Playing a hero is nothing new to Amandla Stenberg, considering she is best known for playing the clever District 11 tribute, Rue, in The Hunger Games from 2012, and an agent for civil justice in The Hate U Give. The young actress has, however, played a super-powered heroic character in the dystopian sci-fi thriller The Darkest Minds, but she still has yet to play such a role in a superhero movie franchise so far.
Well, because it is likely just a matter of time before she gets a second offer to be in the Marvel movies (she almost played Shuri in Black Panther), let’s take a look at some comic book characters whom Stenberg might be an ideal candidate to play, starting with one the Dear Evan Hansen cast member certainly has the pipes for.
Dazzler
Amandla Stenberg has had a career in singing since her folk rock duo Honeywater debuted in 2015 - a year before the actress appeared in the visual album Lemonade with Beyoncé, and six years before starring in the musical Dear Evan Hansen as Alana Beck. I think she would be proud to make her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as a character who is defined by her vocal talents like Dazzler, who was actually created in the 1980s with the intention of having a real singer perform as her on a national concert tour that ended up not happening.
Casting a talent like Stenberg as the mutant (who creates light out of sound) for a larger role in Marvel’s forthcoming X-Men movies reboot would also be a great way to make up for the character’s all-too brief cameo in 2019's X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Storm
On the other hand, I imagine that Amandla Stenberg would be especially proud to assume the role of an X-Men movies character who is more coveted, more widely beloved, and more undeniably badass, such as Storm. Born Ororo Munroe to an American journalist and a Kenyan princess, she is one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Comics Universe for her ability to, literally, control the weather (hence her nickname) and would also become the queen of Wakanda after she married T’Challa - a plot detail we, unfortunately, might not see in a future Black Panther sequel.
However, Storm’s big screen return in the MCU is still much anticipated and, having played a powerful mutant in The Darkest Minds, Stenberg is an ideal choice to succeed the role played by Academy Award winner Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp previously.
Squirrel Girl
A character who still has yet to make her live-action debut is Doreen Green - better known as Squirrel Girl for her animalistic characteristics and abilities such as tree climbing, a telepathic link with woodland creatures, and a big, bushy tail. While this does not sound like the kind of Marvel character you would ever think to take seriously, she is actually an unstoppable force to reckoned who has rarely been a fight that she did not win - including her own battle with Thanos - which is why fans have been wanting to see her added to the MCU for a while.
Plus, Squirrel Girl is exactly the kind of strong, unique, female role that Amandla Stenberg often looks out for and, with upcoming Marvel TV shows like Ms. Marvel and Ironheart putting young superheroines in the spotlight, now is the perfect time for her to shine.
Gwenpool
Speaking of strong, unique, female comic book characters who still have yet to make their live-action debut, despite plenty of fan demand, we have Gwendolyn Poole - an average teenager who exists in a reality within the Marvel Multiverse in which the comics’ Earth-616 is the kind of fiction she reads on a daily basis. After she is magically transported into said comic book universe, she uses her vast knowledge of the world to become a costumed vigilante herself, known as Gwenpool: a name similar to the Merc with a Mouth which she earns with her own bubbly personality, dark humor, and self-aware commentary.
Seeing this adventurous teen team-up with Ryan Reynolds in a future Deadpool movie is too cool of an idea to pass up and would be another great opportunity for Amandla Stenberg to flex her comedic skills.
Ruby Summers
There is actually another character from an alternate reality in the Marvel Multiverse that I had in mind for Amandla Stenberg, using her role as the gentle, ill-fated Rue from The Hunger Games cast as inspiration. The 2015 series Future Imperfect imagines a dystopian world oppressed by a more malevolent version of Dr. Bruce Banner, known as Maestro, and a rebellious group of heroes who intend to resist his rule, including mutant Ruby Summers - the daughter of Cyclops and Emma Frost.
In addition to simply wanting to see this gnarly, Mad Max-style storyline adapted into something one day, I would especially love to see Stenberg cast as Ruby (whose powers include optic blasts and ruby skin), mostly because her Hunger Games character never lived long enough to be part of the rebellion against the Capital, and this could be a great consolation.
Ladyhawk
Joining the MCU would also be a great opportunity for Amandla Stenberg to once again work with her The Hate U Give co-star, Anthony Mackie, whose Marvel character Sam Wilson was recently promoted from the Falcon to the new Captain America in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale on Disney+. Sam’s time fighting as the Falcon would inspire identical twin sisters Rosetta and Regina Morgan to defy the influence of their criminal father and share the superhero identity known as Ladyhawk.
Because it would be cool see a pair of twin siblings in the MCU that are not fraternal, I think bringing Rosetta and Regina into the mix would be a fun idea, and an intriguing acting challenge for Stenberg to take on, even though it might require a few creative liberties, given the fact that it is Sam Wilson’s murder that inspires to the sisters to fight the crime in the comics.
Of course, the MCU has had its fair share of interpretations be largely different from the source material that have still managed to create satisfying storylines and earned stunning performances. We could easily expect such a performance from Amandla Stenberg as whatever comic book character she might be cast as, even if that means seeing her in the DC movies instead. If she was to join the Marvel movies in the end, though, who do you think would be the best match for her abilities?
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