Fan casting. Sometimes it works incredibly well, as when DC audiences lobbied hard for Ben Affleck to step into the role of Batman, or when Ryan Reynolds made good on the promise of Henry Cavill playing Wolverine, even if it was only for a cameo in Deadpool and Wolverine. Other times, the fan casting fizzles, or falls apart before it can even come to fruition. The idea of Harry Styles in Eternals, or all of the talk of Taylor Swift playing Dazzler, come to mind when you bring that up. But a name keeps getting mentioned for the upcoming Marvel movie based on the X-Men, and believe it or not, I think it’s a perfect idea.
The X-Men movie has not been dated yet, though given the return of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, a full team movie seems to be on the horizon. And on the Internet, I keep seeing calls for one-time Disney Channel star and current music sensation Miley Cyrus to take over the part of Rogue in a live-action X-Men movie.
And I think she’d be perfect.
Some Marvel heroes are blank canvases on which anyone can paint. Captain America could have been played a few different ways, and still conveyed the gist of the character. The X-Men are not that way. Each mutant hero on the team comes with his or her own unique personalities and quirks – Rogue, specifically. She’s powerful, but sensitive. She’s headstrong, and sassy. She SOUNDS a specific way, and Miley Cyrus captures that with her raspy voice, Southern lilt, and fierce delivery. It’s like Keith Urban said about Miley Cyrus one time: Her voice sounds like an ashtray, and that’s a compliment. Voice actor Lenore Zann nailed it in the animated X-Men ‘97. These clips give me severe Miley Cyrus vibes.
Maybe it’s because she was Hannah Montana, or part of the High School Musical series, or the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, so people don’t want to take Miley Cyrus seriously. She certainly marches to the beat of her own drum, and generates headlines for her fashion choices and general celebrity exploits. But were she to commit to a major Hollywood role, I think she’d be magnificent as Rogue. She has a confidence, an attitude, and a sass that fits Rogue to a tee.
One other thing going in Cyrus’s corner? She’s 32. That’s the ideal age for a franchise trying to cast up, because Marvel Studios will want their actors to stay in character for at least a decade, if not longer. The MCU can’t keep relying on 59-year-old Robert Downey Jr., 76-year-old Samuel L. Jackson, 56-year-old Hugh Jackman, or even 43-year-old Chris Evans to bear the weight of the comic universe. It’s time for younger blood. I think we are poised to see it when the new X-Men of the MCU are united. And I’d personally love to see Miley Cyrus in the Rogue role, as several Marvel fans have lobbied.
We are weeks away from the next MCU movie reaching theaters, when Captain America: Brave New World opens everywhere on February 14, so get your tickets.
