While superhero movies and TV shows are now around every corner, the genre had a pretty modest start. For modern audiences, Bryan Singer's X-Men was the one that started it all, and the franchise is still adding new installments all these years later. And while Hugh Jackman's Wolverine has historically been the only character to get a spinoff, the upcoming New Mutants movie will introduce a brand new set of mutants to Marvel fans. And while Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams and Split's Anya Taylor-Joy are the only cast members currently announced, it now appears that a Marvel Cinematic Universe fan favorite may be joining them as well.
Rosario Dawson is currently rumored to be circling a role in New Mutants. According to THR, she would be playing Dr. Cecilia Reyes, a medical doctor and mutant who has the ability to create protective shields around herself. She would reportedly be playing the mentor of the group, since James McAvoy is not currently slated to reprise his role as Professor X in the spinoff.
Casting Rosario Dawson will likely elicit cheers of joy from hardcore Marvel fans. Rosario Dawson currently plays the always delightful Claire Temple in the MCU's Netflix shows. Claire is the one character who has appeared in all four popular shows, and will no doubt be the reason why the heroes eventually join forces in the Defenders miniseries. So having Ro Ro play another Marvel character is extremely exciting, especially since she'll actually be superpowered if she joins New Mutants.
Of course, folks are definitely going to see the parallels between Claire Temple and Dr. Reyes. Claire is also a medical professional, a trained nurse who is often the one patching the heroes back together after they get their ass kicked. And while she left her job at the end of Daredevil's second season, she's continued practicing crafty emergency medicine in both Luke Cage and Iron Fist. However, Claire is notably non-powered in the MCU, instead interacting with the various heroes and villains based in New York City.
Rosario Dawson isn't the first actor to play multiple comic book characters across Marvel franchises. While Josh Brolin will be playing Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, he was also recently cast to play Cable in Deadpool 2. Additionally, Chris Evans played The Human Torch in the two Fantastic Four movies before landing the role of Captain America in the MCU. If cast in New Mutants, Dawson will join some fine company as one of the few people who have managed to play multiple Marvel characters.
I'm feeling particularly optimistic about New Mutants. Being separate from the main X-Men franchise will no doubt give director Josh Boone the ability to make bold choices without worrying about affecting the greater canon. Plus, I just want to see Arya Stark turn into a wolf and kick some ass.
You can catch Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple when The Defenders is released in its entirety on August 18th.
