RUMOR: Sadie Sink Looks To Really Be a Young Jean Grey in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'

When actress Sadie Sink was first announced to star in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, she was quickly rumored to be playing the staple X-Men character Jean Grey (via The InSneider). Many didn’t understand how Sony Pictures pulled off using the Twentieth Century Fox character despite the character now being under the Walt Disney banner. As well as why an X-Men character that’s never really interacted with Spider-Man in the comics just suddenly appears in the next live-action film. Other fans suggested other redheaded mutants she could secretly be playing, like Firestar or even Rachel Summers from the X-Men: Days of Future Past timeline, which would somehow connect to Scott Summers in Avengers: Doomsday. Other possible Spider-Man characters people suggested were Mayday Parker from the Tobey Maguire timeline or, in a weird, almost racist case, the “real” Mary Jane Watson instead of Zendaya. Either way, Sink was quickly confirmed to be returning as her mysterious character in Avengers: Secret Wars, which begins production later this year.

:: Spoilers Ahead ::

As production finally began on Spider-Man: Brand New Day last summer, we did get a multitude of accounts confirming aspects of the character that align with Jean Grey. The most prominent character trait was that Sink would be a young mutant on the run from the Department of Damage Control, as previously established in this year’s Wonder Man TV series on Disney+. The biggest clue was that reports began to swirl that her character would use mind control to finally turn Bruce Banner (played by Mark Ruffalo) back into the savage Hulk in the film (via DanielRPK Patreon). It’s really unknown how this will tie back to Peter Parker beyond his run-in with D.O.D.C in the first act of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Though she is expected to be protected by The Punisher (played by Jon Bernthal) as her “guardian” of sorts in the film. Yet, her character still remained a tightly guarded secret at Marvel Studios and won’t be revealed until the very end of Brand New Day. Ironically, Sink’s casting would also mark the second time a popular redheaded TV actress has been cast as Jean Grey, after Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) in the 2010 films. Her casting would also explain why Famke Janssen wasn’t invited back to reprise her version of Jean Grey, even as an older variant, to establish this younger version (via IGN).

With all roads leading towards Jean Grey making her first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it makes you wonder if any other classic X-Men will appear before their reboot by director Jake Schreier (Thunderbolts*). While we know many of the characters in the MCU are mutants, such as Ms. Marvel, Namor, and, recently, Wonder Man. We don’t have any proper X-Men appearing that aren’t multiverse variants. While Sink has yet to be announced for this reboot, it could hint at a possible younger lineup. Twentieth Century Fox tried to do their version of X-Men: First Class in 2011, but changed the lineup completely. The classic comic lineup included Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, and Beast. Though that lineup doesn’t feature any diverse fan-favorites like Storm, Nightcrawler, Rogue, or Kitty Pryde. While the lineup is up in the air, let’s just hope this reboot doesn’t feature Wolverine in any way, shape, or form for years to come. Production on the X-Men reboot is expected to be next in line after Avengers: Secret Wars and alongside Black Panther 3.