It's no secret that the comic book genre is the most profitable in Hollywood right now. But in the past few years, there has been an especially loud call for the the genre to be more inclusive, and tell diverse stories. Wonder Woman made history for a female-led movie, while Marvel will answer the call with Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and the Wasp. But when will the X-Men movie get a female led movie? Actress Alexandra Shipp took on the mantle of Storm from Halle Berry in X-Men: Apocalypse, and she's got a few ideas for how to make Storm into a standalone film protagonist.
There are so many different storylines that we could take on when it comes to Storm --- whether she is losing her powers or going back to Africa. I just want there to be a message of 'this woman doesn't need a man.' Just one movie where a woman doesn't need a man, really.
Much like Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, it seems like Alexandra Shipp wants to star as an independent female hero who doesn't need the help of a man. So rather than looking at stories of love for X-Men's Storm, she believes a more internal journey might be the best choice for the weather witch's potential spinoff.
Alexandra Shipp's comments to THR are sure to be exciting for the hardcore X-Men fans out there. While Storm has been a major character throughout the X-Men franchise's long tenure on the silver screen, Ororo Munroe has never been truly fleshed out. Halle Berry's characterization changed accents and haircuts with each film and kicked ass, but her emotional arc never really moved the story forward. Despite already appearing in five movies, Storm is still a criminally underused member of the team.
But the X-Men franchise has just adopted a new Storm in Alexandra Shipp, and therefore has the opportunity to go further with the character than ever before. She was brought into the narrative during X-Men: Apocalypse, serving as one of the title character's Four Horsemen. Eventually Storm saw the error in her ways, and united against Apocalypse in the film's final battle. She was last seen wearing an awesome new X-Men suit in the Danger Room, and Shipp is set to reprise her role in Dark Phoenix.
While Alexandra Shipp clarified that there weren't any talks of a Storm movie happening, she also expressed her devotion to making it happen, saying:
Not yet, but I am hoping we will get around to it. It is definitely time for these Storm fans to get the movie they have been dying for.
Now that she's a member of the team, it should be interesting to see how the character continues to develop in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Hopefully we'll get a better sense of who Ororo Munroe is in the new timeline, in addition to see her awesome mutant abilities at work. But with Sophie Turner's Jean Grey presumably taking up much of the film's screen time, it'll be a task to get the rest of the team properly featured as well.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix will arrive in theaters on February 14, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
