Rachel here! ICYMI, they’ve just announced the casting for the three new kids in X-Men: Apocalypse. Let’s take a look:
Sophie Turner as Jean Grey:
Sophie Turner is the only one of the three I’ve seen in anything, ever; and I could not be happier to see her step into Jean Grey’s bright yellow boots. Turner’s a fantastic actress, and Sansa Stark is basically the Jean Grey of Game of Thrones: completely awesome and chronically thrown under the bus by both canon and audience. (Incidentally: talk shit about Sansa stark in the comments, and we will cut you. Sansa rules.)
Alexandra Shipp as Storm:
Totally unfamiliar with Shipp, but she looks like a baby Storm, and she’s not Halle Berry, so that’s two points in her favor.
Tye Sheridan as Cyclops:
With the caveat that I’m no more familiar with this kid than I am with Shipp, can we take a moment to agree that the correct casting for teen Cyclops is and always will be Swing Kids-era Robert Sean Leonard?
I’m pretty sick of light-skinned Americans getting cast as Storm. There’s a whole continent full of actresses that would be better fits for the part. And it’s not in this hemisphere.
I see what you’re saying, but playing devil’s advocate, even though Storm was grew up in Africa she was born an American citizen. I don’t want to argue the point, but that might have factored into the casting agents’ reasoning. And while I’m fairly impartial in terms of complexion, I think there is actually a basis for casting an actress with less traditionally African features. I think towards the end of Claremont’s run in #253, they heavily implied that although she is an African woman (they used the word “negroid” because the late 80’s were a very troubling time), she has very exotic Caucasian and Asian (they used “Oriental,” because again with the late 80’s and the awkwardness) features as well. They also pointed out her white hair, but I think that is explained as a trait inherited from having a shamanic lineage.
Okay, that got ramble-y, so summarizing: I don’t think Storm has as assemblage of genetic traits that exist in nature (though I think Vanessa Williams comes the closest).
SOPHIE TURNER SOPHIE TURNER SOPHIE TURNER! YES YES YES! That’s so good.
No strong opinions about the other two.
Alexandra Shipp was pretty good in House of Anubis on Nick a couple years ago and I think she’s improved from that since. Light skinned or not, she might be able to pull it off.
Can’t wait to see this movie. Hope Scott Leads the team for once
my problem with Alexandra Shipp is my problem with contemporary depictions of black comic book charactersbeing light skinned when at their creation were depicted as dark skinned. I think this happens in comic books (like the character Roberto DaCosta being lightened over the years) as well as movies (Halle Berry as Storm). I think because black people come in so many shades of brown casting Shipp as Storm is another case of Hollywood saying black people are interchangeable. Storm being a dark skinned black woman is just as important to her character as her being black and a woman.
But YES to Sophie Turner being Jean!!!
Well, we all know Fox has trouble casting the correct race for people *cough* Human Torch *cough* At least they didn’t make her white or something (and there’s continuity to think about. Halle Berry is lighter so naturally they should cast someone lighter as young Storm)
The distinction I’d draw there is that Johnny Storm’s ethnicity isn’t central to his character – he can just as easily be black and be Sue’s foster brother, stepbrother, or whatever without anything core about him changing. (See also: Heimdall from Thor.) With Ororo, that’s not the case; her specific heritage is quite relevant to who she is. I also think there’s a certain amount of valid work to be done in creating a more diverse Marvel Universe: the Silver Age was astoundingly white compared to the real world it was supposed to represent, and where it makes sense to do so, I’m very much in favor of adding some diversity to the modern capes and tights world.
For me personally, Johnny and Sue HAVE to be biological siblings. This reboot is going to suck worst than X-Men 3 because they’ve thrown the whole dynamic off balance
Sorry, make them both black but don’t change just ones race. Or don’t change either one’s race
As someone who has a lot invested in the characters I love, I find it really helpful to try to remember that a) the things that specifically resonate with me about those characters are personal, not universal; and b) modifications don’t erase or ruin the previously existing versions of them, just widen the spectrum of people who can potentially find points of identification with those characters–just like I did in the media I found.
(Also, from a narrative angle, we’ve been telling variations on the same superhero stories for a lot of years; and I’m happy to see even minor deviations from canon challenging that inertia.)
I agree in principle but Storm was never dark-skinned in the comics. I was still hoping for Lupita Nyongo as Mohawk Storm because I love her attitude.
She would have been amazing and I shared that hope.
did someone say “baby storm”?
http://imgur.com/WUad9iH
Sophie Turner!!!! SQUEEE!!!!She will rock it like no one else. I have no idea about the other two, so I will be a wait a seen on them.
However, I have always maintained that Storm should have been by Angela Bassett from the begining. The woman was a goddess not just a pretty face. If they ever do the Majick Mini series on screen she would still rock older Storm.
Absolutely on board with Sophie Turner. I can’t wait to hear her American accent.
Sansa Stark is unfairly treated by both plot and readers/viewers. Sansa’s story in the first books/seasons are of a sheltered child who was spoon-fed fairy tales of court life while her brothers learned about war having the worst freshman year ever. Turner is doing an excellent job evolving from that child to a woman more shrewd than her mother.
I can’t help loving the choice of Sophie Turner. She’s made her claim to fame by playing a character who makes you wonder how she has survived this long and now she gets to play the queen of the “Get Out of Death Free” card.
I agree that “Not Halle Berry” is the most important criteria for casting Storm. It’ll be cool to see Storm portrayed as/by an actual young person, since she always felt weirdly ageless in the comics.
Rachel, you are wise, but I’ve always thought the perfect Cyclops would look like a very young Jim Caviziel (Person of Interest, Count of Monte Cristo). He has the vulnerability, matched with the determination, that I associate with the character. Plus he is lanky (remember when Scott Summers was called “Slim”?).