2019 is a bit of an odd year if you’re an “X-Men” film fan. Normally, you’d be excited to know that this year brings not one, but two X-films to theaters with “Dark Phoenix” and “The New Mutants.” But, alas, it’s bittersweet (or just sweet, if you aren’t a huge fan of Fox’s interpretation of Marvel’s mutants) because Fox is scheduled to become officially acquired by Disney in the next couple of months, which essentially means these final two films are lame ducks.
But in a new interview with Yahoo, James McAvoy, one of the stars of the recent “X-Men” films discusses the pending Disney/Fox merger, particularly with how he sees the mutant superheroes melding (or not) with the current crop of Avengers.
READ MORE: Sorry, Fans, ‘Dark Phoenix’ Will Be Yet Another ‘X-Men’ Film To Ignore Jubilee
“I don’t know if the X-Men could go into the Marvel universe, I’m not sure,” McAvoy says.
He continues, “Maybe they could? But I think what’s different about the ‘Avengers’ universe anyway is you’ve only got a couple of superheroes in the world. There’s a good amount, but there’s like a couple of football teams’ worth, you know what I mean? Whereas in the ‘X-Men’ world you’re potentially saying there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of [superheroes] and the social implication of that is different.”
McAvoy brings up another point of contention that might prevent the two superhero universes from coming together.
“In the ‘X-Men’ world, [superheroes] are ghetto-ized,” the actor says. “They’re ostracized and they’re feared. Whereas in the ‘Avengers’ world, they’re honored a bit more… and seen as heroes. We’re seen almost like immigrants that people are scared of in the world of mutants and humans. How do you resolve that?”
Ultimately, McAvoy trusts Marvel Studios and the brains behind the MCU to do right by the mutants, “They’re very clever, they’ve done [the MCU] very well, so I’m sure they’ll figure it out.”
And it’s important to note one big, obvious thing that isn’t mentioned in his comments – Marvel Comics. You see, the Avengers and the X-Men have coexisted in the Marvel comic book universe for well over 50 years. And the interesting part is, the fact that the X-Men are ostracized from the rest of the superhero community because of how they were born is, in fact, a great source of drama and story. Go figure!
So, to answer McAvoy’s question about how do you resolve the way that superheroes are treated differently between the X-Men and the Avengers is to point out that difference and ask why. That’s what makes the X-Men interesting, as a concept. They’re superpowered folks that wear bright costumes and save the world. However, they’re always viewed as less-than because they were born mutants and not bitten by a radioactive spider. See? It’s drama!
Kidding aside, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to add the X-Men to the MCU. We’re sure Kevin Feige and Co. are more than capable of cracking that code.
However, the biggest hurdle in front of them is perhaps casting. You see, when you reboot the “X-Men” films, and presumably Marvel Studios will do just that, you have to recast. And despite the film series not having the same quality control as the MCU, the actors that have populated the “X-Men” films have been relatively well-regarded, especially in the case of Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds.
That being said, there’s one up and coming actress that wants to begin a campaign to get on Marvel Studios’ radar for when the company is ready to recast – KiKi Layne.
Speaking to Variety on the Critics’ Choice Awards red carpet, Layne, who is getting recognition for starring in Barry Jenkins’ incredible “If Beale Street Could Talk,” is looking to break into the world of superheroes, and she has the perfect one picked out.
READ MORE: Our 12 New Year’s Wishes & Resolutions For The Film/TV Industry In 2019
“She was an image of myself, of a powerful chocolate black woman, and I just think that’s an amazing image to have and I really want to play Storm,” Layne said.
For those not hip to the “X-Men” lore, Storm is the codename of Ororo Munroe, an African-born X-Person that has the ability to control the weather. She has been portrayed by Halle Berry and, most recently, Alexandra Shipp in the films. But Layne isn’t interested in who’s portrayed her previously, she and her team of agents and managers are making a play for the future.
“Oh, yeah,” Layne said. “We are actively plotting, actively plotting.”
We’re fairly certain that Marvel Studios is still relatively far away from any casting announcements as far as the X-Men go, but when the time comes, they could do a lot worse than KiKi Layne.
