Well, just when I thought I was out, the Marvel Cinematic Universe found a way to pull me back in! Over the last week and change, the first wave of MCU X-Men casting announcements have rolled out and they have this former comics obsessive hyped.
**Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, now in theaters**
First, Sadie Sink‘s mysterious Spider-Man: Brand New Day character was revealed to be none other than a young, disaffected version of the original Marvel girl, Jean Grey. Then, Deadline reported that Ready or Not star Samara Weaving would play one of Jean’s most enduring rivals, Emma Frost, in the MCU’s upcoming mutant-related projects. Finally, after weeks of speculation that Cooper Hoffman might be donning the iconic ruby quartz visor of Cyclops, Deadline also broke the news that Heartstopper heartthrob Kit Connor would actually be playing Scott Summers.
By and large, the fan reactions to all of these castings have been positive. They are three incredible actors who all fit the basic looks of their comic book alter egos. Samara Weaving, in particular, is a dead ringer for Emma Frost, a telepath who feels most at home in designer lingerie (and who can transform her body into a diamond at will).
However, I keep noticing one concern popping up and it has to do with the age gap between Weaving and her younger co-stars. That’s because in later X-Men comics, Scott and Emma are a couple, and some fans are worried that the 34-year-old Samara Weaving is too old for the 22-year-old Kit Connor. Even a flirtation between the two might feel creepy. To that, I say, good.
The age gap between Emma Frost actress Samara Weaving and Cyclops actor Kit Connor (and the 24-year-old Sadie Sink, for that matter) is perfect for a X-Men origin story. Our first introduction to Emma Frost shouldn’t be to the version who exists in more contemporary comics, but the scheming, seductive villainess of her early run. We should get to see Emma working in the top tiers of the Hellfire Club, an organization that values power in all forms.
If the rumors are true that Mr. Sinister, Mystique, Rogue, and Beast are among the characters Marvel is planning on using in this first chapter in the X-Men saga, that definitely suggests that a teenaged Jean and Scott will not first meet at Professor X’s mansion, but out in the unforgiving wilds of a world where no one is protecting mutants yet. At least, not without ulterior motives for doing so.
Some fans are worried that the 34-year-old Samara Weaving is too old for the 22-year-old Kit Connor. Even a flirtation between the two might feel creepy. To that, I say, good.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day introduces us to a Jean Grey consumed with grief and wrath. She’s a teenager using her immense powers to control others around her, in a hope to find out what happened to her sister Sara. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is eventually able to reach Jean’s more empathetic side by sharing a memory of his deceased Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). The film ends with Jean leaving New York City after she uses her powers to save Peter Parker.
Cyclops’s origin story in the comics is similarly fraught. After his parents are abducted by aliens — comics, baby! — he and his young brother Alex find themselves in the clutches of Mr. Sinister, a shapeshifting supervillain who is obsessed with enhancing mutant genetics. Sinister separates the boys and conducts brutal experiments on Scott. When Scott finally escapes, he doesn’t immediately enroll in the Xavier School for the Gifted. Rather, he turns to a life of petty crime.
If the MCU is plotting to introduce Jean and Scott as teenagers and Emma Frost as a slightly older woman, it seems to me that we could see our future X-Men power couple meet through Emma and the Hellfire Club. Like Professor X, Emma has a penchant for taking young mutants on as students, though she far more ruthless. She doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty, making deals with the devil, or using extreme violence.
The vision I’m getting is for an Emma Frost who will use a combination of charm and power to lure Scott and Jean into her fold. It’s an Emma who should be able to get her metaphoric claws into a young Scott. An Emma Frost who can appeal to young Jean’s fury while also developing into her natural competition. All the while, the teenagers should be able to bond over their shared traumas and growing concerns about the Hellfire Club’s ethics. So that when Professor Xavier finally arrives, they choose that life — and each other — based on wanting to be better than what they’ve been.
The first wave of X-Men cast announcements for the MCU have me excited because it seems to understand that the best X-Men stories are not just ensembles, but coming of age stories. They’re the tales of young people struggling to understand themselves and their values in an increasingly hostile world. A young Jean Grey and a young Scott Summers are perfect for this approach. A slightly older, and slightly threatening, Emma Frost is even better.
Fingers crossed the rest of the X-Men MCU cast is as perfect as these first three picks.