Credit: 20th Century Fox
Should Disney finally acquire 20th Century Fox, there are several X-Men actors we’d love to see reprise their iconic roles under the MCU banner and then there are the few who should leave the X-Men universe behind.
It seems like every day there is a new report on Disney acquiring the 20th Century Fox owned properties. Recently, Comcast put in a bid that was countered by Disney. Comic book fans have been hoping for this deal to happen so the X-Men franchise can go back home to Marvel and the MCU. We’d get to see scenes like Wolverine VS Hulk and stories like Avengers VS X-Men, and maybe even House of M. But, please, no AXIS.
Some of the actors that have played (or are playing) X-Men characters could get a call about reprising their roles – Michael Fassbender should be Magneto for as long as he wants to – while some might wait for a phone call that may never come (sorry Halle Berry).
Meanwhile, others who weren’t given enough to shine could get another chance. Olivia Munn (Psylocke) is a perfect example. She put the work into her character by training and wasn’t given enough time to really shine. Josh Brolin just started as Cable and should be allowed to continue his role and bring forth X-Force like we’ve seen in the comics. Thankfully, he has a four movie deal.
Should Disney acquire the Fox Marvel franchise, here are some of the actors and actresses that should and shouldn’t come back to reprise their X-Men roles.
James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier
James McAvoy took the reigns of Professor X and gave us the origin story we never knew we wanted or needed. He played an Xavier with stricter rules and was, well, kind of a jerk. Abusing his psionic powers for his own gain, yelling at Mystique when she was trying to get the team together as unit (sure, the property damage was a bit much) and then becoming a drunk after he got the use of his legs back. This is the Professor X we know now. He isn’t the good and wholesome person we always thought. McAvoy made him mean, but he also made him likable as well. That’s not an easy task.
Verdict: Keep him
McAvoy is an amazing actor. It doesn’t matter what direction Xavier is taken, he’d find a way to play the character and do it brilliantly. Another great part is we could see Xavier get old. He could play the role and grow older as his students did. As students move on, he could stay and resurrect a new class. And when the former X-Men came back, it could be a homecoming. McAvoy is a definite keeper as Professor Xavier
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine
Hugh Jackman has been Wolverine from day one. His dedication to the character goes well beyond buying the comic books to understand the character’s personality. Jackman put himself on a strict workout regimen and diet to mold his body into the Wolverine we’ve seen in the movies. Not every performer has the discipline to do that for a few weeks. Hugh Jackman was doing it for years.
It seemed like every movie Jackman was looking more and more like the Wolverine we saw in the comics. The growl got better, his attitude got gruffier, and always had great chemistry with his co-stars. Even if the movie script wasn’t great (*Cough X-Men: The Last Stand Cough*) Jackman was still phenomenal.
Verdict: Keep him
Eventually Jackman is going to retire from Wolverine, but it’s too soon. He was one of the beloved actors from the franchise. Jackman survived six X-Men movies and three solo projects. He should be the first mutant to fight The Hulk or team-up with Captain America. Jackman is also such a superb actor that it would be a travesty to not see how he’d react to someone like Tony Stark and his snarky remarks. If only one person gets to return if the deal gets done, it should be Hugh Jackman.
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool
Deadpool has been one of the few movies that 20th Century Fox can say was a flat-out success. Both movies made over $100 million opening weekend and continued to do decent numbers. Deadpool 2 did great despite going up against Solo: A Star Wars Story and Avengers: Infinity War. One of the biggest reasons for the films’ success is Ryan Reynolds in the role o Deadpool.
Not only was Reynolds amazing as Deadpool in the movies, but he completely killed his role as Deadpool in the promotion for the movie. The teaser trailer where he dressed up as Bob Ross was hilarious as was his apology to David Beckham. Beyond the hilarity, when it was time for Deadpool to get serious, Reynolds did a bang up job there as well.
Verdict: Keep him
Ryan Reynolds was born to play this role. The fact that it took so long to put out this Deadpool movie is a travesty. Although, who knows if it would have come out this good if it was released earlier. After being a star for 20th Century Fox, Reynolds deserves to be a star with Disney. Hopefully the franchise will continue to be rated R. It’s the only way that Deadpool can be successful. He isn’t a PG-13 character.
Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier
Patrick Stewart was perfect as Charles Xavier. He even looked and sounded like him. Well, what we assumed he’d sound like. Stewart was the teacher we dreamed he would be and when he gave the speeches to Magneto about looking for hope, it felt real.
Maybe the best moment came in the first X-Men movie when Xavier and Magneto met for the first time in the franchise. The conversation was played out just like it would in the comics. Everything about his performance was spot on. The only thing he didn’t have was the overly dramatic screams from the X-Men cartoon from the 1990’s.
Verdict: Shouldn’t return
As good as he was, it’s time for the franchise to move on. As I stated earlier, McAvoy is the way to go. Let the young blood step in and be the Xavier of the past and the present. A cameo of Patrick Stewart as Xavier in the future could be a great nod, but McAvoy is the one who should be carrying the torch in to the future.
On top of that, Stewart got a good but tragic sendoff in Logan. Bringing him back would take away from his send off. Wolverine coming back isn’t a big deal because Jackman has been the only Logan.
Zazie Beetz as Domino
In an article I previously wrote, I talked about how Zazie Beetz was the MVP of Deadpool 2. A month later and my feeling hasn’t changed. Beetz was phenomenal from the moment she stepped on the scene and also stood tall whenever she was on screen. A difficult task when you’re acting next to Josh Brolin and Ryan Reynolds. One amazing thing that people may not have picked up on was her facial expressions. A good example was her look when she saw Juggernaut. The fear, shock, and awe on her face was both funny and brilliant.
Verdict: Keep her
Zazie Beetz is just getting started with her role as Domino. She’s already stated that she sees a Domino solo movie in her future.
"“I would love to see an origin story. I would like to see where Domino came from, because it is kind of a dark and interesting background,” Beetz then said. “With her luck, she doesn’t really have to worry if things are going to go her way or not, because they just do. Which I think lends itself to a lightheartedness and a light-footedness in everything.”"
If the deal goes down, depriving the world of what could be a great solo film would be horrendous. Also, there’s the X-Force movie to think about that she will be just as good in if not better. Also, her powers aren’t aggressive or violent. Perfect for Disney’s PG and PG-13 rating. She won’t have to tone the gun use down because even Bucky and Captain America use guns.
Anna Paquin as Rogue
Anna Pacqun did not get a fair shake as Rogue in the X-Men movies. She was given nothing but overly dramatized parts and no action. This is not the Rogue fans know and love from the comics. Rogue is more than just the issues surrounding her powers. She fights for her friends and she also doesn’t run away when they need her.
The role of Rogue being bad can be blamed almost exclusively on the script. For those of you saying she couldn’t have the powers without Ms. Marvel, it’s not like she couldn’t have stolen the strength and flight from another mutant.
Verdict: Shouldn’t return
While this may not have been Paquin’s fault, the stain of her as Rogue will probably keep her from reprising her role in any future X-Men film. Sometimes people can’t get past a prior performance. This may be the case for Paquin. This is a shame because she could absolutely nail the role if given stronger material to play with.
It would be cool to see her say, “Nighty night, sugah” in her southern accent and knock someone out. With the Mr. and Mrs. X comic coming out, it would have been cool to see her teaming up with Gambit.
Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto
Out of everyone on this list, Sir Ian McKellen had the best performance. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t as big and muscular as Magneto in the comic books. He had what makes Magneto great. He had the presence. When he was on screen he stole the moment. His speeches hit you in the heart and made you feel that maybe mutants should rule the world.
He was also one of the few parts of X-Men: Last Stand that were great. Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge was breathtaking. The flair in which he did it was phenomenal. Topping it off with the smirk at the woman in the car was the icing on the cake.
Next: 5 worst performances from Fox’s Marvel franchise
Verdict: Shouldn’t return
All that said, just like I mentioned Xavier in the beginning, it’s time for a new Magneto. Ian McKellen set the bar for what it means to be a villain. Before Killmonger, Wilson Fisk, and Thanos were on TV and in the movies, Magneto was there fighting for the rights of the oppressed in X-Men movies. Fassbender has been an amazing successor and should continue to be the Master of Magnetism.