It’s no secret that 20th Century Fox is aiming to extend their lucrative and entertainingX-Menmovie franchise into the foreseeable future thanks to the addition of relatively young newcomers inX-Men: Apocalypse. The 80s era film fromBryan SingerintroducesSophie Turneras Jean Grey,Tye Sheridanas Cyclops,Alexandra Shippas Storm,Kodi Smit-McPheeas Nightcrawler,Lana Condoras Jubilee, andBen Hardyas Angel. But while the new generation of heroes is set to take on the mantle of the X-Men, a member of a pervious generation isn’t ready to give up the title.
Famke Janssen, famously introduced as Jean Grey in Singer’s originalX-Menfilms, has played the psychic (and occasional psychopath) in four X-Men movies andThe Wolverine. Another way to put it, Janssenhasn’tappeared in onlyX-Men: First Classor the newest installment. Janssen wants to rectify that last fact, which she talked about in a chat withEW Radio.
Here’s what Janssen had to say about Turner taking on a younger version of Jean Grey:
“She emailed me before she started filming wanting some pointers. And I said, ‘You don’t need any. You’re perfect. You’re great.’ So I can’t wait to see the movie and what she’s done with it. I’m actually really excited about it.”
At least Janssen is being professional about a younger actress stepping in to take over a role she made famous, which is more than can be said of a lot of folks in Hollywood. However, it seems like she has a hard time letting go of Grey. Here’s her take on the presumed age-ism and “sexism” inherent in theX-Menfilms:
“And it’s not the first time, obviously, that it’s happened. In theX-Menseries, they’ve been doing this for years. Although women, it’s interesting because they’re replaced, and the older versions – or more mature, whatever the politically correct version of that is – are never to be seen again. Whereas the men are allowed to be both ages. Sexism. I think that I should be back along with my younger version and the way that we’ve seen it with Magneto and Professor X.”
On one hand, sure, I’d be fine with seeing Janssen appear alongsidePatrick Stewart’sXavier andIan McKellen’sMagneto one last time. On the other hand, the story has to justify it, not just the actor’s opinion. And Janssen is far from the only one being replaced by a younger version of the same character:Nicholas Hoult’sBeast was formerly played byKelsey Grammer, andJames Marsden’sCyclops,Alan Cumming’sNightcrawler,Ben Foster’sAngel, andHalle Berry’sStorm have also been replaced. The franchise has been surprisingly kind to both the earlier and the future versions of their characters, but Janssen doesn’t appear to mention that.
Would you like to see Janssen’s Jean Grey appear one last time? Or do you think it’s better to focus on “out with the old and in with the new?” Let us know in the comments below!
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