John Boyega put himself on the map with a star-making performance in 2011's Attack the Block. When he travelled into a Galaxy Far, Far Away four years later for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a great deal of intrigue surrounded his Stormtrooper (who, in posters and trailers, appeared to be a Jedi).
Unfortunately, Lucasfilm dropped the ball on Finn, and his story arc disappointed Boyega and Star Wars fans in equal measure.
There's long been hope that the British actor might join a Marvel or DC project, especially as he looks to move on from what proved to be a tumultuous experience working on the iconic sci-fi franchise.
Talking to reporter Josh Horowitz at C2E2, Boyega confirmed that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige once asked him who he'd like to play in the MCU. While he didn't have an answer at the time, it appears he now has his eye on a fan-favourite X-Man.
"Oh, I'd play Bishop," he responded to a fan, confirming he'd be down to play the time-travelling mutant in Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot.
While the character isn't as well-known as Cyclops and Wolverine, for example, he did play a key role in X-Men '97, leading to theories that there are likely live-action plans for him as well (after all, the X-Men: The Animated Series revival is as good a place as any to reintroduce Bishop to longtime and casual fans alike).
Bishop hails from a dystopian future. He first appeared in 1991's Uncanny X-Men #282, and sports energy absorption powers, channeling absorbed energy into powerful blasts. A key X-Men member, his tactical skills and futuristic tech make him a force to be reckoned with on the page.
It was back in 2022 that Boyega said, "[Marvel] is not in the vision for me now. I want to do nuanced things...I want to donate my services to original indie films that come with new, fresh ideas, because I know it’s real hard to top 'Iron Man' in that universe."
Things might have changed since then, especially if the right role has come along. One franchise we don't anticipate Boyega returning to is Star Wars because he's since looked back at that experience in a mostly negative light.
"Lemme tell ya, Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space," the actor recently said. "It's a franchise that's so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something."
"You can always tell it's something when some Star Wars fans try to say, 'Well, we had Lando Calrissian and had Samuel L. Jackson!'" he continued. "It's like telling me how many cookie chips are in the cookie dough. It's like, they just scattered that in there, bro!"
"They're okay with us playing the best friend, but once we touch their heroes, once we lead, once we trailblaze, it's like, 'Oh my God, it's just a bit too much! They're pandering!'" Boyega noted, referencing the now-expected backlash when a franchise like Star Wars casts a Black actor in a lead role.
Do you think Boyega would be a good fit for Bishop in a live-action X-Men project?