The Phoenix has risen in the MCU, and she’s played by Sadie Sink.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” — the latest in the web-slinging franchise led by Tom Holland and Zendaya — finally hit theaters on Friday, bringing an end to months of speculation about which character Sink would portray in the hit movie series. As most guessed, she’s playing one of the original X-Men, Jean Grey, a telekinetic and telepathic mutant.
Sink has said rumors about her nabbing the role started to swirl well before she got the call to play the part. And when she finally did, she refused to offer any details about her upcoming role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sending fans into a frenzy.
“That was happening before I even knew that I would be working on this project,” she previously told E! News. “I was like, ‘Wait! What are people talking about?’”
Set after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the sequel follows Holland’s Peter Parker as he navigates a world in which no one remembers him. The grief triggered by “seeing his friends move on without him sparks a change in Peter.” It causes a spike in his arachnid DNA, prompting his body to produce organic webbing, according to the official synopsis.
“But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves — a powerful villain no one can even see,” it concludes.
The film also stars Zendaya and Parker’s love interest, Michelle “MJ” Jones and Jacob Batalon as Spidey’s best pal Ned Leeds. This installment will additionally feature Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova.
(Courtesy of Sony Pictures)
Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, recently discussed how Sink helped solidify the narrative for Peter Parker’s latest foray into crime-fighting.
“We had a story for Peter…It’s always about Peter. It always starts with Peter and ends with Peter,” Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, explained. “We had a Peter story that we wanted to tell, and knew that there were a number of characters that could fit into that. And it was Sadie’s name who came up that solidified the idea of the character that she’s playing.”
