Amid casting speculation for Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men reboot, there have been calls for Anya Taylor-Joy to reprise her role from 2020’s The New Mutants in the MCU. Anya Taylor-Joy has gone from strength-to-strength since her breakthrough role in 2015’s The Witch, and she was even a well-received addition to The New Mutants, the final movie in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise. With mutants now being integrated into the MCU’s official continuity, and Marvel Studios’ X-Men reboot in active development, there are hopes Taylor-Joy could reprise her brief X-Men franchise role.
Anya Taylor-Joy portrayed Illyana Rasputin, a.k.a. Magik, in The New Mutants, the younger sister to X-Men member Colossus, whose abilities include interdimensional teleportation and sorcery. Magik proved to be the strongest part of The New Mutants’ storyline, so many would love to see Taylor-Joy reprise the role in the MCU. This possible return has now been imagined in new art shared by bartosgy, who depicts Taylor-Joy with Magik in a new white costume with her signature blade and glowing blue eyes.
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What Anya Taylor-Joy’s Return As Magik Would Mean For The MCU
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Magik Casting Was Celebrated
Over the years since her debut in Marvel Comics in 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1, Illyana Rasputina has grown in popularity, becoming more and more mainstream in recent years. While initially depicted as the child sister of Colossus, Illyana became Magik in 1983 after becoming imprisoned in Limbo, and later taking over the hellish dimension. Magik is a formidable sorcerer and extremely powerful mutant, so it would be great to see her debut in the MCU’s upcoming X-Men stories, hopefully getting more development than she ever did with 20th Century Fox.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s depiction of Magik was the mutant’s live-action debut, and it was a poignant and emotional adaptation of the troubled character. This version had been sold into child slavery, and was therefore plagued by nightmarish Smiley Men. It’s unclear what direction Marvel Studios would go with Magik, though the MCU would perhaps adapt her more faithfully to the Marvel Comics source material. This could give Anya Taylor-Joy the opportunity to develop the character’s family dynamic with Colossus, the New Mutants and the X-Men, and become more of an independent hero.
Our Take On Anya Taylor-Joy Returning As Magik
Magik Would Make A Great Addition To The MCU’s X-Men Line-Up
Ever since her appearance in 2020’s The New Mutants, Anya Taylor-Joy has only become an even more popular name in Hollywood, so it would be great to see her return as a mutant in the MCU. However, there is one issue with bringing Taylor-Joy back as Magik, and that is that she may now be too old to portray the MCU’s official version of the Limbo-powered hero. There is speculation that Marvel Studios is looking for a younger cast for its new X-Men team, including Sadie Sink, possibly Harris Dickinson, and others, and this could introduce a younger Colossus.
Sadie Sink is reported to be playing Jean Grey, while Harris Dickinson could debut as Scott Summers’ Cyclops. Julia ʙuттers has also been speculated to be cast as a new iteration of Kitty Pryde, though Marvel Studios hasn’t yet confirmed any casting decisions for the MCU’s X-Men movie.
If a younger iteration of Colossus debuts in the MCU, then Magik must be depicted as a child to begin with. In some regards, this would be the best choice for the character, as she could explore all of her Marvel Comics backstory and really grow into the role and develop the character and her abilities over a number of years. However, at 28-years-old, this would effectively discount Anya Taylor-Joy from starring as Magik in the MCU’s X-Men reboot. It would be great to see Anya Taylor-Joy in the MCU, whether it be as Magik or another formidable mutant hero.
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