X-Men Art Urges Marvel to Cast Armie Hammer as MCU’s Cyclops

X-Men fan art imagines Armie Hammer as the MCU‘s Cyclops. Created by Marvel legends Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, Scott Summers aka Cyclops first appeared in the debut issue of X-Men in 1963. Described as a “tortured hero” by Lee, Cyclops is a mutant who can shoot energy beams from his eyes but lacks the ability to control his devastating power without the use of special eyewear that he can’t remove.

When it came time to depict the tortured Cyclops on the big-screen in 2000’s X-Men movie, James Marsden took on the role of Summers, who retained much of his comic book story including his leadership role within the X-Men as well as his relationship with Jean Grey. Tye Sheridan would later take over for Marsden as Summers in the X-Men reboot franchise. Unfortunately for fans of the comic book version of Cyclops, the character would see his role greatly diminished in the movie series, as characters like Wolverine and Mystique were pushed to the fore.

Related: X-Men: Casting Cyclops For The MCU

With X-Men now in limbo following the disappointing box office performance of Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, fans are imagining another rebooted version of the comic book universe for the MCU (whether Disney ever decides to indeed reboot X-Men is an open question). Fan artist Malcolm Kenneth for his part has weighed in with some casting suggestions for the new X-Men, backing up his ideas with some compelling images. In addition to putting forth Hammer as Cyclops, Kenneth also suggests Mark Strong as Professor X (he has the advantage of already being bald) and Giancarlo Esposito as Magneto. See the art in the space below:

Hammer of course first came to prominence playing the Winklevoss twins in David Fincher’s acclaimed The Social Network, then went on to star in Luca Guadagnino’s Oscar-winner Call Me By Your Name. When it comes to big-budget tentpole films, Hammer has starred alongside Johnny Depp in The Lone Ranger while also headlining Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Currently, Hammer can be seen as Maxim de Winter in Netflix’s adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca.

An interesting actor who has indeed taken on a diverse array of big-screen roles, Hammer would arguably bring a lot more to the table as Scott Summers than either Marsden or Sheridan. Of course, the challenge for any actor playing Cyclops is the fact of having to perform with the hindrance of the character’s visor, which obviously takes away the ability to use one’s eyes in performing. Obviously many performers have overcome such a challenge, notably Pedro Pascal, who has made The Mandalorian a compelling character despite wearing a helmet in almost every scene. Hammer himself wore a mask as The Lone Ranger, and would’ve worn a cowl had he played Batman in George Miller’s scrapped Justice League: Mortal.

But as big a problem as the visor may have been for Marsden and Sheridan in the movies, an even bigger problem was the way Cyclops was written. Indeed, many fans have complained that Cyclops got a raw deal in the movies as his role was diminished in favor of other characters played by bigger-name stars. Whichever actor next plays Cyclops (assuming the X-Men ever get another chance on the big screen) will need help from his writers and director in assuring that Scott Summers gets a chance to be the character he became in the comic books, and doesn’t merely wind up playing second-fiddle.

More: Recasting 2000’s X-Men In 2020

Source: Malcolm Kenneth/Instagram

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