As the multiverse is opening up within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many wonder how/if their favorite characters from non-MCU Marvel franchises will return and embed themselves in the larger film universe. Aside from maybe the Fantastic Four, the most discussed is the X-Men. The mutants (including the word itself) previously being under the ownership of Fox, rather than Disney (who controls the MCU), meant that these characters couldn’t interact until recently.

Now that Disney owns almost everything, they’re already making moves to utilize these properties. On Disney+ day, the company announced a 2023 revival of the ’90s X-Men animated series with some of the original voice cast (I’m more of an X-Men Evolution gal, but even I understood this to be a big deal), and as they continue opening up the multiverse in the MCU, everyone wants the previous long-running blockbuster movie franchise to come back with it. I’ve yet to see someone ask for everything back, but everyone seems to be asking for at least some holdover. With the limited introduction of Fox’s Quicksilver in Wandavision—kind of, in a winking way—it’s already started.

Naturally, fans are speculating which performers might return, too. Citing an interesting in-comic story exploring Wolverine and Storm’s relationship, Halle Berry told Vanity Fair that she would love to return as Storm “if we could find a version that would make sense or a storyline that would make sense.”

The problem is that it wouldn’t make sense because the casting never made sense to begin with.

Let Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe be a part of X-Men’s past

If we’re being honest with ourselves, Halle Berry was never the best choice for Storm. Fellow Mary Sue writer Princess Weekes discussed the issues with Berry’s casting before, as well as Berry’s lack of roles even after becoming the first (and only since) Black woman to win an Oscar for best actress. However, it seems like we all (including Berry) need a refresher.

Ororo Munroe, a.k.a. Storm, is a child to an African American father and a Kenyan mother. While genetics can be weird and phenotypes surprising, there is a clear jump from two Black parents for Storm to one white parent and one Black parent for Berry. While she played the part well, Berry’s casting set up audiences to see no issue with seeing fellow biracial Alexandra Shipp (who played a younger version of that character three more times).

Colorism in casting choices isn’t the fault of one performer, but Hollywood always chooses to depict the Black woman character (rarely casting more than one person) as a light-skinned, biracial woman with limited Black features. Even in characters like Storm that are canonically not biracial, or biopics of dark-skinned Black women (yes, I’m still mad about Nina), executives and casting directors continue to promote the myth that approximation to whiteness is what makes Black women beautiful.

Where do we go from here?

I can only see Berry (or Shipp) returning if there is an acknowledgment that they are not the “main” Storm—a respectful nod of sorts before we are introduced to a new actress playing Storm—a Storm representative of the comics, with visual changes only if they will bring more varied representation of Black women into the fold or address other valid criticism of the comic character.

Alternatively, scrapping that all together and having her join the MCU in some other way, because she is a phenomenal actress, would also be a win. If Berry feels so inclined, she could also be brought on as a director and leave her mark on comic book adaptions in more than one way. Berry made her directorial debut in the mixed martial arts drama Bruised this year (which she also starred in), and that versatility opens up the possibilities in a fun way that should be utilized.

(via Screen Rant, featured image: Marvel Comics)

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