Halle Berry is backing Maya Boyd as Marvel’s next Storm while making clear that she does not see the casting as an extension of her own performance.
Berry was asked about the 23-year-old Broadway actress after Marvel Studios introduced Boyd as Ororo Munroe in its upcoming X-Men movie. “I believe she’s going to kill it,” Berry told People at the Create & Cultivate Festival in Los Angeles.
Asked whether she considered Boyd’s casting a passing of the torch, Berry rejected the idea that the character needed to continue from her interpretation. “Yeah, there’s people playing Storm. No, my Storm was my Storm and I wish her so well,” she said.
Berry first played Storm in 2000’s X-Men and returned for three more movies before Alexandra Shipp portrayed a younger version of the character in two later Fox films. Boyd will now take on the role as Marvel Studios builds its own version of the mutant team.
Berry Wants to See Boyd Make Storm Her Own
Berry said she is more interested in seeing what Boyd does differently with the character than watching her reproduce choices from the earlier films.
“I very much look forward to seeing what her version will be,” Berry told People. “I’m sure she’s going to murder it.”
She compared the situation to another comic-book role from her career, Catwoman, whom she played in the 2004 film. Berry said established characters can support different interpretations because each performer brings something personal to the role.
“Everybody has their version of who that character is and how they internalize it,” she said.
Marvel Introduced Boyd as Storm at D23
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Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige introduced Boyd as part of the new X-Men cast at Disney’s D23 event in Anaheim on Aug. 14.
The lineup includes Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, Inde Navarrette as Rogue and Boyd as Storm. Adam Driver was announced as Nathaniel Milbury, better known as Mister Sinister, according to Reuters.
Jake Schreier is directing the movie, which is scheduled to reach theaters on May 5, 2028.
Boyd comes to Marvel after establishing herself primarily onstage. She made her Broadway debut in the acclaimed revival of Merrily We Roll Along while completing her musical-theater degree at the University of Michigan and later took over the title role in & Juliet.
She acknowledged the Marvel announcement on Instagram with a simple message: “It’s an honor to be your Storm.”
Boyd has also begun working through the character’s comic-book history. In a subsequent Instagram post, she shared a stack of Storm comics and wrote that she had “bought every one.”
Boyd Will Be the Third Actress to Play Storm in Live-Action X-Men Movies
Berry originated the role on the big screen alongside Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto, James Marsden’s Cyclops and Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey in Bryan Singer’s 2000 X-Men.
She returned for X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Alexandra Shipp later played a younger Ororo Munroe in X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, which were set earlier in the Fox franchise’s timeline.
Boyd’s casting begins another live-action chapter for Storm as the character enters Marvel Studios’ X-Men franchise with a new cast and continuity.