Marvel might have perfected the formula, but you have to hand it to Fox’s X-Men universe, as it’s the longest-running shared superhero franchise on the big screen. Despite the various continuity glitches that have occurred over the years, what keeps it all connected is the returning cast members. Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart lasted the longest, going from 2000’s X-Men to 2017’s Logan, but the rest of the OG X-Men all made it back for 2014’s Days of Future Past.
One of those who was pretty short-changed in that time-traveling adventure, though, was Anna Paquin’s Rogue, the power-absorbing mutant who played such a prominent role in the original trilogy. But would the True Blood actress consider a return to the franchise at some point in the future? It turns out that Paquin absolutely would, but she suspects the X-Men series has moved on from the point where she’d be asked back.
“If there was a way that it made sense for my character to be in the world, of course. I feel like that’s my film family, because I’ve been making those movies since I was 16. But there’s been so many spinoffs and reboots and TV shows, so I’m not sure where Rogue or the other original characters fit into the current plotlines, so it’s probably not going to happen.”
Paquin has a good point there, as nearly all of the major players of the first set of films have been recast in the prequel movies, so maybe it wouldn’t make sense for her to reprise the role of Rogue. Still, while there might not be place in the films for the actress to return, the character could fit in well on the small screen. Namely, in TV series The Gifted.
The show follows the Mutant Underground, super-powered freedom fighters tasked by the X-Men to take care of mutantkind. There were many connections to the movies in season 1, including Polaris finding out her father is Magneto, so a cameo for Rogue as a representative of the X-Men would make sense. Plus, Paquin’s married to The Gifted star Stephen Moyer in real life, which would certainly help matters.