Bryan Cranston expresses his interest in playing X-Men villain Nathaniel Essex aka. Mister Sinister yet again. Known for his regenerative capability which makes him extremely difficult to defeat, the villain poses a lot of narrative opportunities for any Marvel franchise that would introduce him. And when that time comes, the Breaking Bad alumni is still hoping he's given the opportunity to portray character.
Mister Sinister has long been teased in the Fox Marvel universe, with the stinger for X-Men: Apocalypse blatantly setting up his introduction and another tease in Deadpool 2 with Essex House. Many believed that the post-credit scene was supposedly hinting his on-screen debut in Logan. Sadly, that wasn't the case in the James Mangold-directed flick, and it certainly doesn't look like he'll make his entrance in Dark Phoenix. The New Mutants, on the other hand, was initially poised to finally introduce the character, but extensive reshoots reportedly left the film without the antagonist after the studio changed its mind regarding the villain.
Related: X-Men: 15 Superpowers You Didn't Know Mr. Sinister Had
Speaking with ScreenGeek while doing the promotional rounds for the animated series SuperMansion where he plays the aging superhero Titanium Rex, Cranston reiterates his hopes of playing Mister Sinister in a Marvel movie.
“I want to play an antagonist a fraction smarter than the protagonist, never dumbed down to give the hero an easy win. That’s frustrating and boring to watch.
“Okay don’t talk about my personal life. (laughs) Actually, that was the character, I’ll admit. Mister Sinister was the character I was thinking about.
“I guess it’s a selfish standpoint. I don’t want to do a character that has been done several times before. I don’t want to be compared like “well, his Commissioner Gordon was yada yada yada” . I don’t want to do that. I want to take something that hasn’t been done.”
Cranston has been open about wanting to play the X-Men villain on the big screen. Back in 2015 and while also promoting SuperMansion, he cited Mister Sinister as the Marvel character he wants to play. Just a year after that, he once again brought up the same idea. Considering that in all three separate instances, the actor remains consistent with his motivations of wanting to portray the character, it's safe to say that he's genuinely interested in the part. Since the Fox Marvel films have long been teasing the arrival of the bad guy, it's interesting that even after all these years, Cranston wasn't approached for the part.
With the X-Men franchise likely starting anew under Marvel Studios after the Disney and Fox merger gets finalized sometime next year, perhaps Kevin Feige can finally make Cranston's dream of playing Mister Sinister on the big screen come to life. Feige has yet to reveal his plans with regard to the extensive Marvel character catalog he will soon also manage but it's safe to say that he'll want to eventually debut Mister Sinister, especially since he has yet to make his live-action appearance.
More: Marvel Has Time To Add X-Men Into Avengers 4 (But Probably Won't)
Source: ScreenGeek
