Deadpool & Wolverine’s Emma Corrin wanted to ‘pay homage’ to previous Professor X actors

Emma Corrin wanted to “pay homage” to the previous Professor X actors in Deadpool & Wolverine.

The 28-year-old actor, who uses they/them pronouns, plays Cassandra Nova – Charles Xavier’s evil sister – in the upcoming Marvel flick, and has revealed they wanted to channel the energy James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart poured into their performances as the famed mutant superhero for their outing as the telepathic villain.

Corrin told ScreenRant: “I did look back at those two performances. I hesitated before I did because I was like, ‘Do I want to get too close? Will I still be able to make it my own?’

“But I found it really interesting how they portrayed someone whose power is very internal and telepathic in that telepathic world. I wanted to see if there were any bits that I could use or pay homage to that, obviously, fans would really enjoy.”

The Crown star added they wanted to stay “very true” to Nova’s portrayal in the Marvel comic books.

Corrin explained: “In terms of the comics, we very much stay true to the comics in terms of Cassandra's look, the cap and the costume and the weirdy fingers, and definitely, you'll see echoes of her origin story and her relationship of her brother are very prominent here in terms of her motivation.”

When quizzed on what other X-Men characters they’d like to share the screen with, Corrin shared they wanted to appear alongside Professor X in a movie that explored the character’s relationship with his sister.

Corrin said: “You know what I've got a lot in interviews recently is people saying there should be a film where I played Charles and Cassandra.

“That would be wild, which I hadn't thought of, but that is sort of my answer, not that I would play him, but I think to see Cassandra and Charles Xavier meet, everyone loves a bit of family drama!”