Sadie Sink made her MCU debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but that's just the start of her journey as this character. While rumours persist that she'll appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, Sink will officially take centre stage next in Jake Schreier's X-Men reboot.
Fans of the comics will know there are many directions her character could head in, especially if the long-term plan is to finally do right by "The Dark Phoenix Saga."
In an interview with Variety, Sink was asked if she thinks Jean is heading to Westchester, the location of the X-Mansion, when we see her leaving New York on a bus. "Oh, I don’t really know yet, to be honest," the Stranger Things star quickly replied. "And when I say 'I don’t know,' I mean I really don’t know. [Laughs]"
Confirming her return in X-Men, Sink went on to reveal that she's already met with Schreier to discuss what's next for Marvel Girl. "It’s been really exciting all the conversations we’ve had, and I feel really lucky that I have this introduction through 'Spider-Man' and [her] backstory. I think that’s what X-Men is all about, too."
"The more I’ve gotten into it and researched, what makes them special is that they are all incredibly flawed and maybe have done bad things. That makes them more compelling, complex characters and a more complex hero if they don’t start out that way. And they have to find their relationship to their powers. Because it’s not like they’ve asked for this or that these strengths make their lives easier; they make them a lot harder, actually."
"So, knowing Jean’s struggle will be important in the future of her character and where she goes, just makes her really well-rounded, which I’m excited for," the actress added, later claiming she's yet to meet her co-stars in what will be a "really awesome ensemble."
However, in a separate conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Sink mentioned that she's been involved with screen tests for X-Men. She cleverly avoided commenting on Kit Connors and Samara Weaving being cast in the movie, but did say, "There are certain characters that it’s important to establish, like, do you have chemistry with this person? That’s always gonna be a part of the process."
"It’s just exciting to step back into the character a bit and think about, we met her in the Spider-Man movie at a really challenging point of her life, so what does she look like going forward?" she mused. "With what she’s learned, how has she changed and who is she at her core when she’s not looking for V-Max and strapped to a chair and all of that? So, yeah, I have been involved, of course, in figuring that out."
Once again looking ahead to X-Men, Sink seemed to confirm reports that it's eyeing a 2028 release, and said of the movie, "I think it was such a smart choice, too, to start young and have this younger generation of mutants. It’s a cool take on it, but as it starts to assemble and everything, I’m really excited about having a group of people to feel like you’re on a team with."
Sink has an exciting few years ahead of her, especially if the rumours about her being the X-Men reboot's lead are accurate. Jean is a character we've seen quite a bit of on screen—there have been two (bad) adaptations of her transformation into Dark Phoenix—and how Marvel Studios intends to make the character feel fresh as part of the mutant team promises to be very interesting.
Her romance with Cyclops will almost certainly be front and centre, and Kit Connor was likely one of the actors she recently tested with. With D23 fast approaching, it may not be long until we find out who else Sink will be sharing the screen with as an X-Man.
As noted, X-Men is currently expected to be released in theaters in 2028.