Famke Janssen says she has never been approached by Marvel to reprise her role as Jean Grey
Despite fans calling for it, Famke Janssen says she has never been approached by Marvel to reprise her role as Jean Grey.
Famke Janssen says she has never been approached by Marvel to reprise her role as Jean Grey.
Despite renewed interest in the original X-Men cast returning for future Avengers films, the 60-year-old actress, who played the powerful mutant telepath across five X-Men films between 2000 and 2014, told Entertainment Weekly Marvel has “never, never ever” contacted her about reprising the character in any new instalments.
She told People: “Every time I do an interview, it’s mentioned. It’s interesting.
“I didn’t realize that was such a big part. Every interview I do, that will come up, and of everything I say, that is going to be the only thing that’s gonna be printed.”
Famke, who is currently promoting her new Netflix series Amsterdam Empire, said she is still surprised by how strongly fans connect her with the role.
She added: “I should be flattered, I suppose, that this character has resonated with people. It’s been so long, but it’s nice that people are still talking about her.
“I’m sure every single time there’s a new movie that they’re doing, like (is it) Doomsday?… it’ll come up again.”
Famke first portrayed Jean Grey in 2000’s X-Men and returned for X2 in 2003, The Last Stand in 2006, The Wolverine in 2013 and a cameo appearance in 2014’s Days of Future Past.
British actress Sophie Turner later took on the role in 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse and 2019’s Dark Phoenix, playing a younger version of the character.
Marvel Studios gained the rights to the X-Men characters in 2017 when Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, paving the way for the mutants to join the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In July, Marvel president Kevin Feige suggested the studio plans to cast a new team of X-Men for future films, though several of the franchise’s original stars are expected to return in next year’s Avengers: Doomsday.
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will reprise their roles as Professor X and Magneto, while Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden and Kelsey Grammer are also slated to appear.
Patrick most recently appeared as an alternate version of Professor X in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Kelsey made a cameo as Beast in 2023’s The Marvels.
