Well, the video below that director Bryan Singer shared online yesterday tells the tale; now we know with certainty what character Omar Sy is going to play in X-men: Days Of Future Past.
Our guess when it was first announced that he’d joined the cast was that he’d play Bishop, the son of Aborigine mutant refugees, whose powers include energy absorption and redirection, as well as superhuman physical attributes, and the ability to instinctively know his present location.
And, as you can see in the video below, yes, Omar Sy is going to play Bishop, unless another black actor has been cast for the part that we don’t know about.
And while I’m pleased to see Monsieur Sy getting work, he’s just not the right choice for Bishop. Not at all.
Far more sensible choices would be actors like Dwayne Johnson, Michael Jai White, Jason Momoa, even Terry Crews. In short, massive dudes who are physically intimidating, and even kind of scary, and have a dominating screen presence, to start.
It seems like Singer and company just went with who they felt was a *hot* up-and-comer in Sy, who’s booked quite a few roles in the short time since he relocated from Paris to LA last year, after signing with a major agency in CAA.
This seems to be a common theme when it comes to casting black actors in some of these bloated studio projects – especially in peripheral/supporting roles. Instead of casting the best person for the job, producers/directors/casting directors suddenly get lazy and select from a short list of “who’s hot right now and is available” or “who do we know and recognize and is available.” No imagination; no creativity. It’s just about filling a slot and moving on to the *more important* (read: white) roles in those movies.
But this is not Omar Sy’s problem. He’s an actor who wants to work. So if his agents are able to get him a part, especially in a high profile movie like this, he’d be foolish not to take it.
Still, I’d be surprised if it’s a role with any weight, even though the character is an interesting one, with intriguing origins, and capabilities; which I think made it even easier to just throw an actor in the role, without giving it a lot of thought.
Of course, we know that Halle Berry is reprising her role as Storm…
Here’s the video Singer shared:
