cinematic landscape, but we probably don’t need Tom Hanks to be the next Magneto.

And besides, there’s the question of how long these films take to wrap. A movie star disappearing into the vast workings of Kevin Feige’s universe for the greater part of a decade, while not doing the kind of work we’d probably prefer seeing them in — the kind that opens the Cannes Film Festival or brings home an Oscar — is a real concern. For instance, does anyone really need Timothée Chalamet to appear in the MCU as the next Cyclops, or would that just be distracting?

If the formula isn’t broken, don’t fix it, Marvel.

Alan Cumming, who fans love for playing Nightcrawler in 2003’s X2: X-Men United, is coming back to play the famous blue-skinned mutant in Marvel’s  Avengers: Doomsday. The actor recently shared how surprised and thrilled he is to step into the role again after twenty years, and he gave some details about how the movie is being made and what it’s like for him to return to such a tough part.

“Isn’t it nuts? It’s been 23 years since I was a superhero.” he said on Today with Jenna & Friends, “I’m going back to being a 60-year-old superhero, and everyone seems really lovely.” His comments have gotten a lot of attention. One of the most interesting things Cumming talked about was how much better the makeup process is now compared to when he first played Nightcrawler.

Cumming said, “What’s great about it was that before it was about four-and-a-half hours to apply it, but now it’s only 90 minutes.” This big improvement for Avengers: Doomsday comes from using stick-on tattoos instead of having them carefully painted on by hand. Cumming called this change a “game-changer,” and it sounds like it was a big reason he agreed to play the role again.

Nightcrawler is back in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

The actor also gave some useful updates on when Avengers: Doomsday is filming. According to Variety, he said he’s already done makeup tests and will start shooting soon, with plans to fly to London on April 6, 2025. This matches earlier reports that the movie began filming in March 2025, with an official start date of March 26, meaning the production is moving faster than many people expected.

Fans are really excited about Cumming’s return, especially since other original X-Men actors are coming back too. Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), and James Marsden (Cyclops) are all returning, which adds a lot of nostalgia and hype for longtime fans. There’s a lot of guessing about what Avengers: Doomsday will be about, and one popular idea is that the original X-Men team will be key players in a huge battle that might involve Doctor Doom.

The fact that so many classic characters are returning makes this theory seem even more likely, suggesting the story will be massive with high stakes. The movie’s cast is full of big names, including Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic. With so many famous actors and familiar faces from past Marvel movies, this film is shaping up to be special.

With how huge Avengers: Doomsday is shaping up to be, bringing back fan-favorite characters and adding an incredible cast, there’s already a ton of excitement. Alan Cumming’s happy reaction and his behind-the-scenes updates have only made fans more eager. As the release date of May 1, 2026, gets closer, everyone is waiting to see Nightcrawler on screen again and to find out what part he’ll play in the next big Marvel story.

Cynthia Erivo inevitably knows how talented she is, but that doesn’t mean every role she gets from here on out is going to be handed to her on a silver platter.

The Tony Award winner and Oscar nominee became an overnight sensation following her transcendent performance in Wicked, a role that many believe only Wicked: For Good can top when it arrives in theaters Nov. 21. Capitalizing on her much-deserved moment in the spotlight, Erivo has wasted no time setting her sights on another iconic role she’d love to play: Ororo Munroe, aka the weather-controlling X-Woman known as Storm. With Marvel set to bring a new wave of X-Men into the MCU any moment now, it’s the perfect time for her to toss her name into Kevin Feige’s hat.

Unfortunately for Erivo, she’s not the only Grammy winner who wants to hurl lightning and electrocute evil amphibians. A fellow musician has decided to put herself in the running, with a different take on the role than what Erivo might have envisioned. There are so many talented actresses who can play Storm as well as her fellow X-Men and women. If it does come down to Erivo and her new competitor, who will actually achieve liftoff?

Who else wants to play Marvel’s new Storm?

Fellow Grammy winner SZA has revealed that she would love to play electric mutant Storm, too ⏤ and she wants her portrayal to be “gnarly.” During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, she revealed that while she didn’t necessarily see a future in acting, there’s one reason why on-screen heroism is her calling.

“I would love to be a superhero!” she announced after Hudson told the studio audience she could see SZA playing one. “My dad, he collects first-edition comics, so he has first-edition Thor comics and Silver Surfer just in the basement. So I grew up, like, super being into Marvel and DC.” Although Silver Surfer was the first character she said she’d love to play, she quickly confirmed what she’d want to do if given the chance to play Storm.

“But I was thinking, you know how Storm has an origin story">The Fantastic Four: First Steps. So how immersed in Marvel are we really, SZA? *cheeky side-eye emoji*

The X-Men are here, and they aren’t going anywhere. 2024 was a glorious start to the mutant age under Marvel Studios as the franchise’s rebirth within the MCU got off to an unbeatable two-pronged start — first, X-Men ’97 season 1 enjoyed universal acclaim and then Deadpool & Wolverine became Marvel’s biggest blockbuster for years. After that one-two punch strong enough to knock out the Juggernaut, it’s no surprise the studio has a happy update for us.

Marvel has been pretty quiet on the specifics of what’s coming next for the X-Men, but one thing that’s long been reported is that moves have been made on a reboot movie over the past 12 months. Last May, screenwriter Michael Lesslie (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) was hired to pen the script, but there’s hardly been any official acknowledgement of the project since then. Until now.

When asked point-blank what’s coming on the X-Men front in a new interview, Marvel exec Brad Winderbaum at last confirmed that a new X-Men movie is in active development. “Right now, we are still working on X-Men ’97 season 2. It’s coming together amazingly, and the scripts for season 3 are insane,” Winderbaum — Marvel’s head of streaming, television, and animation — promised regarding the successful animated series, before dropping an exciting tease.

“That is certainly scratching the X-Men itch for me on television. And there is an X-Men feature in development right now, so that is the focus of X-Men currently,” he added, burying the lede.

If you believe every rumor we’ve been hearing, Marvel is even nearing the casting stage for the project, with numerous actors circulating your favorite mutant team-. A few major names have even voiced their interest in bringing their favorite characters back to life. Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo really wants to defy gravity again as Storm, and Hunter Schafer likes the sounds of taking over from Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. Schafer previously worked with Lesslie on Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it should be pointed out.

Of course, we know all too well that Marvel telling us a project is raring to go and then that project actually getting somewhere are two very different things. See the embarrassment of the Blade reboot and the way the Nova series has once again gone back to the drawing board. Nevertheless, a new X-Men movie really will be something the studio is dying to do following Deadpool 3‘s barnstorming success, and we’ve seen enough by now to know that Marvel is keen to honor both the Fox films and the X-Men’s long history in the comics. Don’t forget, Kevin Feige was a producer on 2000’s X-Men long before he was in charge of Marvel Studios. He knows this IP of old.

It’s still too early for us to learn any concrete details — although this summer’s Comic-Con seems like a place where we might find out more — but, call me crazy, I’d say there’s already reason to be excited. When it comes to being a Marvel fan at this late-in-the-day stage of the mixed Multiverse Saga, remaining cautiously optimistic is our mutant superpower.

The X-Men are coming… Eventually! Right now, Marvel is focused on factoring the Fantastic Four into the MCU, a plotline that will kick off in this summer’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps and then continue in Avengers: Doomsday when the foursome encounter their nemesis, Doctor Doom. After that, it’ll finally be time for the Children of the Atom to take charge — rumors have long stated that the Multiverse Saga will be followed by the Mutant Saga.

As things currently stand, screenwriter Michael Lesslie is the only creative officially connected to the incoming X-Men reboot, but enough reports have been swirling lately to suggest Marvel is ramping things up behind the scenes. A recent rumor claimed that Kevin Feige isn’t letting go of recent returnees the Russos after Secret Wars and has signed them up to “oversee” the new X-Men (presumably in a producing capacity rather than directing).

When it comes to the cast, it’s too soon to tell, but numerous actors have already been linked to certain characters, thereby whetting our appetites for what the MCU’s own X-Men line-up might look like. These are just rumors, but who knows, maybe when it comes time for Feige to use Cerebro to cast the film he’ll track down some of these talents. To us, our X-Men?

Cynthia Erivo (Storm)

In the wake of Wicked Mania, Cynthia Erivo was rumored to have “actual interest” in playing Storm in Marvel’s X-Men reboot. This was ultimately proven true when the Elphaba actress itted as much in a recent interview. “I really want to play Storm,” Erivo said, unequivocally. “I know it sounds frivolous, but I think we haven’t uncovered how grand she is and all of that inner turmoil that she has. So I think there’s a world in which we could do something with that.” If you care to find her, look to the thunderous skies.

Ayo Edebiri (Storm)

On the other hand, Marvel reportedly isn’t putting all its Ororo Munroe eggs in one actress, as at least two more stars have been rumored to be in the running for the coveted role. Erivo had better watch out because The Bear veteran and all-round Irish icon Ayo Edebiri has also been said to be circling the character. Interestingly, Edebiri was originally cast in Thunderbolts* before the 2023 strikes delays caused her to, well, bolt.

DeWanda Wise (Storm)

And that’s still not it for Storm contenders. Much like Edebiri, DeWanda Wise is another one that got away from the MCU, as Wise was originally hired as Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel before scheduling conflicts meant she had to cede the role to Lashana Lynch. Could the Jurassic World: Dominion actress make her belated Marvel debut as Storm, or will Erivo or Edebiri (or someone unknown) beat her to it?

Sadie Sink (Jean Grey)

Outside of David Harbour, it’s surprising that none of the mega-popular Stranger Things cast have ended up in the MCU to date, so in many ways it would make sense for Marvel to snap up Sadie Sink for its X-Men movie as soon as she wraps the final season of the Netflix hit. Sink would be a very obvious casting for a young Jean Grey, however, so this particular rumor may well be more fan-cast fiction than fact.

Jack Champion (Cyclops)

Fun fact: Avatar: The Way of Water and Scream VII star Jack Champion has already appeared in the MCU… In Avengers: Endgame, he’s credited for the all-important role of “Kid on Bike.” Maybe in a few years, fans will be bugging Feige to retcon this bicycling boy as a young Scott Summers, assuming this rumor he could be playing Cyclops really is true.

Harris Dickinson (Cyclops)

On the other hand, Harris Dickinson is also said to be in reaching distance of donning Cyke’s visor. The Iron Claw actor certainly would fit the more traditional look and build of the X-Mean’s field leader, but it should be pointed out that the scoopers are having a civil war over his potential MCU involvement — with some saying he is in the running and others saying he’s not — so take an extra big pinch of salt when it comes to this one.

Gambit (Unknown)

Bad news, Channing Tatum lovers, it seems Marvel isn’t interested in bringing the Deadpool & Wolverine favorite back to play the prime Gambit in the MCU. Insider Daniel Richtman reports that the studio is opening the doors to casting a new actor as Remy LeBeau. If that’s true, someone is about to make a name for themselves here.

Kitty Pryde (Unknown)

The same source likewise claims that Marvel is in the process of casting the part of Kitty Pryde. It’s about time that Shadowcat came back to the big screen, as we haven’t seen Kitty in live-action since 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, but it’s currently anyone’s guess who could play her. Personal request: Marvel, if Kitty’s pet dragon Lockheed could her this time that would be fab (Lockheed didn’t deserve to get trapped in The New Mutants).

The MCU is always expanding and with each new story told on screen, executives at Disney are on the hunt for talented actors to fill the seemingly endless assortment of roles.

Now, one of 2024’s most sought-after stars, Cynthia Erivo, has tossed her name into the discussion around the next chapter of the MCU. Erivo is an actress who has made plenty of appearances in film and television over the years, however, her star power has grown brightest in recent months after her leading role in the film adaption of the hit Broadway musical, Wicked.

Speaking to the National Board of Review, Ervio shared her ultimate dream role which, if it ever came to fruition, would see her welcome more X-Men characters into the MCU. The actress says that if there’s one role she could have next, it would be as Storm.

“I really want to play Storm. I know it sounds frivolous but I think we really haven’t uncovered how grand she is and all of that inner-turmoil that she has so, I think there’s a world where we can do something like that.”

Given that the MCU is inevitably going to introduce more X-Men characters into its ranks, Storm seems like a character that absolutely will show up at some point. With Erivo’s talents, she could very well be a great choice to bring this iconic comic book character to screens for the MCU era.

If she were to be given the opportunity, Erivo would be the third actress to bring Storm to the screen in live-action form. The first Storm was Halle Berry in the early 2000s X-Men movies, but the character was played by Alexandra Shipp in the more recent movies X-Men: Apocalypse and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.

Of course, there’s no way of knowing what Disney’s plans for the character would be if she was added to the MCU, or whether they’d go for a younger or older version of the iconic superhero.

With the success of Wicked, casting Erivo as someone in the MCU would seem like a slam dunk, even if that character isn’t Storm. Wicked has done incredible numbers at the box office, to the point that it is officially the most successful Broadway film adaptation ever — and as of right now, it has made more than $680 million globally. The film’s sequel is set to be released later this year, so expect to see the franchise everywhere once again towards the tail-end of 2025.

It’s always great to see talented actors sharing their desire to the MCU, and in an era where there are plenty of new characters being added to the mix, vocalizing their dream role could very well be what’s needed to make it happen. The actress already mastered the power of flight for her role as Elphaba, so why shouldn’t she take to the skies once more as Storm?

Ultimately, there’s no indication of if or when Storm would be added to the MCU should that be something that Disney is looking to do, but hopefully when it does, the role is given to a star as talented as Erivo. If you haven’t yet seen Wicked you can still catch the movie in theaters, but now it’s also available to rent and buy digitally.

Wicked–Mania has struck the globe like a Kansas farmhouse flattening a wicked witch with expensive taste in shoewear. Given its barnstorming box office success so far and its exceedingly positive word of mouth, the odds are looking good that Jon M. Chu’s mesmerizing musical will cross the coveted $1 billion mark, something only one other live-action release of 2024 has managed — Deadpool & Wolverine.

Given that, we can’t help but wonder: could Marvel hoover up some of that Oz magic for future projects? For a franchise that already features cameos from music superstars like Harry Styles, Meghan Thee Stallion, and Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande is bound to pop up in the MCU sometime. But what about her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo? Her powerful performance as Elphaba is leading some to make an X-citing pitch: what if Marvel cast her as the X-Men’s Storm?

X @MyTimeToShineHello went viral for asking folks what they would think of Erivo as Earth-616’s Ororo Monroe, and everyone had plenty to say on the topic — unfortunately, most of it was negative.

Marvel fans aren’t exactly crazy about this idea. “This would be the worst casting on planet earth,” wrote one, causing hyperbole detectors to explode everywhere.

Others feel the MCU’s alleged history of miscasting key roles means this fan-cast actually has a decent chance of happening.

But, OK, what’s the actual problem people have with the notion of Erivo as Storm? One fan attempted to sort their feelings on the hypothetical casting into words, itting that “she is a talent, but she is not Storm.” The fan argued that there’s “a certain regalness and overwhelming presence” that the heroine possesses whereas they think Erivo is more “striking and soft.”

The problem here may be simply that everyone’s already chosen their own personal picks for Storm long ago. The Acolyte‘s Jodie Turner-Smith is a very popular choice, for instance.

As is Lupita Nyong’o, despite the fact she’s already Nakia in the Black Panther films, especially after her recent Halloween cosplay.

One fan, meanwhile, has an alternate metric for casting the character: “Storm has to be played by someone who I feel can beat my ass and I don’t think Cynthia holds that space.”

Alternatively, some refuse to play this game because they’re a little offended by how the internet has linked pretty much every Black actress to the part of Storm over the years. And, you know what, they may have a point.

Cynthia Erivo would be a gift to the MCU, there’s no doubt about that. What’s more, she’s already a part of the Disney family — thanks to her turn as the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio — so Marvel coming a-knocking is all too easy to imagine. Maybe she isn’t the absolute best pick to fill in for Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp as Storm, however, and there’s another, better role out there for her. Or, to put it another way, she’s not that girl.

It seems like a lot of people might have counted the MCU out a bit too prematurely; technically, the MCU is on Phase 5, but it really feels like the franchise is just finally breaking into a tough second act after a very successful Thanos-led saga that cast a domineering shadow.

Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios’ President, has been dodging and absorbing all the hits from critics and fans after a lackluster couple of years where shows and movies were simply not up to the standards fans were usually accustomed to. Feige finally itted that while he initially believed there’s no such thing as “superhero movie fatigue,” he now understands that his cast and crew were being stretched thin by so many projects. In the foreseeable future, he plans on committing to fewer projects and being more intentional with each release. That, after all, was always the secret of the MCU. Every installment felt important to the main story.

Now it seems like this approach is already bearing fruit — the Thunderbolts trailer was well received, and people are actually hyped for it. The Robert Downey Jr. recasting seemed like enough of a risk to get people intrigued, and long Easter eggs, like the Marvel Tower’s new owner, are finally being addressed. On top of all this, Kevin Feige just teased yet another long-awaited announcement: The X-Men are finally going to the MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars.

In the comic books, Secret Wars started when a supervillain called the Beyonder began teleporting Marvel heroes and villains from different universes to fight for his entertainment. It’s expected that this will somehow inform how the story unfolds in the film, with fans finally seeing all the different concurrent storylines clash in an inventive and unique way. Feige has recently been appearing at various Disney events, dropping hints about where this new arc is heading, and to fans’ surprise, he just blurted out that Secret Wars will directly set up the X-Men’s entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. JoBlo reports Feige saying:

I think you will see that continues in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize. Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men. Again, [it’s] one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back.

This announcement has been a dream for fans ever since Disney purchased Fox, eliminating the legal barriers that had previously restricted which X-Men characters could appear in the MCU. It’s exciting to imagine who will be cast in these roles, though it will be quite challenging to live up to the fantastic actors who have already embodied these characters.

Some fans are hoping that Gambit finally gets his next Marvel appearance and they have the fan theories to back it up, so the excitement is pretty palpable.

Feige also touched on what to expect from the Fantastic Four, saying that Fantastic Four: First Steps and other movies are all ultimately leading to the X-Men. He shared that working with the X-Men has been a long-standing dream of his. Now that Feige finally has most of the “toys” to play with and has learned from past mistakes, we’ll have to wait and see if another Golden Age of the MCU is on the horizon.

Currently, all signs point to Robert Downey Jr. as the new big baddie of the entire franchise, a move that could either make or break this saga. The stakes have never been higher. Either way, it’s shaping up to be an exciting ride.

Deadpool & Wolverine is finally available to stream at your leisure on Disney Plus, and that’s not the only good news. Various deleted scenes have already materialized thanks to the earlier digital release of this summer’s superhero blockbuster, but now even more are coming out of the woodwork. The latest even goes so far as to raise a question we’ve been wondering about for a full decade.

For this one, we have Ryan Reynolds himself to thank, as the man behind the Merc with the Mouth shared this instant fan-favorite of a sequence to Instagram in the wake of the film’s streaming debut. A montage scene, the clip adds more context to Wade and Logan’s trek across the endless expanse of the Void, naturally featuring a ton more quips and jokes. These include not only a reference to Chris Hemsworth’s Thor (he actually wears hair extensions! Cheap ones!), but a hint at the doomed romance between Wolverine and Jean Grey.

“Siri, find deleted, half baked montage featuring one of the greatest bands on earth and Hugh totally nailing his four words of dialogue,” Reynolds wrote in the post description. “And do it quickly because it’ll probably be taken down for so many reasons.”

Apart from snubbing fellow Canadian icons and big Deadpool fans Nickelback — whose song, “Never Gonna Be Alone,” plays over the montage — this deleted scene actually has a secret significance to the wider X-Men lore. “I don’t wanna pry, but whatever happened between you and Jean?” Wade asks of a silent Logan. “You guys seemed so good together.”

Through this, Deadpool is finally addressing a big mystery fans have pondered ever since 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past: What exactly did happen between Logan and Jean? For those without a degree in X-Menology, here’s a quick history lesson. Wolverine himself was forced to kill Jean in X-Men: The Last Stand when she went all Dark Phoenix and he was still haunted by ghostly visions of her in The Wolverine. By the end of Future Past, however, the timeline was reset and Jean was alive again. So was Cyclops, though, so Logan was once more crushing on a married woman.

Come Logan, and we were told that all the X-Men had died again — tragically, killed by an ailing Professor X. Deadpool 3‘s Wolverine isn’t quite the same variant as the main X-Men timeline’s, but he seems to have lived a very similar life, just with all the X-Men in his world being killed by mutant-hating humans. No doubt Jean died again in both universes, but we still don’t know if she and Logan ever made it work for a while at least, or if she remained loyal to Scott in all timelines.

Either way, fans are all reacting the same way to this scene: they can’t fathom why it was deleted. “Again… Whyyyyyyyyyy?!?!?!” wrote one Instagram commenter. “We NEED a cut with all deleted scenes included!! Please & Thank you Amen.” I mean, in a world where Deadpool & Wolverine made well over $1 billion and Spider-Man: No Way Home got an extended cut released in theaters, that doesn’t sound like the craziest idea. Deadpool 3.5 for 2025 — make it happen, Kevin Feige!

2024 has been extremely good to X-Men fans. Not only did this year deliver the grand return of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman (and assorted friends and foes) in Deadpool & Wolverine, it also gave us the absolute Marvel masterpiece that was X-Men ’97. The good times aren’t over yet, either, as it turns out we’re going to get the MCU debut of Storm before the year is out.

Even though Agatha All Along is in our rearview mirror, there’s still one more season of Marvel TV to come in 2024. Namely, What If…? season 3. The studio unveiled some exciting new details about this latest run of the animated anthology show at this past weekend’s D23 Brazil, which included a first-look glimpse at various new variants set to appear this year. Previously, we’d heard that a major character would be making their arrival in the MCU this season, and it turns out this is none other than Ororo Monroe herself.

Just to add to the hype, this Storm variant will also wield Thor’s hammer Mjolnir — which makes sense, if you think about it, as she is known for her lightning-controlling abilities. Last but not least, we also know who will be voicing Storm in this appearance. And this casting should please fans of the heroine.

Who is playing Storm in What If…? season 3?

We don’t yet know exactly how Worthy Storm will factor into What If…? season 3, but we can say who will be bringing her to life. Marvel has entrusted this first incarnation of Ororo within the MCU multiverse to none other than X-Men ’97 veteran Alison Sealy-Smith. The X-Men: The Animated Series actress has been playing Storm for even longer than Halle Berry, so she’s truly the safest pair of hands in which to trust her introduction into the MCU.

Sealy-Smith’s casting is quietly a major deal, though, as it seemingly solidifies X-Men ’97‘s status as part of the MCU multiverse itself. This was already implied by the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from the Watcher himself in season 1, but now that a variant of one of its characters will interact with MCU characters in a different timeline the door is open for further crossovers down the line. Not to mention the potential for Storm to finally return in live-action to boot.

Storm’s debut was confirmed via a poster unveiled by Marvel at D23 Brazil, which also revealed that many other fan-favorites will be putting in appearances as well — including White Vision, Shang-Chi, and, um, Arishem from Eternals (what? He’s bound to be at least one fan’s favorite).

The downside is that What If…? season 3 will be two episodes shorter in length than the two previous seasons. This time around, it will comprise only eight episodes instead of 10. This is likely due to time constraints, as even the show’s producers have itted that Marvel’s deadline for this season was “tight.” Catch What If…? season when it starts dropping episodes daily from Dec. 22.

As part of the D23 event in Brazil, Marvel Studios’ president, Kevin Feige, has revealed the MCU’s exciting plans for the X-Men and the return of a beloved character everyone feared had retired.

The closing of the Infinity Saga represented the end of the line for multiple key Marvel heroes, including Robert Downey Jr.’ Iron Man, Scarlet Johanson’s Black Widow, and Chris Evans’ Captain America. Yet, the “Multiversal Saga” kept the trend alive when it supposedly killed Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. It definitely didn’t help when Olsen expressed discontent with the film’s plot and commented on how her character was treated. Along with this, her absence from subsequent projects, which extended to avoid even mentioning the Scarlet Witch, sparked fears that the actress was done with the MCU for good.

Of course, the success of Agatha All Along led to an uproar of disgruntled fans who wanted Wanda to return, followed by Olsen herself adding her voice to the crowd, hinting she wanted to return sooner than later.

It looks like everyone’s wishes will come true. In a revealing interview with Brazilian outlet Omelete, the Marvel Studios president has strategically shifted from “no comment” to a surprisingly candid acknowledgment of Wanda’s future in the MCU. In Feige’s words:

“We’ve recently had Agatha All Along on Disney Plus, and that series has been great for us. Since then, there have been a lot of questions about Wanda in fans’ minds… So all I can say is that we’re excited to find out when and how Scarlet Witch can come back.”

It’s settled, then. Feige is still playing coy about the how and the when, but the lingering “if” has been erased for good and there’s no longer any doubt the Scarlet Witch is coming back to the MCU. The timing couldn’t be better, considering the character’s comic book history with the X-Men, who’ll soon become the center of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Kevin Feige reveals when the X-Men will enter the MCU

In the same interview where he spilled the beans on the Scarlet Witch, Feige revealed an unprecedented level of long-term planning that extends well beyond Avengers: Secret Wars. Unlike the approach to Endgame, where the focus was primarily on reaching a conclusion, Marvel Studios now has a clear roap for its future.

“When we were preparing for Avengers: Endgame years ago, it was a matter of getting to the grand finale of our narrative, and then we had to start all over again after that. This time, on the road to Secret Wars, we already know very well what the story will be until then and beyond. The X-Men are an important part of that future.”

It makes sense that Marvel Studios is already planning what to do once the “Multiversal Saga” is done. Since Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has been getting a lot of heat from fans, who have openly denounced the lack of consistency regarding quality. It’s a fact that the MCU has stretched too thin while juggling too many movies and TV shows, which is why Marvel Studios is aiming to downsize in the near future. So, since the “Multiversal Saga” didn’t work out as planned, Feige is bringing the big guns and putting the X-Men at the center of the MCU for whatever comes after Avengers: Secret Wars.

That’s an exciting perspective. The X-Men have headed some of the best Marvel Comics crossovers, including House of M, centered on the Scarlet Witch. Plus, with Mutants roaming free in the MCU, it’s only a matter of time before we get the dreamlike Avengers vs X-Men movie we all hoped for since Disney bought Fox. You know what? I agree with Feige: Let’s rush to the end of the “Multiversal Saga.”

Right out of the gate, let it be known that the rumor you’re about to see is complete and utter cow patty, and if not for the opportunity to talk about the character’s will-be MCU nuances and how the franchise is beyond repair if it ever actually went ahead with this casting, it would not be worth calling attention to in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

Anyway, the rumor is that Billie Eilish is in the running to play Rogue in the MCU, and that the fan-favorite mutant will appear in Captain Marvel 3, which will also kick off the Mutants Saga of the MCU.

This isn’t a knock on Eilish’s acting, which may or may not be any good. She has one acting credit wherein she plays someone other than herself, and that’s in the Janine Nabers/Donald Glover-created horror-comedy miniseries Swarm, where she plays cult leader Eva. She only appears in the fourth episode, and I have not watched it.

But let’s face it: Marvel wouldn’t cast Billie Eilish as Rogue for her acting prowess. They’d cast her because her name is a marketing goldmine that would help invite the franchise’s increasingly casual fanbase to an almost cartoonish degree (cartoonish, that is, not in the amount of people it would draw, but in the methods that Marvel would be using to get people to consume their product). It would be no different than roping Robert Downey Jr. back into the fray as Doctor Doom, and would at once declare a commitment to market-driven storytelling, which is a phrase that should never exist.

Now that’s out of the way, we can talk about Rogue more directly

Casting an especially young Rogue is neither here nor there; you could make that work just as well as a more mature Rogue. There would be obvious wisdom, however, in introducing the character in Captain Marvel 3, as that would allow Rogue to absorb Carol Danvers’ powers; a key, recognizable plot point in plenty of X-Men media that the MCU could play with in a number of ways.

Maybe, for instance, Rogue absorbs them permanently and shifts the canon’s power creep — which would be a great occasion to mark the start of the Mutant Saga — or maybe the film’s tension would be built around whether Rogue gets away with it or not. This would all be additionally beholden to Rogue’s inevitable villain-to-hero arc. Would she start and end Captain Marvel 3 as an antagonist, or would she begin to grow into a hero as early as that the end of that film?

The one piece of legit mileage an Eilish casting would have is that Eilish is a queer woman, and given how queer comic readers have responded to Rogue over the years (her inability to touch others has long resonated with those suffering from legislative queer oppression and more social homophobia), there would be wisdom in writing a queer interpretation of Rogue (and Agatha All Along suggests that Marvel might even allow a queer character whose queerness is actually well-written). But even if a queer interpretation is what Marvel is going for — I would bet money that they aren’t — Billie Eilish makes no sense as a first choice outside of drawing more casual audiences.

Moreover, the dream casting of a lifetime exists in the spunky, sassy shape of one Keke Palmer, who has also spoken about her queer-adjacent outlook on life in the past. And considering Chris Claremont himself originally intended for Rogue to be modeled after Grammy-nominated R&B artist Grace Jones, the significance and depth of opportunity that a Palmer casting would bring is simply too nutritious for Marvel to up, even though they probably will.

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