Jamie McCarthy / Gilbert Flores / Arnold Jerocki / Getty
UPDATE (AUGUST 15, 2026):
Welp, we were all the way wrong! As expected, Day 1 of D23 brought an official announcement for the initial cast regarding Marvel’s X-Men reboot film, and the actress playing Storm is none other than newcomer Maya Boyd.
Not a bad choice at all! You can still entertain our initial picks below for who we thought could portray the ethereal fan-favorite mutant, Ororo Munroe:
In a move that’s been decades in the making, Marvel has officially opened up the MCU to introduce the X-Men in their own franchise of movies separate from the ones produced by 20th Century Fox from 2000 to 2020.
With plans to start fresh by hiring a brand new cast, anticipation is at an all-time high to see which actors and actresses will be portraying our favorite mutants. Those who’ve seen Spider-Man: Brand New Day already have an idea of who will play Jean Grey, and reports have all but confirmed castings for the roles of Cyclops, Emma Frost and possibly Rogue.
Of course, blerds everywhere are keeping a close eye on the prominent casting of Black heroine Ororo Munroe, also known simply as Storm. As a regal being with the power to control all aspects of the weather, it’s a coveted role for any actress given Storm’s pivotal position on the X-Men team and the opportunity to play one of the strongest Black leads.
Those preparing to attend Disney’s three-day D23 fan event in Anaheim, California this weekend are holding out hope that the full cast of X-Men will be revealed. Many are pointing to a potential clue on the official D23 poster (seen above), which depicts an animated version of Storm flying high in her OG black costume as she appeared for the first time in 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1. The belief is that a potential announcement will go down as early as tonight (August 14) at the exclusive in-person only Disney Entertainment Showcase, which generally is reserved for major film announcements. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is scheduled to speak at the event, which adds even more fuel to fire given his big Black Panther 3 announcement at San Diego Comic-Con last month.
Casting for Storm has been a topic of discussion since the very beginning, as many fans felt divided in seeing fairer skin actresses like Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp portray the canonically (and proudly!) dark skin character. The reboot is a way for filmmakers to finally get it right, and we’ve got a few suggestions in case Marvel needs a second opinion.
From looking at the top fan castings across the fandom to choosing a few of our own, we put together a list of 10 Black actresses who would be perfect to play Storm in the upcoming X-Men films for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some are more seasoned actresses than others, and a few aren’t strangers in the least bit when it comes to supernatural characters, but we can easily see each of these ladies making the role all their own.
Keep scrolling for our picks on who should play Storm in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe X-Men films, and let us know if you agree:
