MCU Mutant Casting Choice Would Be The Perfect Way To Fix A Fox X-Men Franchise Missed Opportunity

Throughout 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, Psylocke was repeatedly failed, but this new fan-casting choice could be perfect for the powerful mutant hero in the MCU. Marvel Studios gained the opportunity to introduce mutants into the MCU after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and its properties in 2019. This is a very exciting prospect for the MCU, as not only will some of Marvel's most iconic mutant heroes and villains be reinvented, but some of Fox's most wasted mutants can also seek redemption, and this includes Psylocke.
Several notable X-Men members and their supporting characters have already been the subject of some popular fan-casts, and now Psylocke has joined the club. Some fan-casts have named Daniel Radcliffe as Wolverine, Henry Cavill as Cyclops, Keke Palmer as Rogue and Austin Butler as Gambit, among many others. Many talented actors have been suggested to take on the role of Psylocke in the MCU, but one up-and-coming actor is quickly becoming the most popular pick, and she would be perfect as an entirely new iteration of the sword-wielding hero.
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7 Anna Sawai Would Be Incredible As Kwannon’s Psylocke In The MCU Anna Sawai Is Known For Roles In Pachinko, Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters & Shōgun One of the most recent casting choices for Psylocke that has been gaining traction is Anna Sawai, who many have suggested would be perfect as Kwannon's version of Psylocke, rather than the original Betsy Braddock. Anna Sawai and Kwannon are both Japanese, and Sawai has recently been proving her acting chops in dramatic roles in projects such as Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Shōgun. For the latter, Sawai has received huge acclaim, so it would be great to see her make the move to the MCU as this little-known hero.
Anna Sawai is still fairly new to the world of acting, so she fits perfectly into Marvel Studios' trend of taking lesser known stars and building them into household names in the MCU. If Sawai is cast as Kwannon's Psylocke, a completely new version of the hero could be introduced to the MCU, one never seen before on-screen. This would be a fantastic way to reinvent the hero after she was repeatedly failed in Fox's X-Men franchise, and could give her more attention, development and focus than ever before.
Anna Sawai's Notable Project
Role
Year
Giri/Haji
Eiko Fukuhara
2019
F9
Elle
2021
Pachinko
Naomi
2022
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Cate Randa
2023
Shōgun
Toda Mariko
2024
Who Is Kwannon? Marvel Comics’ Second Psylocke Explained Kwannon Became Psylocke After Betsy Braddock In Marvel Comics Previous live-action adaptations of Psylocke have adapted the Betsy Braddock iteration of the hero, but her successor, Kwannon, has never been seen in live-action. For almost three decades, Betsy Braddock and Kwannon were body-swapped. This was caused by operatives of the Hand, the international group of ninjas that Kwannon originally worked for as a formidable assassin. Betsy and Kwannon were returned to their original bodies in 2018, after which Betsy became Captain Britain, and Kwannon became the new Psylocke.
The Hand previously had a major role in Netflix's Defenders Saga, which was recently confirmed to be canon to the MCU, so Kwannon's connection to the Hand can be easily established.
Due to the body-swap with Betsy Braddock, Kwannon becomes something of an outcast when returned. She teams up with other outcast mutants to form groups such as the Fallen Angels and the Hellions. Eventually, Kwannon saves Betsy's soul from another reality and returns her to her own body, ending their animosity, and cementing herself as a bona fide hero. It would be fantastic to see Kwannon debut as Psylocke in the MCU, particularly since completely reinventing the character may be the best way to make up for Fox's past mistakes.
Psylocke Has Had Too Many Disappointing Portrayals In Previous X-Men Movies Psylocke Has Been Adapted Into Live-Action Twice Before Close 20th Century Fox never managed to get Betsy Braddock's Psylocke quite right in its X-Men franchise. The character was first seen in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, portrayed by Meiling Melançon, but she only had a very minor role as a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, and her power set and personality was significantly changed from Marvel Comics. Rather than being able to generate weapons from psychic energy, and exhibiting telekinesis and telepathy, Meiling Melançon's Psylocke could teleport through shadows, which ultimately served little purpose.
Olivia Munn's iteration of Psylocke in 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse was far more comic-accurate, at least in the abilities she expressed. Although she didn't have access to any kind of telepathy or telekinesis, Munn's Psylocke could create her psionic weapons, which were enhanced when she became one of the Horsemen of Oscar Isaac's Apocalypse. Indeed, Munn's version of Psylocke was also disappointing, ridding the character of any substantive backstory or motivation, so Marvel Studios would benefit from completely reinventing the hero for the MCU.
An alternate universe's version of Psylocke also appears in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, played by an uncredited Ayesha Hussain, but she is killed during the Resistance team's battle against Cassandra Nova's forces.
Kwannon’s MCU Debut Could Put A Spin On A Rumored British Superhero Kwannon Debuting As Psylocke Could Still Allow Betsy Braddock To Appear Should Kwannon be introduced as the MCU's Psylocke, perhaps played by Anna Sawai, Marvel Studios may create the chance to better explore Betsy Braddock's own backstory alongside her. It would probably be a good choice to omit the body-swap storyline altogether, and instead debut Betsy and Kwannon as two separate characters. While Kwannon could operate as Psylocke, the British Betsy Braddock could be introduced as a new superhero who has been heavily rumored to be appearing in the MCU's Multiverse Saga: Captain Britain.
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Betsy Braddock briefly claimed the Captain Britain moniker before becoming Psylocke and a member of the X-Men, succeeding her brother, Brian Braddock. Following her return to her original body and Kwannon becoming the second Psylocke, Betsy officially took on the role of Captain Britian. This United Kingdom-based superhero has been speculated to debut in the MCU, and while the focus of this speculation has been Brian Braddock, it would be great to see Betsy Braddock take up the moniker first, allowing both her and Kwannon's Psylocke to be developed more than ever before.
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
Created by Kevin Feige Upcoming Films Deadpool & Wolverine , Captain America: Brave New World , Thunderbolts (2025) , Blade (2025) , The Fantastic Four (2025) , Avengers 5 , Avengers: Secret Wars Upcoming TV Shows Agatha: Coven of Chaos , Ironheart , Daredevil: Born Again , Wakanda , Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man , Marvel Zombies , Wonder Man , Vision Quest Upcoming MCU Movies Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date February 14, 2025 Thunderbolts*
Release Date May 2, 2025 The Fantastic Four (2025)
Release Date July 25, 2025 Blade (2025)
Release Date November 7, 2025 Avengers: Doomsday
Release Date May 1, 2026 Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027


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