UPDATE: A representative for Monáe has clarified to Empire that she has not spoken directly to Ryan Coogler about the possibility of playing Storm in a Black Panther movie, and that it was mentioned in a conversation she had with members of the cast. The original story continues as follows.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe enters Phase 4, the franchise’s future holds all kinds of possibilities – confirmed sequels to some of its more recent hits, including Black Panther and Captain Marvel, the arrival of fresh characters like Shang-Chi and the Eternals, and the small matter of Marvel now being able to play with the likes of the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. And while there are no official announcements around the mutants entering the MCU yet, the multi-talented Janelle Monáe has her eye on one of the most iconic X-Men characters, should she be introduced.
Speaking to Empire in a major new interview, Monáe opened up about the process of creating her most recent album Dirty Computer in Atlanta at the same time Ryan Coogler and his cast were shooting Black Panther there – with the likes of Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan visiting her Wondaland studio. Asked whether she’s spoken to Coogler about the possibility of joining the upcoming sequel, it seems Monáe knows exactly who she’d want to play. “I definitely have thrown it out there,” she says. “One of my dreams has always been to play Storm. I don’t know if she comes in Black Panther, but it would be a dream to have her in it. I don’t know where they are with that. A lot of women have played Storm and they’ve done an exceptional job, and I would love to be in that line of artists and get to do Storm justice.”
Internet rumours have previously linked Monáe with the role, though there’s been nothing official or more legitimately reported on that possibility. But if the MCU were to bring Storm into the fray in future, Black Panther II may be the way to go – as Marvel Comics readers will know, T’Challa and Ororo Munroe have been romantically linked (married, even) on the page. Who’s going to break the bad news to Nakia?
Read Empire’s full Janelle Monáe interview – talking her fearless screen performances, the power of genre, the rise of Afrofuturism in the mainstream, and her first leading role in upcoming horror Antebellum – in the Big-Screen Preview issue, on sale now. Antebellum is currently due to arrive in UK cinemas later this year, and Black Panther II has a release date of 6 May 2022.