Spider-Man: Brand New Day Spoilers Ahead
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially introduced its first X-Men character — or, well, the first one specifically recast for the MCU. In this summer’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day (the fourth installment in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise), it’s revealed mid-movie that Sadie Sink is playing the role of Jean Grey, an Omega-level mutant with telepathic and later telekinetic, superhuman abilities.
Sink’s role was a closely guarded secret in the lead-up to the film’s release on July 31, with the actress embarking on a press tour reminiscent of Joe Locke’s experience ahead of 2024’s Agatha All Along. Locke played Wiccan/Billy Maximoff in the Disney+ series, but he was unable to publicly acknowledge that fact until the mid-season reveal of his character’s true identity.
Jean Grey, also sometimes known as Phoenix or Dark Phoenix (among other aliases), is a mainstay of the X-Men in Marvel Comics, and she has previously been portrayed onscreen by Famke Janssen and more recently Sophie Turner in the 20th Century Fox-produced X-Men films.
Her inclusion here in Brand New Day starts out largely antagonistic, until it’s revealed later in the story that her relentless pursuit of the Department of Damage Control (DODC) is because she believes they’re harboring her sister, Sarah, a fellow telepath and Jean’s closest — and only — confidant.
By the time the movie ends, Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man has formed a connection with Jean and gained a better understanding of her struggles as a hugely powerful teenager, and Jean’s final scene is her riding on a bus to what just might end up being Westchester County, New York, the location of Charles Xavier’s (another mutant and the founder of the X-Men in the comics) School for Gifted Youngsters.
Interestingly, Jean is not the first mutant in the MCU, nor is she the only prominent member of the X-Men who’s shown their face so far. In 2022, Marvel introduced two characters — Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and underwater ruler Namor — in two separate properties (the Ms. Marvel series and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, respectively) and established that each of these characters’ powers were the result of a mutation. Notably, Kamala wasn’t originally a mutant in the comics, and Namor, while a mutant, appeared on many different teams over the years, not just the X-Men.
Also in 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness included a sequence that saw the titular sorcerer travel to an alternate universe and encounter a collection of brilliant minds known as the Illuminati, which included the likes of Charles Xavier (aka Professor X), played here by the same actor, Patrick Stewart, who originated the role back in Fox’s 2000 film, X-Men.
Then, in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, both Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson/Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Logan/Wolverine appeared in the MCU for the first time after previously starring in several Fox X-Men movies. Another carryover from the Fox X-Men days, Kelsey Grammer’s Hank McCoy/Beast, appeared in the mid-credits scene of 2023’s The Marvels. Grammer will reprise his role, along with several other former X-Men actors, in this December’s upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.
The MCU may already have both mutants and specifically some X-Men within its onscreen multiverse, but what makes Sadie Sink’s casting as Jean so noteworthy is the fact that she marks the franchise’s first foray into creating their very own iteration of the X-Men. Since Disney, which owns Marvel Studios, first acquired 20th Century Fox (and the rights to all the X-Men characters) back in 2019, Jean is the only marquee member of the X-Men so far to be successfully recast and appear in an MCU property.
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Of course, plenty more recast X-Men are no doubt on the way, given that Marvel Studios is already working on a yet-to-be-titled X-Men film of their own. While not much is known at this point about their eventual mutant movie — aside from the director, Jake Schreier — it’s a pretty good bet that Sink’s Jean will play a major, if not starring, role.
And until then, you can catch her as Jean in next December’s Avengers: Secret Wars, as reported by Deadline late last year.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Marvel/Sony