#fan-casting

Which Team?

Because my ideal X-Men team is the same as YouTube journalist Grace Randolph’s in going with the Giant Sized X-Men roster, it gave me the idea that, rather than going with the original Brotherhood team, go with a later team and have the core members of the original team come in at a later date as an earlier incarnation. By this I mean my team won’t include Magneto, the Maximoff twins...for obvious reasons, or Mastermind.

Instead I recommend going with Mystique’s Brotherhood introduced in 1981′s Uncanny X-Men #141 with the only change being getting rid of Blindspot because I get the feeling that character is either cannon fodder or an afterthought anyway. Sorry to any Blindspot fans, I am sure there are one or two of you out there.

This team is led by lovers Mystique and Destiny and includes Avalanche, Pyro and Rogue. Yes this, in my opinion, would be the best way to introduce Rogue as this is where she started out.

Mystique:

The shapeshifting bisexual supervillain who in her natural form is the perfect blend of VFX done properly. While her official origin has never been properly explored in the comics, her main arcs centre on her relationships with others whether they be romantic or maternal. Biologically having Sabertooth’s son who would later become of the mutants’ most ruthless enemies Graydon Creed as well as giving birth and then abandoning her second son Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler.

Her maternal relationship with foster daughter Rogue is the most interesting out of her offspring. When a young Rogue runs away from home in Mississippi after her powers manifest, she is found by Mystique and her lover Destiny, who foresees Rogue being important to the two of them in the future, and so they adopt the young girl and eventually Rogue becomes a valuable asset to Mystique in her war against humanity.

Something Bryan Singer revolutionized in terms of superhero film characters is making Mystique nude in the movies whereas in the comics she traditionally wears a white dress. Now for the mouse house, which always has kids and families as their target market, I do not think blue boobs will go down so well, however, considering the popularly of the movie versions of the character it is definitely something for Feige to consider.

While Jennifer Lawrence is the most recent out of the two cinematic versions of the character, because we do not know Mystique’s origins and her shapeshifting powers stop her from aging at a normal speed, it makes sense for Rebecca Romijn to resume the role.

Should Romijn decide not to resume the role however, my next best choice would be Charlize Theron. Not only is she of similar age to Romijn and of similar figure, but movies such as Atomic Blonde and Mad Max: Fury Road have proven she is competent with action sequences, while movies like The Huntsman movies and The Fate of the Furious have proven she is great at playing a villain and all five movies have shown she is great at both dramatic and leadership roles. Atomic Blonde also proved she is capable of a convincing lesbian scene which will definitely help in this role.

Also this choice is slightly selfish as I am dying to see her in an MCU movie and do not want to lose her to other superhero franchises. 

Destiny:

So while I am excited to see what Feige will do with Mystique and Rogue, Destiny is the true unknown variable as she has never been portrayed in live-action. In fact her only appearances outside the comics are as a NPC in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse and in two episodes of X-Men: Evolution.

The most notable lover of Mystique, the precognitive Irene Adler aka Destiny fell in love with the shapeshifter when employing her services as a consulting detective. Over time they remained friends and lovers and even raise an adoptive daughter Rogue.

Now officially, Destiny is Austrian and therefore I think the right choice would be Elke Winkens, not that well known but that’s why this role may be the right fit for her because she can make a name for herself. Failing that, Destiny is the right candidate to be race-bent.

Now in the comics; Destiny’s attire is more regal than anything, for that reason I suggest going with Patricia Velasquez. She proved regal enough for royalty in The Mummy Returns and she could very easily pull off portraying a blind character.

In X-Men: Evolution however, Irene simply looks like an everyday woman who happens to be blind, she wears sunglasses and carries a cane. I believe either Thanie Newton or Sarah Poulson could quite easily pull that off. Newton looks very much like an everyday woman in the best sense of the word and Sarah Poulson, while Caucasian, has already technically played a blind woman once in American Horror Story: Coven and is one of those current actresses people want in a superhero movie.

Rogue:

Yes Rogue, one of few characters Bryan Singer could not get right. It is simple; Anna Marie, better known as Rogue, is a Southern Bell from Mississippi who discovered her powers in the worst possible way, put her boyfriend Cody into a coma when her energy absorption abilities absorbed his memories and characteristics. As well as absorbing Homo Sapiens’ energy, Rogue can also absorb powers; sometimes permanent like when she absorbed Carol Danvers aka Ms. Marvel’s ability to fly and super strength, but mostly temporarily.

As mentioned earlier, as a child she was adopted by Mystique and Destiny and brought up into the Brotherhood of Mutants before defecting and joining the X-Men where she fell in love with the Ragin’ Cajun Gambit, whom she eventually married.

Anna Paquin has portrayed this character in the original X-Men trilogy and the Rogue cut of Days of Future Past, however, despite the fact she went on from the original trilogy to TV series True Blood where she played a character from Louisiana, she never attempted a southern accent while playing Rogue.

Looking through all the suitable southern actresses, I want to ensure this Rogue has a southern accent, I was very picky because I want this version of the character to work. So I have two choices; Lucy Hale because I feel she is due a mainstream movie break and also looks young enough to be mid-20s despite being almost 30. Failing that, I suggest Chloë Grace Moretz, she is still known for being Hit Girl in the Kick-Ass movies and so is clearly adept at action sequences as hales from Georgia which is located near Mississippi, she’s also 21 so by the time Rogue debuts in the MCU she should be of the right age.

Pyro:

Pyro was actually one of the characters in the original trilogy that most people had an issue with, I actually liked. Not only am I a fan of fire-based characters both in terms of visuals and coolness, I thought the arc of him being the rebel schoolboy turned villain in X2 to be very organic.

St. John Allerdyce is from Sydney, Australia and has the power to psionically control and manipulate fire. While he does not have any major arcs or connections in the comics, he is easily a candidate to have his story somewhat altered to make him more interesting.

Because the character is Australian in the comics, and has been portrayed as Australian in every medium aside from the movies to date, Feige and his casting directors need to go Australian. Not only for authenticity but also because the DCEU went authentically Australian in Suicide Squad with Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang.

For those reasons, I suggest either Liam Hemsworth or Ryan Kwanten. While two out of three Hemsworth brothers have appeared in the MCU thus far, Liam, being the youngest, is one of the more current younger Australian actors of the selection to choose from. Ryan Kwanten meanwhile could easily bring the manic energy that comes with being a pyromaniac as well as being of contemporary age with the other members of the Brotherhood.

However my wildcard choice for this role is David Jones-Roberts, who? Well much like Chris and Liam Hemsworth as well as Kwanten, he starred in the Australian soap opera Home and Away for just under 4 years and returned for two episodes after that. I am making this choice because, if nothing else, Aussie soap stars have proven to either be brilliant Hollywood actors (Hemsworths, Margot Robbie, Russell Crowe) or singers (Kylie). Also as stated Pyro is a minor-esk role and therefore does not need high caliber talent to portray him.

Blob:

A nightmare for VFX but a wonder to behold. Fred Dukes aka The Blob is a former circus sideshow act from Texas when he is recruited by the X-Men at first but decides to decline the invite to join and instead tries to steal from them before he is recruited by Magneto to join the Brotherhood.

The Blob’s mutation grants him an elastic blubbery skin which strengthens his already superhuman strength, endurance and durability. It also allows himself to be virtually immovable when concentrating on his lower-body gravity.

While he has made two appearances in the X-Men movies first in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and as a cameo in X-Men: Apocalypse, for the MCU we need a credible actor but also one willing to be a team player in either wearing a fatsuit or being known as a character who is potentially 100x the weight of him.

For that reason, I suggest Alan Tudyk, his voice work could make the visual somewhat comedic appearance actually believable and also I am sure through CGI and Practical FX, fans can believe Alan Tudyk could easily be the size of a boulder.

Avalanche:

Now when it comes to Dominikos Petrakis aka the geokinetic Avalanche, I do indeed want to go Greek as the character in the comics is Greek. For that reason I suggest going with Costas Mandylor. Not the best well known actor but Avalanche isn’t the best known character, and with a movie that will hopefully introduce Mystique, Destiny and Rogue to the MCU, the male characters of the team may fade slightly.

Having said that, this is a chance for the jobbing actor to have a standout role in a mainstream movie and possibly make a name for himself. Yes he is older than both Romijn and Theron but as discussed Mystique does not age and therefore she could easily be older than him.

So what do you think about my choices? Do you want to see Rebecca Romijn return as Mystique or do you think Charlize Theron is the right replacement? Is this the right movie to introduce Rogue to the MCU? and do you think Feige will give us a Mystique-Destiny relationship on-screen? Also do you want a Brotherhood of Mutants movie or do you feel they’d be better as the villains in an X-Men movie?