Zazie Beetz auditioned for the role of Storm in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’.
The ‘Deadpool 2’ star has revealed she was in line to nab the part in the Marvel Comics movie before Alexandra Shipp landed the gig as the mutant superhero.
The actress told an audience at ACE Comic-Con in Chicago over the weekend that she "auditioned for young Storm, actually, and I didn’t get it".
The 27-year-old star says Storm is the character she has the biggest connection to and said it would have been a "nostalgic" tale for her as a young black woman.
Asked which superhero she would most like to portray, she said: "I feel like growing up I always had an association with her.
"I mean, obviously, because being a young black woman that was the one I associated with.
"But I think that would have been a little fantasy of mine to do that, and sort of a nostalgic thing for me to try. So yeah, I’d say Storm."
Meanwhile, Zazie is set to star in DC Comics’ ‘Joker’ film.
The ‘Geostorm’ star will take on the role of Sophie Dumond in the upcoming dark tale, a single mother who catches the eye of the titular mastercriminal, played by Joaquin Phoenix.
A description of her character reads: "Not beautiful, has a hardness to her, a single mother living on the Lower East Side, doing the best she can, trying to make ends meet; worn out by the grind of the city.
"She understands how the system is stacked against her and the people in her community, how unjust it all is for them. She’s just trying to catch a break."
Phoenix previously teased that his portrayal of the villain – known for his pale face and scary red lips – would be "unique."
The 43-year-old actor said: "I wouldn’t quite classify this as like any genre. I wouldn’t say it’s a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more then anything, and probably the most important thing, is Todd seems very passionate about it and very giving, and so that’s exciting.
"I think, underneath the excitement of these films, and the size of them, there are these incredible characters that are dealing with real life struggles. And sometimes that is uncovered and exposed, and sometimes it isn’t, and so I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied. And so I think that’s what Todd sees appealing about this idea."
‘War Dogs’ filmmaker Todd Phillips will direct from the script he co-wrote with ‘8 Mile’ screenwriter Scott Silver, while Emma Tillinger Koskoff will produce.
The studio – which reportedly has a budget of $55 million to make the film – has described this iteration of the story as an "exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale".
‘Joker’ is scheduled for release in October 2019.
Zazie Beetz auditioned for Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse
