X-Men fans split over Samara Weaving as Emma Frost
After Deadline broke the studio’s pick for Emma Frost, X-Men fans piled onto X to argue — and the sticking point isn’t her CV.
Marvel's finally rebooting X-Men for the big screen, but as you'd expect, the internet's already at war over the latest casting news. After weeks of rumours, Deadline's now confirmed that Samara Weaving – the Australian star of Ready or Not and Home and Away (yes, that old soap) – is set to play Emma Frost in Jake Schreier's upcoming film. Schreier and Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige apparently saw off a few other contenders before handing her the part, but not everyone's thrilled.
Samara Weaving has been cast as Emma Frost in the new ‘X-MEN’ movie. (Source: Deadline)
The internet weighs in (predictably)
Marvel fans online have responded just as you'd expect: in full force, with everything from cautious optimism to outright despair. On the positive side, there's the usual crowd hyped to see Weaving take on one of Marvel's most iconic mutants – Emma Frost, also known as the White Queen. Optimists reckon that if she nails the right attitude, most fancast arguments will vanish in no time. At least, that's the hope from a few accounts still clinging to their faith in Feige's casting instincts.
But let's be honest – plenty are unimpressed. Some wanted Hannah Waddingham in the role; some thought Margot Robbie (predictably) should've been Marvel's go-to. Robbie's name has been floating about the rumour mill for months, but there's been no official word from Marvel on that front. One fan bluntly put it: 'They couldn’t afford Margot.' In a world where everyone seems to have a fantasy cast list, Marvel's choices are always a target. One frustrated fan declared it feels like Marvel are just hiring whoever's around without much vision, which... isn't exactly a new accusation thrown at the MCU these days.
Despite the latest report, Marvel has yet to officially announce details on the actress joining the MCU for the X-Men reboot movie.
What happens next?
As things stand, it's still not completely official – at least not according to Marvel's own mouthpieces. Fans are waiting for Feige & co. to make the big announcement confirming Weaving's place in the MCU, but at this stage, Deadline's pretty reliable and all signs point to her getting a diamond makeover. If the online reaction is anything to go by, the X-Men's MCU debut is off to a thoroughly divided start. Let's see whether time, or a killer performance, can shut anyone up.