Let’s dreamcast the X-Men before they appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

HOLLYWOOD, CA – JULY 13: Dwayne Johnson arrives for the Premiere Of Universal Pictures’ “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” held at Dolby Theatre on July 13, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

14. Dwayne Johnson as Colossus

But since we’re talking about Colossus, if Marvel does want to recast the gentle giant, we’ve got someone in mind. In the comics and original X-Movies, Colossus, a.k.a. Piotr “Peter” Rasputin, was one of the second generation of X-Men who steps up to the plate when mutants like Cyclops and Jean Grey are captured (or, in the case of the movies, killed off). He has the ability to turn his entire body into a kind of “organic steel.” While he’s steely, he’s all but indestructible, has super strength, and doesn’t need any food, water or oxygen to survive, making him well-suited for some of the team’s more cosmic missions.

Dwayne Johnson might seem like a strange choice for the historically very white and Russian Peter Rasputin, but is there really any doubt that he could absolutely crush a role like this? Not only is he exactly the character’s canonical height (6’5”), but he’s played so many strongman roles that it should come pretty naturally to him.

And really, a bit more diversity would probably only make the X-Men stronger. Colossus has been done a few different ways on screen, including the aforementioned performance by Stefan Kapičić in Deadpool 2, where he was in his steel form the entire time. Visually, there are plenty of options for how Johnson could play the role (though personally, I’d hope for a depiction more along the lines of the older movies, where we see both human and steel-form Colossus). The most important thing is that, acting-wise, Johnson could bring a depth and poise to his performance that would provide a counterpoint to characters like Wolverine and Deadpool.

Then there’s the fact that the Rock is, to use his own words, “Franchise Viagra.” If we’re being honest, the X-Men could probably use a bit of that. Johnson has yet to be featured in the MCU, and with his big personality, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that he would bring a lot of eyeballs onto a superhero team that hasn’t been at the forefront of superhero movies for a while.