What Chris Pine Would Look Like As Cyclops In The MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in the midst of a serious shakeup. In a post Avengers: Endgame world we're looking at a cinematic universe without Captain America (Chris Evans) or Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). While some of the heroes we've known in the past will still be around, 2021 and onward will feature the likes of Shang Chi, the Eternals, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) in the role of Thor, and who knows what other new faces.
And of course there's also the long-awaited impact of Disney's merger with Fox. Now that The New Mutants (the final Fox X-Men film) is completely out in the world, when are we going to see the Xavier's mutants rebooted into the MCU? More importantly, who will be cast in some of these iconic roles? While there's a lot of ink and pixels spilled speculating about who will take over the role of Wolverine (apparently Keanu Reeves always wished he'd gotten to play the part of Logan), there hasn't been nearly as much attention paid to the preppy leader of the X-Men. No, not Professor X — Scott Summer a.k.a. Cyclops, in many ways the anti-Wolverine.
Recently a prominent fan artist mocked up an image of what it might look like if Chris Pine took on the role of Cyclops, and it looks so good. In light of this tantalizing peek, we should probably talk about both the image and the likelihood of Pine ever joining the MCU.
Cyclops would likely have to be a leading man for Pine to sign on
ApexForm is the artist behind the mockup of Chris Pine as Cyclops. On his Instagram, the artist said that they think "the character hasn't reached his full potential in live action films."
Now let's take a moment and reflect. There are two actors who have played a live-action version of Cyclops: James Marsden and Tye Sheridan. Marsden played a version of Scott Summers who was already leader of the X-Men, and Sheridan played Scott right when he first gets his powers and comes to Xavier's school for help. Both these performances are good, though in both instances Cyclops is relegated to a supporting role. Neither Marsden nor Sheridan had quite reached their career heights yet when they took on Cyclops. Chris Pine, on the other hand, is a bit of a household name with a number of famous franchises under his belt. Pine is Captain Kirk in the 2009-era Star Trek movies, and he's been Steve Trevor in the DCEU. That's a bit of a résumé to contend with.
If Pine played Cyclops in an X-Men movie, the character would likely be front and center in that movie's plot. ApexForm's design of Pine's Cyclops reflects that, placing him in Summers' famous '90s costume mixed with a hint of the armored look of the X-Men movie costumes.
How Star Trek factors into the chances of a Pine-clops
It's possible Pine could be Scott Summers. If Ben Affleck can play Daredevil and Batman, if Colin Ferrell can play Bullseye and Penguin, and if James Gunn can direct Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad then there is absolutely nothing stopping Chris Pine from jumping between the DCEU and the MCU. In point of fact, Chris Pine already technically took the leap to Marvel when he briefly voiced Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Let's be real, when it comes to a company like Disney with a virtually bottomless piggybank, Pine's involvement is not a matter of money, it's a question of interest and opportunity. As of this moment in time, Pine appears to have a full dance card, one that includes the Olivia Wilde-directed thriller Don't Worry Darling and Newsflash, in which Pine will take on the role of real life anchor Walter Cronkite.
The big questions concern how long Disney plans to wait to roll out mutants into the MCU, and whether or not Pine will return for another Star Trek film. If production of an X-Men film is a few years away and Star Trek 4 is ever officially canceled, then — sure — Pine could play Cyclops. But those are a lot of 'ifs.'
As for what story would be told, All-New X-Men feels like a solid choice for Pine's Cyclops. The 2013 story features two versions of Scott Summers, one from the start of the X-Men and one whose disillusionment causes him to team up with Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants. That story could also, through the use of time travel, give us an Avengers vs. X-Men story, which feels like the other obvious choice for adaptation. In either event, the stories would place Cyclops front and center, and that's the only way Pine would ever play Scott Summers.