Ed Skrein Wants to Play X-Men's Fantomex

Deadpool actor Ed Skrein wants to go from portraying Ajax to X-Men/X-Force character Fantomex in his next comic book movie role. The English actor, also known as the original Daario Naharis in Game of Thrones, brought the villainous Francis Freeman/Ajax thrillingly to life in the first Deadpool, creating the titular antihero in the first place with his torturous experiments that disfigured Wade Wilson and activated his superhuman healing factor.

But Ajax also met his end at the hands of Deadpool, when he revealed that the cure that Wilson sought for much of the movie didn't exist. This leaves open the possibility for Skrein to possibly return to Marvel recast as another character. In particular, Skrein explained in a new interview why he'd like to come back as Fantomex.

Speaking to Comic Book ahead of the release of his newest movie, In Darkness, Skrein spoke about the idea of playing Fantomex in a future movie based on X-Men or X-Force as a sort of dream role for him. The self-described "comic book head" was asked if there were another movie or character he'd like to be a part of down the road and went right to Fantomex, who frequently fought alongside the X-Men and X-Force after being created and raised in "The World" by the Weapon Plus program. Fantomex speaks with a French accent despite technically being British, which may actually make Skrein a perfect fit for the role when you factor in his knowledge and dedication to the character.

Skrein is surely aware of Fantomex's ability to bend reality to create uncanny illusions, often described as "misdirection." The character has been powerful enough to fool Jean Grey and work in tandem with Professor X, which combined with his fighting ability makes him a highly effective mercenary and assassin. He also wears a mask, which Skrein sees as an easy way to re-introduce him to the X-Men/X-Force universe without any complications that recasting him could create. The actor illustrated how much he truly cares about the character when he explained that he or whoever did get the part would have to do him justice.

"It was the same with Deadpool. I would have been in the cinema as a fan and just wanting it to be done right, whether it's the villain or the lead role and whatnot. So yeah, it's just got to be done right, man. I'm so emotionally invested in these characters."

Likening the role of Fantomex to that of lead character "Billy Butcher" in Seth Rogen's new TV adaptation of comic book series The Boys, Skrein has both characters on his list of dream performances. But he admitted he's still too young to play Butcher, and would rather see the recently cast Karl Urban deliver in the role than for him not to do it well. Still, Fantomex could be an addition to X-Force or appear in a future X-Men movie - or even the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And there's already one actor in line who's interested.

It could be an odd move to bring Skrein back into a Marvel-based movie as a new character, but it wouldn't be unprecedented either. Josh Brolin just did that as Cable in Deadpool 2 and Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. X-Force, which will have plenty of connections to the Deadpool universe, would certainly be different from that. But in theory, considering Fantomex's concealed face, anyone could be behind the mask. It's at least known that Skrein would bring enthusiasm and dedication to the role.