It’s been nearly two decades since the first X-Men film graced the silver screen. It was a film that had its ups and downs, but at least we were able to get our first bit of X-men in live-action. With team favourites including Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Rogue and Wolverine, and a bevvy of bad guys including the formidable Magneto, Mystique, Toad and Sabretooth, X-Men was definitely one of the first films that led to the newer age of superhero films.

I debated on whether or not I should recast the original cast and ultimately, I decided I would do my own take on one of my past favourite X-men comics. Back in 2013, Marvel Comics released a new book with an all-women team. Strictly dubbed, X-Men, the book was a fun adventure with some of the famed mutants’ favourite women. So, I decided to stick to the idea in that book and cast some of my favourite X-Women who I also believe would make a great addition to the MCU if the merger happens.

So, without further ado, here’s the fancast:

Of course, I had to cast the goddess of the elements – Ororo Munroe a.k.a. Storm. Not only has Storm been a staple of various X-Men teams over the years, she’s also been the leader of some of these different teams as well. Strong, bold, confident, and caring, it’s a no-brainer to include Storm in this fancast. Not only is she more than deserving of her place on this roster, she should also get her own solo film. My pick to portray Ms. Munroe is none other than actress Naomie Harris. In addition to a beauty and regality that fits perfectly with Storm, Harris has demonstrated her acting chops time and time again, recently being nominated for an Academy Award for her work in Moonlight. She also has a particular penchant for nailing accents (see her work in Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), so maybe we will actually have a great accent that doesn’t disappear, for once. She’s also demonstrated that she’s perfectly comfortable and capable of tackling the action genre as well, with films like Skyfall, Spectre, and Rampage.

Any team could use a person who can walk through walls and disrupt technology, and who better than Kitty Pryde to do that for you. Pryde is currently the leader of X-Men Gold, and the mutant always puts her phasing powers to good use. Constantly a problem solver, Shadowcat has always been one of my favourites, and I definitely think that Olivia Thirlby can do the mutant justice. No stranger to films adapted from comic books, Thereby starred in the 2012 film Dredd, and would definitely know what it takes to succeed. Ever since I saw her in Juno I knew she would be great in a huge role, and what better role than one of the X-Men’s most well-known and liked characters? Thirlby would be able to put her own spin on Pryde, and add just an extra bit of greatness to the role.

Rogue is one of my favourite X-Men of all time. So of course I had to add the Mississippi Miss to this fancast. Ever the southern belle, Rogue has the ability to absorb the life source and powers of those that she comes into skin-to-skin contact with. It’s a power that comes with both pros and cons, but as with many other superhero duties, Rogue takes on this responsibility just like any other as it is her burden to bear. From this entire cast of amazing women, Rogue was the one I struggled with the most. I was going back and forth between a few actresses before Candice Patton popped into my mind. I love her as Iris West on The Flash–however, I want to see her in an even bigger role. So, since Rogue is a huge personality and so is Candice (just see some of her posts and clapbacks on Twitter to see what I mean) I think she would make a great Rogue. Sidenote, much like our power-absorbing mutant, she too was born in Mississippi. It’s perfect.

Monet St. Croix is probably one of the lesser known X-Men characters on this list, but that being said, she is also one of the coolest. Monet is a mutant with multiple powers at superhuman levels, almost making her a “near-perfect” human being. She has an accelerated healing factor, superhuman reflexes, speed, endurance and strength, enhanced sense, flight, telekinesis, and telepathy. On top of this, she is skilled in hand-to-hand combat, can speak a variety of languages and has genius level intelligence. French-Algerian actress Leila Bekhti is a shoe-in for Monet. She recently worked alongside Rosamund Pike in Beirut, so the pair would be working together once more if this cast of X-Men characters were ever put together by some miracle. With the character and Bekhti herself both being French-Algerian, this casting would really be spot on.

There is much that can be said about Emma Frost. She is one of those team members that you’d constantly watch your back with; typically unsure if they’re following the rules or up to no good. One of the most powerful telepaths requires an actress that can perfectly portray Frost’s snobbish air, but also her holier-than-thou presence. I think that Rosamund Pike would be perfect in this role. We’ve seen her play the villainous role before in films like Die Another Day and Gone Girl, and she can also kick some butt in dramatic action sequences–much like she’s done in the past with Wrath of the Titans and Hostiles. Pike just oozes everything that is Emma Frost and she’s a great actress, so she’d definitely be able to pull it off.

Dazzler is a star and a natural born performer. The fact that she has a few performance tricks up her sleeve because of her mutant abilities is just a bonus. The popular singing star is able to project lights in different forms (lasers, photo blasts, strobes, illumination holograms, etc) at her own whim. Due to this, she also has an immunity to light, and she can convert sound into various types of light. Perfect for a musician, right?! On top of this, Dazzler is a skilled athlete, and from her time with the X-Men, she’s become a great combat fighter. When you think of stars who can give a great performance on screen and on stage, my first thought went to Janelle Monae. The multi-talented star can easily hold her own behind a microphone performing for thousands, and she has acting chops to boot (see her performances in Moonlight and Hidden Figures). She is the epitome of everything Dazzler. Please film gods, make it happen!

As a huge fan of all things X-Men, I am intrigued by Disney/Marvel Studios being close to closing a deal with Fox Studios, which would finally give them the rights to the characters in the X-Men universe. Honestly, I am not 100 percent sure if Disney/Marvel Studios acquiring the rights is as awesome as some people believe. However, I am willing to see what the Marvel Studios team can do with our favourite mutants, and better yet, just how they’d fit the X-Men into the current Marvel Cinematic Universe landscape.

Well, that’s it for the fancast. I hope you all enjoyed it! Be sure to let us know which other characters you’d like to see in an X-Men reboot in the comment section below.