‘House of the Dragon’ Star Bethany Antonia Is Shooting Her Shot for Storm in the MCU’s ‘X-Men’ Reboot
There are few roles in the superhero genre carrying as much weight right now as Ororo Munroe, the weather-wielding mutant known as Storm. As Marvel Studios quietly builds toward its long-awaited ‘X-Men’ reboot, speculation around who will wear that iconic white cape has reached a fever pitch among fans and industry watchers alike. The conversation is only getting louder, and now a breakout star from one of television’s biggest fantasy epics has thrown her name into the ring.
Bethany Antonia, who plays Baela Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon’, made her interest known during an exclusive interview with ComicBook’s Chris Killian, sitting down alongside co-star Phoebe Campbell to discuss all things Season 3 of the HBO series. The conversation was supposed to be about dragons and Targaryens, but it took an unexpected turn into Marvel territory. When asked which superhero or comic book character she would want to play in the future, Antonia did not hesitate before naming Storm from the ‘X-Men’.
Her initial response, captured in the interview, was a mix of excitement and caution. She said, “Oh, Storm, but I think that’s already taken.” When the interviewer clarified that Marvel had not yet made any official casting announcement for the MCU version of the character, Antonia’s reply was short, direct, and immediately quotable, telling ComicBook.com: “There’s a rumor, but like, call me.”
The Storm role is widely considered one of the most significant in the entire reboot, second perhaps only to Jean Grey and Cyclops, and at this stage there is still no clear frontrunner confirmed by Marvel. Names that have circulated in the rumor mill include Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Cynthia Erivo, who has publicly described Storm as her dream role. DeWanda Wise has also been mentioned in early reports, though that rumor never fully gained momentum.
Antonia’s campaign arrives at a particularly well-timed moment. ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 is set to premiere on HBO on June 21, with Antonia reprising her role as Baela Targaryen across a new eight-episode run. The upcoming season features Baela and her fiancé Jacaerys riding into the Battle of the Gullet together on their dragons, a sequence the cast has described as the biggest battle ever staged in either ‘House of the Dragon’ or ‘Game of Thrones’. With that kind of high-stakes, physically demanding work on her résumé, it is easy to see why she feels ready to command lightning.
The ‘X-Men’ will formally enter the MCU through ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, giving Storm’s upcoming casting even greater urgency as Marvel prepares to reintroduce the team to a new generation of audiences. The Fox films never gave Storm the spotlight the character truly deserved, with Halle Berry’s version receiving roughly 15 minutes of screen time across three films, leaving fans hungry for a portrayal that finally does justice to one of Marvel’s most powerful and layered heroes.
Whether Marvel Studios is listening or not, the internet certainly is. A ‘House of the Dragon’ star publicly pitching herself for one of the MCU’s most coveted roles is exactly the kind of crossover energy that sends fan casting threads into overdrive. With Antonia’s blend of dramatic range, screen presence, and unmistakable visual authority, the question worth asking is: what would it actually take for Marvel to make that call?
