Marvel May Have Already Found Its Storm Actress for Highly Anticipated 'X-Men' Movie

Marvel fans are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper.

When The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox film studio, in 2019, it unlocked thousands of possibilities for Marvel Studios. No longer would the superhero studio be limited in its character and story choices for the sprawling MCU; it would have immediate access to characters like the X-Men and Marvel’s First Family, the Fantastic Four.

Of course, followers of the MCU are already aware that the Fantastic Four will be making their official franchise debut in this year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps from director Matt Shakman, but plans for the X-Men are extremely unclear.

In 2024, Marvel Studios developed two major X-Men connections, however. In the first half of the year, the now-ousted Beau DeMayo‘s X-Men ’97 aired on Disney+ to critical acclaim. While set outside the MCU timeline, the animated series proved that there is a big desire to have the mutants back in the spotlight.

Then, in July, Shawn Levy’s record-breaking Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) brought Hugh Jackman’s Logan back from the dead in a Multiversal adventure spanning multiple timelines.

The R-rated movie became one of the biggest-grossing films of the year, and audiences are clamoring to see the pair return once again. Current reports signal that it could be in the Russo Brothers’ upcoming Avengers two-parter, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).

Over the years, there have been teasers for the mutants in the MCU. From the Madripoor location in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+ series to the confirmation that Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel, has the mutant gene in Ms. Marvel, the studio has been dropping breadcrumbs across the last few years.

Now, reports are ramping up regarding who could be the face of the iconic X-Men characters many know and love. For Jean Grey, the role played by both Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner in the Fox universe, Stranger Things breakout Sadie Sink has been attached to the role, although Disney and Marvel have not added any weight to the rumors.

More recently, Wicked star Cynthia Erivo spoke out about playing Ororo Munroe, AKA Storm, in the future. She told NBR about her reasoning behind the desire to bring this iconic comic book character to life.

“I really want to play Storm,” the Academy Award nominee said. “I know it sounds frivolous, but I think we haven’t uncovered how grand she is and all of that inner turmoil that she has, so I think there’s a world where we could do something like that.”

And actually, according to insider Jeff Sneider, it may not be that much of a faraway dream for Erivo.

“On the latest episode of The Hot Mic, Jeff Sneider said he’s heard that there is “actual interest” in enlisting Erivo to play the weather-manipulating mutant,” Comic Book Movie wrote. “The reporter also indicated that he knows about another individual (we’re not sure if it’s an actor or director) on the studio’s radar but is keeping it under his hat for the time being.”

Erivo, of course, is the star of Universal’s record-breaking Wicked movie, where she played the lead role of Elphaba Thropp, alongside Ariana Grande’s Glinda, Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh’s Madame Morrible, and Jeff Goldblum’s The Wizard of Oz.

Wicked cemented Erivo as a box office powerhouse, with the Broadway musical adaptation netting just shy of $700 million globally. Her time on the press circuit with Grande was also a major part of the movie’s viral marketing campaign. The second part, titled Wicked: For Good, is slated to release in November this year.

From Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp in the live-action X-Men movies to Alison Sealy-Smith as the iconic animated counterpart, could Cynthia Erivo join this group to become Storm for a new era of X-Men storytelling?

How do you feel about this potential X-Men casting? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!