X-Men's Storm Could Be Played By This Vampire Diaries Star

[CosaNostra]

With the upcoming X-Men: Age of Apocalypse film set to introduce younger versions of some of the original X-Men characters, speculation on the casting of Storm has been up in the air. The latest rumor is that X-Men’s Storm will be played by The Vampire Diaries star, Kat Graham.

If this rumor (via MoviePilot) turns out to be true, I couldn’t be more excited. Kat Graham has the capacity to play an incredible Storm. Not only is she gorgeous and can easily pull off looking like a younger version of Halle Berry, but also, her role as Bonnie Bennett on the CW series The Vampire Diaries is the perfect preparation for playing a badass super-powered female.

And Storm is just that, a badass, powerful woman—and actually my personal favorite comic book hero. Storm, or real name Orora Munroe, has the power to control the weather. With this power she can do more than just make it rain, she has the ability to control energy that the weather creates. She can manipulate that energy and contain it towards certain objects or people. She also has the ability to fly by gliding on wind currents, or using wind to throw off other people in a fight. Storm becomes a very powerful, yet level-headed member of the X-Men because of her training at such an early age. But aside from her super-powers, Storm serves as one of the most important members of the team because of her ability to defuse tension, and keep the other members practical and grounded. She acts as a leader much of the time, but still has a lonely sense of independence that probably originates from her life as an orphan before being found by Charles Xavier.

All of these qualities, and more have been demonstrated in Kat Graham’s portrayal of Bonnie Bennett. Bonnie, a teenage witch in the midst of a whole lot of Vampire drama, serves as a voice of reason in much of the show. She is always trying to use her powers for good, and for the sake of others, never worrying about the consequence on herself. She is truly a heroine, with so much compassion, empathy, and selfless acts throughout the series, even to the point of self-sacrifice. Bonnie has many similar personality traits as Storm does in the X-Men universe, being a caring yet powerful entity to her friends. The character of Bonnie is also an orphan like Storm, so Graham has already explored that type of lonely despair in a character.

Graham also has a career in the music industry as a singer and dancer. At 15 she performed as a background dancer at the BET Awards, and has been in many music videos and commercials since. That level of fitness is something that will make her job much easier when learning Storm’s fight sequences. And with athleticism like that, it is sure to look pretty realistic on screen as well.

Overall, Graham looks to be a perfect fit for the role of a younger Storm in X-Men: Age of Apocalypse. We’ll keep an eye out for any future updates, but fingers crossed that this casting rumor sticks. X-Men: Age of Apocalypse is set to release in theaters May 27, 2016.