X-Men Star Addresses Whether She’d Ever Return as Jean Grey

Famke Janssen debuted as Jean Grey back in 2000’s X-Men, and with the future of the mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe being relatively uncertain, Janssen addressed the likelihood of whether she would reprise the role somewhere down the line, casting doubt on such an opportunity occurring while also not ruling such an event. With Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner taking on the role beginning in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Janssen went on to share praise for what Turner accomplished with the figure, while also noting that superhero movies aren’t typically the types of adventures she consumes as a viewer, implying she didn’t have much interest in pursuing such an endeavor.

“I think it’s a wonderful character. Sophie has been doing such an amazing job with Jean Grey and the Phoenix that I don’t know that they would,” Janssen confirmed with CBR. “But, of course, I mean, she’s an iconic character. And I played her five times over all the different movies that I was in, including The Wolverine, so it’s been a wonderful experience and a really great character to explore. And we’ve seen it, obviously, with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, that they brought them back at the same time as their younger versions in the movies. So who knows? You never know. Life is very unpredictable — as we all know more than ever.”

While fans surely appreciate Janssen’s tenure as Jean Grey, the world of superhero movies continues to expand at a seemingly exponential rate, with some performers known for iconic roles going on to embrace characters in other franchises. The nature of Jean Grey in Janssen’s trilogy meant she made a heroic sacrifice, only to come back and serve as a villain, with the actress then weighing in on taking a more nefarious turn in a fantastical project.

“Oh, God, I’m sure there’s so many [comic characters I can play],” Janssen admitted about other roles she’d be interested in. “I can’t think off the top of my head because those are not the kinds of movies that I tend to watch a lot or comics that I read or anything like that. But there’s no shortage of great villains, I’m sure. I’ve played a bunch myself. And they’re always such a juicy part. You know, it depends.”

Despite the disconnect between the X-Men movies and the MCU, this year’s WandaVision did see Evan Peters appear as Quicksilver, leading fans to think a crossover was imminent, only for that series to confirm Peters was technically playing a character that Agnes had forced to adopt the role of Wanda’s brother.

Stay tuned for details on the future of the X-Men in the MCU.