Fans of Rogue were initially excited to find out Anna Paquin was returning to the X-Men film franchise in 2014's X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Promotional photos for the film showed Paquin off in an all-white Rogue costume, and early reports had her character involved in crucial events taking place during the dystopian, Sentinel-ruled future segments of the film. That anticipation quickly turned to disappointment when director Bryan Singer announced he regrettably had to cut the majority of Paquin's scenes out of the movie for pacing, resulting in only a brief Rogue cameo at the end of Days Of Future Past - when Wolverine awakens in the newly repaired, present-day timeline.
Although she is not a part of the 1980s-set X-Men: Apocalypse, Paquin still remains a fan-favorite among X-Men devotees, with many hoping she gets to return to the role someday in a larger capacity. However, given what happened to her on the Brett Ratner-directed third X-Men film X-Men: The Last Stand (becoming a third wheel in a love triangle with Iceman and Ellen page's Kitty Pryde, and later choosing to "cure" herself of her mutant powers), and having her part almost completely excised from Days Of Future Past, would she even want to reprise the Mutant Southern Belle? As it turns out, Paquin responded to that very question on social media.
During a Twitter interaction with a fan on April 18, Paquin was asked if she would ever consider returning to play Rogue, to which she replied, "If I can fly, absolutely." This response seemed to confuse the Paquin fan, who misunderstood the actress and quickly tweeted back an anxious question: "OMFG, so you're saying you wouldn't like to play ROGUE again???" Paquin then clarified, "No I'm saying that comic book rogue gets to fly and I never did. I want to be badass rogue not shy teen rogue."
Check out the Paquin's tweets below:
@AnnaPaquinFans if I get to fly, absolutely— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) April 19, 2015
@AnnaPaquinFans no I'm saying that comic book rogue gets to fly and I never did. I want to be badass rogue not shy teen rogue— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) April 19, 2015
Many X-Men fans share Paquin's sentiment on how poorly the films have portrayed her character - and more importantly to them - her mutant abilities. In the pages of the Marvel comics, Rogue is an immensely powerful character who absorbs the ability of any mutant she touches - with her bare skin. Throughout the years, this has given her myriad mutant abilities, most prominently the power of flight and incredible super-strength. Rogue has soared through the air and gone toe-to-toe in fistfights with Marvel heavyweights like Colossus, She-Hulk, and Iron Man. Yet, throughout the course of four X-Men films, Paquin's version of the character has remained fairly diminutive and inexperienced, with no chance to display the might she regularly flashes in the pages of X-Men comics.
Of course, now that we've seen the likes of the Avengers and the Man of Steel fly, level city blocks with their punches and magic hammer blows, as well as exhibit super-powers like we've never seen before onscreen - the time could be just right to show a badass version of Rogue who can do all the things she does in the comics. The only issue with that scenario is finding a place to fit Rogue in to the current X-Men films. Bryan Singer's first X-Men in 2000 established Rogue as a teenage drifter, and X-Men: Apocalypse will take place in the early 1980s, likely before Rogue is even born. However, since Singer is playing fast and loose with continuity in the wake of Days Of Future Past's timeline reshuffling, it's certainly feasible he could re-introduce Rogue in a different incarnation (as he's doing with Angel).
Whether or not fans ever get to see Rogue fly or fully unleash her incredible powers in a future X-Men film, they can take some solace in the fact that 20th Century Fox will soon release the Days Of Future Past Director's Cut on Blu-Ray and DVD - an edit of the film that fans refer to as "The Rogue Cut." This version of the movie restores the subplot involving Ian McKellan's Magneto, Patrick Stewart's Professor X, and Iceman rescuing Rogue from a dangerous prison - so she can absorb Kitty Pryde's powers and take over for her injured X-Men colleague (so Wolverine's consciousness can remain in his 1970s body).
NEXT: X-Men: Days of Future Post-Credits Scene Explained
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The extended cut of X-Men: Days of Future Past will be available on Blu-ray later in 2015.
Fantastic Four opens on August 7, 2015, Deadpool on February 12, 2016, X-Men: Apocalypse on May 27, 2016, Gambit on October 7, 2016, Wolverine 3 (not the official title) on March 3, 2017, Fantastic Four 2 on June 9, 2017, and an undisclosed X-Men film on July 13, 2018.
Source: Anna Paquin