Marvel Reportedly Wants to Bring Back Anya Taylor-Joy’s Magik From THE NEW MUTANTS
It looks like Marvel Studios may not be finished with one of the brightest spots from Fox's final X-Men era.
A new rumor claims Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is interested in bringing back Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, giving the fan-favorite mutant another shot after her debut in The New Mutants.
While nothing has been officially confirmed, the report has already generated plenty of excitement among Marvel fans who have long felt the actress deserved a better movie.
The rumor comes from industry scooper My Time to Shine Hello, who says Feige wants Taylor-Joy to return as Illyana Rasputin. What isn't clear is how Marvel would make that happen.
She could appear as part of the Multiverse Saga alongside characters from Fox's X-Men universe, or Marvel could introduce a new version of Magik into the main MCU timeline.
Either way, it's a rumor that's been met with a lot of enthusiasm. When The New Mutants arrived in 2020, it marked the end of Fox's long-running X-Men franchise.
Unfortunately, the film struggled both critically and commercially, earning a disappointing 36% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It was a frustrating outcome because, despite the movie's problems, several of its casting choices were widely praised.
Long before Taylor-Joy was cast in the film, fans thought she was the perfect choice to play Magik. While the film gave audiences flashes of why she was such a great fit, the script never fully delivered on the character's potential.
Instead of embracing everything that makes Illyana Rasputin one of Marvel's most fascinating mutants, the movie saddled her with uneven writing, including an awkward racist subplot that didn't do the character any favors.
Over the years, Magik has become one of the X-Men's most important members. Her teleportation abilities make her one of the franchise's most useful heroes, while her magical background as a former Sorcerer Supreme allows her to naturally fit into Marvel's supernatural corner alongside characters like Doctor Strange.
She's headlined her own comics, served on an Avengers roster, and become one of Marvel's most recognizable mutant heroes.
Video games have also helped introduce the character to an even larger audience. Both Marvel's Midnight Suns and Marvel Rivals have showcased just how powerful and entertaining Magik can be, with Marvel Rivals in particular helping spark a new wave of appreciation for the character.
If this rumor turns out to be true, Avengers: Secret Wars feels like the easiest place to bring Taylor-Joy back. The film is expected to celebrate Marvel's cinematic history by pulling characters from across the multiverse.
Taylor-Joy has gone on to become one of Hollywood's biggest stars since The New Mutants, and her version of Magik still feels like a character with plenty left to explore.
While she's likely aged beyond a New Mutants-style coming-of-age story, an older Illyana serving as a mentor for the MCU's next generation of X-Men could be a fantastic direction. It would even echo the role characters like Storm and Wolverine played in the beloved X-Men Evolution animated series.
Sometimes great casting gets trapped in movies that never live up to their potential. That’s what happened with Taylor-Joy's Magik. Six years later, Marvel may finally have the opportunity to give both the actress and the character the redemption they deserve.
For now, it's still just a rumor, but it's one plenty of Marvel fans are hoping becomes reality.