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

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 05: Yetide Badaki attends the premiere of STARZ’s “American Gods” season 2 at Ace Hotel on March 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

4. Yetide Badaki as Storm

Storm, a.k.a. Ororo Munroe, is one of the most iconic X-Men of them all. The daughter of a Kenyan tribal princess and an African-American photojournalist, Storm has the power to control the weather and has one of the most interesting backstories of any mutant. She spent time as a street thief in Cairo, wandered the Serengeti, and was worshiped as a rain goddess. She’s been both a punk and one of the wisest, most tranquil characters of the entire cast, imparting advice and asking pertinent questions at just the right moments. If Cyclops is the heart of the X-Men team, Storm is its spirit.

The movies have taken several different routes with Storm. In the Fox films, Halle Berry played her as a devoted X-Man, and the eventual leader of the group after Cyclops’ demise in X-Men: The Last Stand. In the First Class generation of films, the filmmakers decided to lean heavily into Storm’s background as a thief and make her the punkish wild-card of the group. It’s a testament to how nuanced Storm’s character is that both Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp’s renditions of Ororo could be so different, yet both loyal to the character.

One side of Storm that we haven’t seen much of on the big screen, however, is the cool, collected and serene part. Yetide Badaki would do a fantastic job with that sort of material — she’s already proven that she can act like a goddess a hundred times over in AMC’s American Gods. She would be able to bring a sort of spirituality and depth to Storm that would make the MCU’s take on the character unique, yet still fit into the tradition of honoring some part of Storm that previous iterations missed.

Plus she’s actively campaigning for the role on Twitter:

Hey, wanting it the most counts.