We’re still quite a way’s off from the proper introduction of the X-Men to the mainline Marvel Cinematic Universe, but, even though X-Men ’97 has satiated any and all mutant-specific appetites by several orders of magnitude at this point, dreams of the live-action Feigeverse X-Men film continue to thrive in fans’ minds everywhere.
As a result, it seems that Charles Xavier’s students have been passed the Reed Richards torch as the prime casting rumor subjects as of late, and this has led to a truly inspired potential road for one Ororo Munroe to go down.
A character as vehemently important as the X-Men’s resident atmokinetic is, of course, in need of an actress whose near-faultless artistry is only bested by the magnetic gravitas with which she commands it. Enter Janelle Monáe, who has recently been rumored as a favorite to step into the shoes of the Omega-level mutant; a rumor that, while less substantiated than the rhetoric of Genosha deniers (who, let’s face it, probably exist in the world of X-Men), is one that we’d gladly try and speak into existence.
The only snag? Monáe stands at just five feet tall and, as some comments on the rumor have pointed out, that might not work in the actress’ favor if she wants to get Storm’s sturdy tenacity across.
Of course, there’s more than a few workarounds to this, assuming it would even be a problem at all; height may come in handy, but we shorter folk boast a breed of intensity that can be just as imposing. Even if push came to shove and someone was in serious need of being literally looked down upon, Monáe’s Storm could use her weather manipulation abilities to hoist herself up and command the room from nine feet in the air; problem solved.
And this doesn’t account for what else could be brought to the role by Monáe specifically. The MCU is well and truly a canon unlike any other, so if there was ever a place to explore slightly alternative spaces that these characters could inhabit, Earth-199999 would be it (Shalla-Bal, an iteration of the Silver Surfer who will have a major role in The Fantastic Four and presumably beyond, is a great example of this, as the MCU gives her an opportunity to hold a similar space that Norrin Radd does in the comics).
In Earth-199999, then, maybe Ororo doesn’t need height to be intimidating. In fact, maybe Monáe would enable a whole new shade of Storm that her comics history/usual context—while a useful reference and very important in its own right—wouldn’t really allow, all while keeping true to the mutant’s goddess-like essence. And need I even mention the fact that casting exceptional queer icon Janelle Monáe as also-exceptional queer icon Ororo Munroe would be poetry in motion in all the ways that matter?
