There were rumblings about this on social media last month, but Knight Edge Media is now reporting that Backrooms star Renate Reinsve has indeed met with Marvel Studios to discuss playing the MCU's Moira MacTaggert in 2028's X-Men reboot.
The character is only expected to make a brief appearance in the movie, and was previously portrayed as an American CIA agent by Rose Byrne. However, this interpretation will be a little more comic-accurate, as Jake Schreier is specifically seeking a European actress for the role (Moira is Scottish in the comics).
Reinsve, who is Norwegian, has previously said she's not interested in superhero roles. However, a character like Moira—and the opportunity to work with Schreier—may have led to a change of heart, given that her star is on the rise after her role in Kane Parsons' horror hit.
Moira's presence in X-Men raises a lot of questions about what kind of story the reboot will tell, especially with all signs currently pointing to the First Class, Mister Sinister, and the Hellfire Club somehow coming into play.
In the comics, Moira is a Scottish geneticist and longtime ally of the X-Men, created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum. She first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #96 and founded a mutant research facility on Muir Island, where she studied her son, Proteus.
Her story has become far more complicated in recent years after it was revealed that she's a mutant whose power allows her to reincarnate with memories of her previous lives. During her tenth life, she helped Professor X and Magneto establish Krakoa, but she later sought to eliminate mutant powers and allied herself with the anti-mutant organisation Orchis.
With it still unclear whether we're getting Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters or something as radically different as Krakoa in the MCU, Moira's role in the story could head in any number of directions.
Directed by Jake Schreier (Thunderbolts*), the untitled X-Men movie stars Kit Connor (Heartstopper) as Scott Summers, Sadie Sink (Spider-Man: Brand New Day) as Jean Grey, Inde Navarrette (Obsession) as Rogue, Asa Germann (Gen V) as Angel, Maya Boyd (& Juliet) as Storm, and Christopher Abbott (Catch-22) as Professor Charles Xavier.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) also stars as Emma Frost, alongside Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), who plays Nathaniel Milbury, an alias of Mister Sinister in the comics. There are also rumours that Marvel Studios will introduce Apocalypse as the next Saga's big bad.
X-Men will be released exclusively in theaters May 5, 2028.