Kevin Feige Says Sadie Sink's Jean Grey Has "Immense Significance" to the Future of the MCU
The big surprises in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is finally out in the open with Sadie Sink playing Jean Grey, and Marvel Studios is making it clear that this is only the begining.
After months of speculation, Sink was officially revealed as Jean Grey, one of Marvel's most iconic and powerful mutants. It didn't take long for fans to start wondering what comes next, and Kevin Feige has now teased that her arrival is going to have a huge impact on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Speaking with Variety, Feige explained: "Sadie’s character is one that our fans know has immense significance within the Marvel Universe, and she plays a key role in the future of the MCU. I’m just happy that the secret is finally out and that Sadie can stop dodging the question."
Jean Grey is one of the most powerful characters Marvel has ever created, possessing incredible telepathic and telekinetic abilities that allow her to influence minds and manipulate matter on an astonishing scale, from lifting massive structures to controlling objects at the molecular level.
The character has appeared on the big screen before, first portrayed by Famke Janssen in the original X-Men trilogy and later by Sophie Turner in Fox's X-Men prequel films. Now Sink gets the opportunity to introduce a brand-new version of Jean Grey as Marvel Studios begins building its own era of mutants.
While Feige confirmed Jean Grey has an important future, he stopped short of revealing exactly where she'll show up next. Still, it's easy to connect the dots.
Marvel is currently developing its long-awaited X-Men movie with Jake Schreier, who directed Thunderbolts*, at the helm. It’s also been announced that Samara Weaving has been cast as Emma Frost, although Marvel Studios hasn't officially confirmed any casting announcements for that project.
It doesn't appear that either Sink's Jean Grey or Tom Holland's Spider-Man will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. Instead, Feige hinted that Brand New Day is setting up something else entirely.
He revealed that Brand New Day "leads into another very well-known Marvel franchise created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby."
That certainly sounds like it could be pointing directly toward the MCU's X-Men. After all, the mutant team is one of the legendary Marvel creations from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, making it an obvious possibility.
Feige also addressed why Marvel worked so hard to keep Sink's role under wraps leading up to the film's release, saying: "It’s purely about creating the best possible opening weekend experience for the audience."
Looking at the box office numbers, that strategy seems to have worked. Spider-Man: Brand New Day exploded during its opening weekend, bringing in an incredible $932 million worldwide while also delivering the biggest domestic opening weekend in U.S. box office history.
It still has a long road ahead before catching Avengers: Endgame and its massive $2.79 billion global haul, but it's off to an incredible start.
Now that the mystery surrounding Sadie Sink's role has finally been revealed, the bigger question is where Jean Grey fits into Marvel's mutant future.