While the MCU marches full steam ahead towards the climax of the Multiverse Saga with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the ‘Mutant Saga’ is beginning to take shape, with Deadline reporting that Ready or Not star Samara Weaving is joining the cast of Marvel Studios’ X-Men reboot in the role of Emma Frost.
According to the trade, Weaving was one of several candidates testing for the role this past month and is now set to portray the character, who originally debuted as a supervillain and the ‘White Queen’ of the Hellfire Club in 1980’s seminal Dark Phoenix Saga before eventually joining and even leading the X-Men in the comic books. She was previously portrayed by January Jones in her villain form in Fox’s X-Men: First Class.
Weaving becomes the first official addition to the cast of Marvel’s X-Men reboot, which is being directed by Thunderbolts* helmer Jake Schreier from a script by Lee Sung Jin (Beef) and Joanna Calo (The Bear), although barring a John Krasinski/Mister Fantastic scenario, it seems safe to assume that – SPOILERS – she’ll be joining at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters by Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Sadie Sink, who made her MCU debut this week in the Spidey sequel in the role of Jean Grey.
Weaving’s casting comes hot on the heels of two other new additions to the MCU, with Marvel announcing Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider and David Johnsson as Black Panther at last weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con International. As for Emma Frost’s fellow mutants in the X-Men reboot, a host of names are doing the rounds courtesy of the rumour mill, but given that Weaving’s casting went under the radar, we should probably wait for official sources or trade reports for any confirmations.
In the meantime, let us know what you make of Samara Weaving’s casting as Emma Frost, and who’d be your picks for the rest of the ensemble, over on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…