Actress Rebecca Romijn portrayed the character of Mystique in the original X-Men movie trilogy (and had a cameo later on in First Class), and while her role was very different, in many ways, from the comics, it was iconic. Since then, in live action, Jennifer Lawrence has played a young/AU version of the character, and if, as expected, the X-Men franchise is eventually launched within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s likely we’ll get another new Mystique—but Romijn is still interested in returning.
“I don’t know if they would ever want me back,” she told ComicBook.com while discussing her latest fandom role as Number One on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. “I mean, that was quite a few years back when I played that character, but I would love to, yeah, absolutely. It was a fantastic franchise to be a part of. I’ll love that cast until the day I die. We had a great time together. And yeah, I would absolutely be open to that.”
I think there is nothing stopping Romijn from playing Mystique again. Mystique herself is an ageless being who has lived long enough to have several fully grown children and met her lover, Destiny, around 1900. Romijn is 49, and that is around the time that Hollywood likes to retire action stars, but with Halle Berry and Charlize Theron both proving that there is absolutely room for these women to still kick ass, I think it would be awesome to just cast Romijn again.
An older actress would also give the character room to be a leader figure in her own right, unlike how she’s been portrayed, in the past, as an extension of Magento and/or Xavier. One of my biggest issues with the X-Men film franchise is how they have underserved their actresses/female characters. Despite Mystique being known for her pragmatism, spy-craft, intelligence, queerness, and complex family history, all of that, in adaptation, gets chiseled down to spy-craft and that’s it.
The character has a lot more to offer audiences, and considering we, as comic fans, have been denied the entire majesty of Mystique, and how amazing Romijn was in delivering the very basic bones and elevating it to a masterclass, with writers who care, she could be the amazing antagonist we deserve.
Right now, we don’t know how the mutants would fit into the world of the MCU, but looking at the aftermath of the snap (excuse me, blip) this is a world that has dealt with enough trauma that they might be open to a new group of people with powers no one can understand or control. What this will look like has endless possibilities, but it is very likely that whatever it is, Mystique will be pulling strings somewhere.
(via Yahoo, image: 20th Century Fox)
