The X-Men are officially joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Deadpool & Wolverine beginning the process of bringing mutants to the forefront. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are confirmed to return as Deadpool and Wolverine in the upcoming film, but much of the cast and the future of the X-Men in the MCU remains a mystery. One fan favorite character many hope will appear is Dazzler.
Although Dazzler is not exactly a household name, there is a lot of untapped potential with the character that moviegoers have yet to see. The character made her live-action debut in 2019’s Dark Phoenix, where she had less than a minute of total screen time. Rumors have been swirling that none other than pop superstar Taylor Swift could play the character in Deadpool & Wolverine. With an X-Men reboot well underway, a new Dazzler could become either a popular supporting character or one of Marvel’s biggest cameos. Here’s why Swift should join the MCU as the new Dazzler.
Update February 12, 2024: This article has been updated following the release of the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine with more information and speculation on whether Taylor Swift will appear as Dazzler in the upcoming MCU film.
Who Is Dazzler?
First appearing in The Uncanny X-Men #130 in February 1980 and created by Tom Defalco and John Romita Jr., Dazzler’s 40-year-plus comic-book history sees her join Excalibur, A-Force, and S.H.I.E.L.D. A talented singer, dancer, and actress, Alison Blaire discovers her light-based powers on stage at a junior high dance. She keeps these powers a secret from her strict father, who wishes for her to follow his path to law school. Naming herself “Dazzler,” Alison moves to New York City, ultimately deciding to pursue her dreams instead of her father’s.
Dazzler is one of Marvel’s most powerful heroines. She is able to convert sound into light, which allows her to incapacitate villains with blinding light blasts. She can also create hard light constructs and shoot bursts out of her fingers, hands, and eyes. She also has the power of echolocation and can create lasers, light shows, shields, and holograms. Fortunately for Dazzler, she is immune to her own powers and other bright lights and loud sounds. In addition to her light-based powers, she trains with the X-Men to become a skilled hand-to-hand fighter.
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The Only Person Who Has Played Dazzler (So Far)
Despite being a popular member of the X-Men film series, it took years to get Dazzler into a feature film. Funny enough, Dazzler was originally created in the comics to become a movie character eventually. Her creation was due to a joint venture between Marvel Comics and Casablanca Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, which wanted to create a fictional artist similar now to the Gorillaz or Disney’s own Hannah Montanna. She was originally modeled after Grace Jones and was supposed to be African-American.
However, at the same time, the comic was being developed, a live-action movie was being developed, and filmmaker John Derrick became attached and wanted his wife, Bo Derrick, to be Dazzler, requiring the artwork for the comic to be redone to better resemble Bo Derrick. The planned film would see Dazler teaming up with Spider-Man and the Avengers and would have featured Cher, Donna Summers, The Village People, Kiss, and Robin Williams as original supporting characters in a strange Wizard of Oz-style story that, thankfully, never got off the ground.
Dazzler finally made it to the big screen in the final mainline X-Men film of the Fox era, Dark Phoenix, which is currently the only live-action film to feature Dazzler. Set in the early ’90s, Dazzler performs at a party in the woods for students of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. She is portrayed by Halston Sage (The Orville, Prodigal Son), who has no lines as the character’s singing voice is provided by American singer Banks according to Genius.
Yet there had been attempts to get Dazzler on screen before. In a now-deleted X post promoting X-Men: Apocalypse from Sophie Turner, Turner shares a picture of Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) holding a Dazzler album. Turner writes “found our favorite singer’s album (pre 1989, of course),” which is an obvious reference to Taylor Swift’s 2014 album 1989. This certainly is a funny connection all these years as Taylor Swift is heavily rumored to be Dazzler in Deadpool 3.
Has Taylor Swift Acted Before?
There’s no doubt Swift is best known for her music career, but she has had previous acting roles in a number of films and television shows. She had supporting roles in Valentine’s Day as Felicia Miller, The Giver as Rosemary, Cats as Bombalurina, and Amsterdam as Elizabeth Meekins. In the 2012 computer-animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Swift voiced the teenage Audrey. On television, she has appeared in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and New Girl.
Of course, Swift appears in more than 60 music videos, which includes the explosive music video for her song “Bad Blood.” The character she plays shows a fierce side to the singer, who assembles a team to battle the traitorous Arsyn (Selena Gomez) and her henchmen. Despite being seen in major bombs like Cats and Amsterdam, her box office status was solidified thanks to Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which grossed $261.6 million worldwide. It is clear she is looking to move beyond just being a singer as she not only wants to act but is also looking to direct. Searchlight Pictures will distribute her first film.
With all that, does this mean Taylor Swift could appear as Dazzler, and more specifically, Deadpool & Wolverine, in the future?
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The MCU Is in Need of New Star Power
The MCU arguably has the greatest number of big-name stars out of any franchise. Unfortunately, over 30 movies in, the general public is beginning to lose interest in the MCU and in superhero movies overall. Marvel Studios is bringing in beloved actors such as Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds to recapture audience interest. However, they are only two people, and if Marvel is to turn things around, they will need major star power while addressing issues surrounding the franchise.
Taylor Swift is one of the most popular artists in the world, and her playing Dazzler would certainly turn people’s eyes toward the MCU (just as she recently inspired fans to tune into the NFL due to her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce). X-Men needs to reinvigorate a familiar franchise with new energy, and what better person is there to get help from than Swift, an artist who is more popular than ever after almost 20 years? The character of Dazzler gives her something familiar to work with while also allowing her to explore new ground — and fans would love hearing her sing while also defeating bad guys.
Taylor Swift is Friends with Deadpool Himself (and His Off-Screen Wife)
Even if Taylor Swift playing Dazzler seems far-fetched to some, it’s actually not out of the realm of possibility due to a personal connection between Swift and Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, have been friends with Swift for years, and Lively and Swift professionally collaborated on the “I Bet You Think About Me” music video.
Also, when speaking with Entertainment Tonight about the Swift-as-Dazzler casting rumors in 2022, Reynolds didn’t confirm that she was in it — but he was totally game for her to have that cameo: “Are you kidding me? I would do anything for that woman. She’s a genius.” Speculation on the internet ran rampant after Swift, Lively, and Reynolds attended a Kansas City Chiefs football game. While that normally wouldn’t raise much attention on it’s own, joining them were Hugh Jackman and Deadpool and the Wolverine director Shawn Levy, making people suspect Taylor Swift would at least cameo in the third movie focusing on the merc with the mouth.
Including Swift in Deadpool & Wolverine also gives a chance for a classic Deadpool fourth-wall break because, for Halloween 2016, Swift wore Reynolds’ actual Deadpool costume. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Swift shared a photo of her and her friends in their costumes with the caption, “Thanks @vancityreynolds [Reynolds’ Instagram handle] for this costume. You’re the BEST Deadpool inside contact ever” (via Us Weekly). Perhaps that Halloween costume has become the best form of foreshadowing?
The recent trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine confirmed it is a multiverse movie, with the Time Variance Authority from Loki recruiting Wade Wilson for some type of mission. Due to the MCU introducing variants in projects like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and What If…?, Swift could appear as a variant of Deadpool in a funny cameo.
Taylor Swift fans are just as good, if not better at times, at deep diving and finding Easter Eggs in the artist’s work than some MCU fans, so certainly both camps will be on the lookout for clues of Swift cameoing in Deadpool & the Wolverine ahead of the movies July 26, 2024 release date.
Check out the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine now!
