Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse, featuring Olivia Munn as Psylocke, is set to be released on the last Friday in May. While the character did have a minor part in X-Men: The Last Stand, she was played by Meiling Melançon rather than Munn, and the character was eventually killed during that movie.
As one of the Four Horsemen of main antagonist Apocalypse, Munn's Psylocke has a bigger role in the May 27 release. But this wasn't the only big X-Men Universe role 20th Century Fox had offered her. The presenter turned actress revealed to American Way Magazine that she was approached for a very different role in Deadpool, as well.
The role Olivia Munn was initially in line for was that of Wade Wilson's girlfriend! She doesn't need to say the name. It’s obvious that she was up for Vanessa Carlysle, the role that eventually went to Morena Baccarin.
Why did she pick Psylocke instead of Vanessa? Well, she chose the mutant role because she prefers fighting to romance! She didn't want to play a mere love interest.
Munn chose Psylocke over Vanessa because she didn’t want to play just a girlfriend! (Photo Credit – 20th Century Fox)
Psylocke might not have had as much dialogue as Vanessa had in Deadpool, but Olivia didn't mind. According to the actress:
I said, “Is there a fight scene?” The fight scene could be her monologue. I thought Psylocke was always one of the most lethal characters, and I said, “Yes, as long as you're not using her to be the eye candy. She has really powerful abilities.” And they said, “Yes, that's an important part.”
However, it appears that Olivia Munn is not 100 percent convinced that her part is really that important in X-Men: Apocalypse. She says:
You can do the first-look cover on Entertainment Weekly, but if they've chopped up some stuff or taken out moments, and the fight scene is reduced for whatever reason, then the moment is gone.
After a brief pause, the actress adds:
I don't know if I'm making sense, really.
Well, that's something that seems likely to happen when you are in a superhero team movie. But it's also understandable that Olivia Munn may be a bit disappointed, since she really committed herself to Psylocke. We've seen videos of her demonstrating her skills with the sword. And she shot most of her action sequences herself, instead of having a stunt double to do them for her.
Olivia Munn’s Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse! (GIF via Giphy)
