Director Nia DaCosta has been doing promotion for her upcoming film The Marvels, and of course, questions about the film’s ties to X-Men lore have been brought up. Mainly because one promo for The Marvels lingered on the letter “X” in the word “Next,” leading fans to view it as a big X-Men tease. So naturally, someone asked DaCosta what her dream X-Men-related project would be. And it turns out it would focus on the two most famous leaders of the mutant team, Cyclops and Storm.
In an interview with Jake’s Takes, DaCosta said the following:
I really like Scott Summers [Cyclops] and Storm together and their dynamic fighting over who should lead the X-Men, like in the Chris Claremont run. I think some Cyclops and Storm team-up movie would be fun. I really like Scott Summers and Storm together.
When DaCosta says “the Claremont run,” you know she’s a big fan of the X-Men comics. The Claremont run refers to writer Chris Claremont’s epic 16-year run writing Uncanny X-Men. It was an era that defined so much of what Marvel’s mutants even are to this day. The struggle for leadership between Scott Summer and Ororo Munroe was a central plot point in many Claremont stories. Professor Xavier had Cyclops in mind for a leadership role since the X-Men’s inception, but when Storm joined later, she proved she was also a stellar candidate.
In Uncanny X-Men #201, the two finally fought each other over who would be the team’s field leader. Storm had no powers at the time, and she still managed to beat Cyclops through her ingenuity. Later, both Storm and Cyclops would lead their own squad of X-Men. Scott would lead the Blue Team, while Storm would command the Gold Team into battle. While we know it will be some time before this scenario can ever play out in the MCU since the X-Men need a proper introduction first. But we’re all for Nia Dacosta helming this X-Men story when it’s time.