If you are from my generation, Kitty Pryde was your entry into the X-Men universe. She was the newest member of the team, close to your age when you started reading comics, and acted as your surrogate in the world of Marvel’s Merry Mutants. Therefore, fans like me have a soft spot in our hearts for her, and have been hoping for a standalone film for her for years.
Well, hopes do come true. The Hollywood Reporter states that Fox has tapped Deadpool director Tim Miller and comic book scribe Brian Michael Bendis to work on a Kitty Pryde film.
This news is surprising for a number of reasons. One, it means that Fox is not waiting for the sale to Disney to go through to put Marvel films into development. And Two, Bendis, who was a longtime writer for Marvel Comics and shaped both their print and cinematic output, recently switched sides and signed a contract with DC Comics. The split doesn’t seem to be all that acrimonious, but it will still odd to see a film for one of their character written by some one who works for the competition.
Kitty Pryde was created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in 1980’s Uncanny X-Men #129. She was a 13-year-old girl with the power to “phase” or pass through solid objects. She was originally supposed to be a trainee of the team, but in a short time she became a full-fledged X-Man. Over the years, she has worked under aliases such as Ariel, Sprite and Shadowcat. She is also notable for being one of the few Jewish characters in comics.
The project was announced earlier today under the codename 143. That number corresponds with a solo outing for Kitty in Uncanny X-Men where she has to battle a demon while stuck in the X-Mansion alone during Christmas. We don’t know if that gives us a hint as to what the plot of the film will be at this point and time, but there are many other worthy stories featuring the character to choose from. Also unknown is who will be playing her. She has been portrayed on screen by three actresses–Sumela Kay in X-Men (2000), Katie Stuart in X2 (2003) and Ellen Page portrayed the character in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). All the above actresses are now in their 30s and a little long in the tooth to be playing a teenage superhero.
More on this as it develops.
