The X-Men are mostly rebooted, with the new batch of films doing some loops around the timelines, so both young and old Charles Xavier and Magneto can appear in the same film, while Wolverine is eternal (granted, it’s a trait of the character). However, characters like Mystique, Storm and Nightcrawler and others have been given a younger coat of paint, and the actors who previously played them have exited the series. However, Famke Janssen, the franchise’s former Jean Grey (who will now be played by Sophie Turner in “X-Men: Apocalypse“) has noticed a curious trend when it comes to the decision making behind which mutants get refreshed, and which don’t.
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“I’m actually really excited about it [seeing Turner’s performance],” she told EW. “And its not the first time obviously that it’s happened. In the X-Men series, they’ve been doing this for years. Although women, it’s interesting because they’re replaced, and the older versions — or more mature, whatever the politically correct version of that is – are never to be seen again. Whereas the men are allowed to be both ages. Sexism. I think that I should be back along with my younger version and the way that we’ve seen it with Magneto and Professor X.”
It’s an interesting observation, and Janssen hasn’t just sat on the sidelines — she’s actively offered to return to the series in a substantial way. “Yes, I have [asked]. I have not heard any feedback on that, other than total radio silence,” she said.
However, it should be noted that along with Rebecca Romjin and Halle Berry, she did make a brief cameo in “X-Men: Days Of Future Past” as well as in “The Wolverine.”
But the larger question is, are the filmmakers emphasizing the younger, rebooted version of the female characters for reasons that don’t need to be elaborated? It’s Hollywood, so it wouldn’t exactly be alarming if that was the case.
Listen Janssen’s thoughts and share your comments below.