In the year 1963 the very first issue of X-Men was hit the shelves, this was the first time any one had ever heard of a mutant! It was created by comic book legends Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. This was a revolutionary book because of the many morally complex themes it dealt with. Soon X-Men became one of Marvel Comics favorite superhero groups and to this day they are still going strong. As many of you know, I am a pretty big X-Men fan. I was first introduced to comics through my father when he started reading old Claremont X-Men and New Mutants comics to me, ever since that faithful day I have been a huge comic fan. Just today Simon Kinberg, the writer behind both X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014),
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and next year's
The Fantastic Four (2015), has confirmed that in the next installment in the X-Men film franchise we will indeed be seeing younger incarnations of the characters; Jean Grey, Cyclops and Storm. I love the idea of seeing more of these characters because in my opinion one of the weakest parts of the older X-Men films is how they handled them. Hopefully in
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) we can finally see the versions of Storm, Cyclops and Jean Grey that we have all been dying to see on the big screen. I hope that in
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) they take inspiration for the three characters from the Marvel Now series All New X-Men, Storm's new solo series and of course X-Men: Season One. So with that in mind my choices do resemble the characters seen in those comics. That being said I have decided to share who I would personally choose to play the younger versions of Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey in
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016). So without further ado let us begin!
Scott Summers aka Cyclops
Out of all the characters I read about in the pages of Uncanny X-Men when I was young the character I actually connected to the most was Cyclops. I really related to how leadership and responsibility was just thrust upon him and how he is always working all hours of the day to improve upon himself as a leader. I actually really enjoyed James Marsden's performance as Cyclops and I really felt he was critically underused in the past films. Cyclops is supposed to be the leader and yet he has barely any screen time! If I could change anything about the previous X-Men films I would definitely add more Cyclops. This is a very deep and interesting character so when choosing the actor to play him I had to make sure they had the acting range to pull of the complex role. In the end I settled on two actors who I think would do a marvelous (pun intended) job. My first choice for Cyclops is...
Nick Robinson
Nick Robinson is a young upcoming actor; even though he is a bit of an unknown he still has a very impressive résumé. He starred in my favorite film from last year The Kings of Summer (2013), he had a small role in Boardwalk Empire (2010 - ) and he is set to appear in next year’s Jurassic World (2015) along side Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio, Judy Greer and Omar Sy. Let me just say that this kid has talent, he is a great actor and I think he is only going to improve and improve the older he gets. I think he could really play the insecurity and persistence that is needed when playing Scott Summers. He may look young in the picture above, but trust me not only is he a great actor he also looks the part! Just picture him with a visor or a pair of red sun glasses. Who would you want to see play Cyclops? My second choice for Cyclops is...
Ansel Elgort
Ansel Elgort is my back up choice for Cyclops; he is another one of those upcoming actors who has a lot of raw talent. Elgort has appeared in films like; Carrie (2013), The Fault in Our Stars (2014) and the upcoming Jason Reitman film Men, Women & Children (2014). This guy has so much charisma, he stole every scene he was in both The Fault in Our Stars (2014) and Divergent (2014) (don't judge me because I saw Divergent (2014)). The reason I'm choosing so many unknown actors is because in my opinion they are able to blend into the role more. With unknown actors the star won't over shine the character, when you will see Ansel Egort up on the screen you won't see the actor you will see Scott Summers, you will see Cyclops. So what do you think? Would you want either of these actors to play Scott Summers?
Ororo Munroe aka Storm
Ororo Munroe or more commonly referred to as Storm is a great strong female character that needs to get some more light shed on her and a hell of a lot more screen time in the future X-Men films. She was played horrendously by Halle Berry in the previous X-Men films. Some of you may enjoy Halle Berry's performance as Storm; I however thought she gave an incredibly weak and one note performance that did not show off any of the complexity of the character. I will admit that not all of the blame can be placed on Halle Berry since she didn't have a lot to work with and draw from in the script. I would love it if they based the character off the new Storm series and some of the original Uncanny X-Men comics. It was particularly hard to find an actress who would be perfect to play Ororo Munroe properly, but I think that I found the perfect choice with...
Nathalie Emmanuel
Nathalie Emmanuel has appeared in Misfits (2009 - ), in the amazing show Game of Thrones (2011 - ) as Missandei and she will be in next year's Fast & Furious 7 (2015). Yet again I have chosen another unknown actress! However she is a terrific actress who is fast becoming a house hold name. She does resemble Halle Berry too, so it would be easy for her to play a younger incarnation of Halle Berry's Storm. Doesn't she just scream Storm? I think she could really bring a lot to the character of Storm. After seeing Storm being completely underused and butchered in the previous films I would love to see a great actress like Nathalie Emmanuel give us her portrayal of Ororo Munroe! Also I've been hearing rumblings that this younger Storm will have the iconic Mohawk, and I think Emmanuel is one of the few people who could pull off that look. I actually can't think of another actress to play Storm, at this point I'm so set on wanting to see Nathalie Emmanuel as Storm that I don't if I could picture another actress taking on the role. Who would you choose to portray Storm?
Jean Grey
Now I know many people aren't the biggest fans of Famke Janssen's performance as Jean Grey in the original X-Men movies, I actually really enjoy her take on the character though! That being said though her take on the character did greatly vary from the comics, so with this younger incarnation I would love it if they stuck closer to her characterization in the comics. I hope they look towards series like Grant Morrison's New X-Men and X-Men: Season One when looking for inspiration on how to portray Jean Grey. Jean Grey is an incredibly rich and relatable character that I cannot wait to see on the big screen. I think however that I have found the perfect choices to portray Jean Grey...
Kristen Connolly
Kristen Connolly is most known for her work in; Revolutionary Road (2008), Houdini (2014), House of Cards (2013 - ) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012). I think the first time I saw her was in Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods (2012), she completely blew me away in the film with the amount of emotional depth she brought to what could have been an one dimensional character. Usually in horror films I could care less about any of the characters, but thanks to Kristen Connolly I was actually rooting for the main character! I'm hoping she can bring the same humility and naivety to Jean Grey. She is an incredibly underrated actress, who in my opinion could add a lot of depth to the character of Jean Grey. My secondary choice for the amazing character that is Jean Grey is none other than...
Shailene Woodley
Shailene Woodley has appeared in films like; The Fault in Our Stars (2014), Divergent (2014), The Descendants (2011) and The Spectacular Now (2012). This choice might be a bit controversial, but for the life of me I can't understand why. I feel like if she is cast as Jean Grey the same people who "disapproved" of her being cast as Mary Jane Watson might "disapprove" of her casting as Jean Grey. I however am not one of those people, I was really excited to see her as MJ and I am still disappointed that we will not be able to see her take as the character. There is just something about her as an actress that makes you just feel and care for her. There is this one heart wrenching scene in The Spectacular Now (2012) that really showcases her talent as an actress, if you are a bit iffy on her for Jean Grey I strongly suggest you check that film out. She could give us a fantastic bad ass Jean Grey and I for one would love to see her fighting Apocalypse alongside the X-Men.
Well there you go! I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my editorial, it means a lot. If you think it deserves it click that big red glove! Who do you want to play the younger incarnations of Storm, Jean Grey and Scott Summers? Do you agree with my choices? Let me know in the comments below!