Disney's acquisition of Fox signals many changes on the horizon, but for comic book movie enthusiasts, it means that characters from the Fantastic Four and miracles mutants from the X-Men will soon be integrated into the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Many fans were ecstatic at the possibilities, while others were worried that Kevin Feige might shelve the beloved characters for too long. Although the actual X-Men film may be years away, mutants will likely begin popping up in other franchises before spinning off into their own.
With numerous MCU projects on the horizon, including Blade, Spider-Man 3, Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Thor: Love and Thunder, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, and more, there is plenty of room for mutants to be slowly rolled out across these films and mini-series.
That means, of course, that fan-casting is at an all-time high at the moment, and we recently spoke with one voice actress who worked on multiple projects and voiced numerous characters for the franchise on the animated front.
Catherine Taber (Avengers Assemble, Marvel Rising: Secret Heroes, Guardians of the Galaxy) spoke with us about her love of playing in that arena and mentioned that Rogue is one character she would like to return to in an on-screen capacity, as long as the character is older.
Listen to Taber speak exclusively with us using the podcast player below. We've included the transcript of her thoughts on playing an older version of Rogue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the benefits of being a voice actress when it comes to live-action projects.
"I love the character of Rogue. You know, age-wise, Rogue in the comics is so young that it wouldn't work right now, but because she's also Southern, she's always felt really close to me. So if someone ever did something where she was closer to my age, I would be super thrilled to play her. But I also know that there are a whole bunch of characters in the Marvel Universe that I don't know because there are so many characters in the Marvel universe that I would love to do more there.
I think I notice it more, but I'm actually not sure that being a voice actor is helpful with live-action because I might be reading for a role, and I'll think, 'I sound way too perky for that character,' because it's partially who I am. So sometimes it will make me feel like I'm not as right when I'm auditioning for something as maybe if I didn't have that awareness of voice, but the cool thing about that is I then go, okay, so how can I make this character more appropriate for me and my essence? We all have an essence, which is interesting. And as an actor, you learn that pretty quickly. Or you don't, and you are kind of miserable and fighting against unseen forces for your whole career. A lot of people get a role early on, and they're like, "well, I didn't want to be that character. And now I'm known as that character forever," but there's not a lot of people who can voice everything, you know? And, on camera, definitely not. So I do think it's made me super aware vocally.
I feel like it's like how they say we don't like knowing how the sausage is made. So I think I've become more aware, but I will also say you can also use it to understand that the way humans use their voice and make that intentional. So I always say that voice acting and on-camera acting are really two sides of the same coin. You have different tools. And even within that, sometimes in voice acting, you have sound effects, and you have an accent and all these things that you get to add. And sometimes it's really simple and stripped away, and it's just kind of fun. And for me, as long as the story's good, I'm super happy to play in any of those arenas."
For those who enjoyed what Taber has to say, we have also included more of our chats with the actress below.
Catherine Taber discusses Walking Dead: World Beyond:
Catherine Taber talks about the changes that came by way of Disney's acquisition:
Catherine Taber's comments on voicing Penelo in Final Fantasy XII and feelings about playing Mission in Knights of the Old Republic:
Catherine Taber talks about her role of Padme Amidala in Star Wars: The Clone Wars:
*This interview has been edited for clarity.*
Do you guys think we could ever see an older version of Rogue, perhaps in a desolate future timeline or in a mentor role? Be sure to check out the trailer and synopsis for Taber's recently released film, Haven's End, a live-action sci-fi movie in which she leads the cast. And as always, be sure to share your thoughts in the usual spot!
Major cities across the globe are under attack. A surgeon and her friends flee Atlanta to her family property in the countryside of south Georgia. They arrive to discover her estranged brother and his girlfriend already holed up on the land. As they try to figure out how to work together to survive, strange lights and unusual activity in the surrounding forest lead them to believe they are not alone.
Haven's End is now available on DVD and Digital.