I am fully prepared for the confusion and reaction that this article may bring. We all know that both Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender gave us both excellent performances as Fox’s version of the iconic Marvel villain Magneto. With the Fox/Disney merger, X-Men: Dark Phoenix will most likely be the last time we see Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr on the big screen. Although it has been said that we most likely won’t see the X-Men in the MCU for some time, here I am to make an argument for Andrew Scott as the infamous character.
If you’re a fan of BBC’s Sherlock, you are probably very well aware of Scott’s acting capabilities, as the archnemesis Moriarty. The actor brought so much to the characters that even series creator Mark Gatiss was quoted as saying, in 2017:
“Maybe we shouldn’t have killed off Moriarty in the second season.”
No, Mark, you shouldn’t have. You can also find Scott as the “hot priest” in BBC’s Fleabag season two, which I wrote a review for.
But, why should Scott be considered for the role of Magneto? Ian McKellen is 5’11” and Michael Fassbender is 6’0″ while Scott is 5’8″, so he doesn’t have the physical stature that the previous Magneto actors have. But, that really doesn’t mean anything, as again displayed by his role as the criminally insane Moriarty, who has the intelligence and wit to best the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes.
For the role of Magneto, you are going to need someone who can convey a high-level of intelligence with the ability to outsmart Professor X and the rest of the X-Men. Magneto is going to need to be able to gather a following with his ideologies, which are characteristics that someone like Scott could portray perfectly. He has to be the face of the Brotherhood and be able to convince mutants who have aligned themselves with the X-Men to question if they truly are on the winning side.
At the same time, Magneto has to be dangerous. He has to be extreme. There is a moment in X-Men: The Last Stand where Mystique is injected with a serum that “cures” her of her mutant abilities and while she and Magneto had previously been close, Magneto immediately abandoned her best she was not “one of us” anymore. Have any of you watched Sherlock or even witnessed this moment in Fleabag (gif above)? Because I believe Scott would be able to have the presence and emotions that it would take to give us a great Magneto.
Scott and Fassbender are the same age and if Marvel wanted to wait about five years before tackling the story of Magneto and Professor X again, I believe that Scott would be the perfect age to have that older presence while still able to have longevity in the role. We may mourn the loss of Fassbender’s Magneto, but it is very possible that when Marvel Studios decides to bring in the well-known character that they will be looking to recast. The MCU has a great habit of taking perhaps lesser known actors [on a mainstream basis] and making them household names. What do you think of this fan-cast?
In the meantime, you can look out for Scott in Black Mirror‘s upcoming fifth season, which will hit Netflix on June 5.
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
