Earlier this month, a rumour surfaced suggesting that Mikey Madison, fresh off her Oscar win for Anora, is being eyed for a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Madison was best known for supporting turns in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Scream before the actor's breakthrough performance in Anora earned her several accolades, including the aforementioned Academy Award.
Today, gossip website Deuxmoi claims that Marvel Studios wants Madison for the upcoming X-Men reboot. They don't expect her to say yes (after all, she'll likely want to follow Anora with more prestige fare rather than a blockbuster) but who the 25-year-old could play is undeniably intriguing.
Jean Grey, perhaps? Characters like Rogue, Mystique, and Emma Frost would also be a great fit.
Rumours continue to swirl about the X-Men cast. Sadie Sink was the reported frontrunner to play Jean, though her Spider-Man 4 casting has seemingly debunked the notion. Jack Champion and Harris Dickinson, meanwhile, have been eyed for Cyclops.
Ayo Edebiri is supposedly in line to play Storm after missing out on a role in Thunderbolts* and Julia Butters could be the MCU's Kitty Pryde. Margaret Qualley is a contender for Rogue and, believe it or not, Denzel Washington may be the Master of Magnetism, Magneto. Finally, we've heard Javier Bardem is the favourite to portray Mister Sinister.
Addressing the future of the X-Men in the MCU last year, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said, "I think you will see that continues in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize. Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men."
"Again, [it’s] one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back." Reading between the lines, it appears the "Mutant Saga" is very nearly upon us as we rocket to the end of the ongoing Multiverse Saga.
Marvel Studios has been sitting on the rights to the X-Men for the better part of six years, but after critical and commercial flops like Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, the characters being put on ice for a while was a must (and, the meantime, access to Earth-10005 has proved an easy way to add mutants to the Multiverse Saga).
Which character do you think Madison would be right for in the upcoming X-Men reboot?