Joining Marvel can be a yearslong commitment. Did you have to pause and think about if you wanted to be committed for that long?
Of course, with anything you do have to stop and consider. For me, it felt like a character that would have a lot to offer over however many times we see her. And also the idea of returning to something or having a consistent character that you’re playing is something I’m also familiar with. I like that structure. So it felt like a no-brainer to me. It’s a great character to spend some time with.
You’ve been on a show that had a lot of passionate fans with strong opinions. Does this feel different?
With Stranger Things, Max didn’t exist before me. So what fans are seeing of her, it’s all fresh and you don’t know what’s going to happen to her next. But with a character like Jean Grey, who’s been around for much, much longer, there’s so many stories to pull from, so many iterations of her. She means a lot to a lot of people. There is an extra element. People are protective over her.
Was there ever a moment when you came close to slipping up, or someone in your cast came close to slipping up and revealing the secret?
Not publicly, no. There were times where maybe I was like, Oh my God, have I told too many people? Did I tell the wrong person, or did someone hear me when I whispered it at that restaurant? There was definitely the paranoia of that. It’s nice for that to be gone.
Did you get any texts from friends after they saw the movie?
There were people from London, the play [Romeo & Juliet] I did there, and they were like, “I knew it!” And also friends of mine that I didn’t even know would be familiar with this character, but they are, and how excited they are and how knowledgeable they are about her.
Kit Connor was just reported as playing Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops.
Did he? There’s always the rumors, and I just never know what’s official.
Are you testing with the other people they’re casting, or is it all happening sort of separate from you?
It’s a little bit separate. So I’m finding out through [director] Jake [Schreier]. There’s also so many online rumors, but it’s coming together. I think the timing of it is so exciting, and the way they planned it out is really clever just with introducing one of the mutants, a very important mutant through Spider-Man. I think a great cast is coming together, and I think people are going to be really excited about it when it’s all announced.
Scott Summers and Jean Grey have such an important connection in these movies. So I assume that’s a big one for you.
Yeah.
You’re really good at this. What else is coming up for you in the near future? The adaptation of John Proctor Is the Villain?
It’s still in development. We don’t really have dates for that yet. I’m excited about that, but I won’t be in it. I’m producing it. We’ll shoot X-Men, and then I’m going to do a series with FX and A24 called The Marriage Plot, so that’ll be next year. With Stranger Things ending, it’ll feel weird next year not being like, Oh wait, we got to shoot another season. We have to get ready to go back to Atlanta to shoot. It’s exciting to be able to have more room in the schedule.
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