The X-Men are set for a reboot following the integration of Fox superhero properties with the ones Disney already controls, allowing for new sets of stories freed from the increasingly convoluted continuity that they’ve been constrained by. Different actors playing the characters is a likelihood, and some fan art has now imagined how Lady Gaga might look after taking on the role of White Phoenix.
Unlike the better known Dark Phoenix that Jean Grey transforms into in each of the numerous iterations of the story told over the years in various mediums where she’s taken over by the power of the Phoenix Force, the White Phoenix of the Crown is an amalgamation of the two, having reached a symbiosis where Jean is accepted as a host for the cosmic power and can wield it as she sees fit rather than as a force of mindless destruction, her white and gold costume in direct contrast to the darker-tinted outfit she’s typically associated with.
While an eccentric singer wouldn’t be people’s first choice for taking on the mantle of a mutant superhero, Gaga has acquitted herself well as an actor in A Star is Born, and in more genre fare with her performance as a vampire queen in season 5 of American Horror Story, a role that stands out even more when you consider that her character is the one Jessica Lange would have played had she decided to continue with the series.
Additionally, on the subject of people you wouldn’t have pegged as being cast as comic book characters, also included in that list would be the likes of two legendary English thespians, an ex-wrestler, a random model, an Oscar-winning child prodigy, a ’90s heartthrob and an unknown Australian, yet the original X-Men movie brought them together in such a manner.
The only problem with incorporating White Phoenix into new projects is that the powers that be might decide it necessitates another retelling of the iconic comic saga, which after the damp squibs of X-Men: The Last Stand and Dark Phoenix is something few would have the patience for.
If and when the X-Men are integrated into the MCU, we can only hope that some audience familiarity is assumed and the films can continue on with new and interesting characters like White Phoenix and not backtrack to the same ones all over again.
