A few years ago, when people started talking about who would be good casting for the MCU’s version of the X-Men, I thought Vanessa Kirby would be perfect casting for Emma Frost. After her performance as the con artist the White Widow (!!), I thought her icy demeanor would make her an ideal choice for the mutants’ white-clad telepath. She’s a fine Sue Storm, but that meant who would be left to be Emma? Well, only the other perfect choice. As Deadline reports, Australian actress Samara Weaving will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the role of Emma Frost.
Weaving has turned into one of Hollywood’s best offbeat leads with turns in the Ready Or Not films, Carolina Caroline, and Over Your Dead Body. According to the Deadline piece, Emma Frost was one of the roles director Jake Schreier took the most time trying to get right. Weaving’s audition was “too good to beat,” the piece said.
Emma is definitely a very specific kind of character. On the one hand a typical scantily clad ultra-b, on the other a powerful leader and devoted teacher (in more recent books anyway). First appearing in Uncanny X-Men #129 from 1980, Frost was at first the White Queen, one of the upper echelon of the secret society of mutants called the Hellfire Club. She would go on to start her own rival school to Xavier’s School where she’d train the next generation of evil mutants, the Hellions.
However, beginning in 1994’s Generation X, Emma brought her aristocratic snark to train the new class of good guy mutants. Through the years, she’d even become a full-fledged member of the X-Men in the early 2000s. Always the messy bench who loves drama, Emma also tried to (often succeeding) drive a wedge between Cyclops and Jean Grey. Emma remains a fan favorite and, if written properly, is one of the most interesting characters in the X-Men canon.
Weaving is incredible casting for this, and I’m hoping we get some more X-Men movie casting news in the near future. I mean, we now have two…
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.