Much has been written about Hollywood's double standard when it comes to aging actresses. The X-Men franchise is perhaps one of the most glaring recent examples. As Famke Janssen pointed out, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were invited to reprise their roles as Professor X and Magneto in 2014's Days of Future Past, while the original female actresses were not. (That's not counting a brief appearance by Halle Berry as Storm.) Rebecca Romijn, who played Mystique in the first three films, reacted to Janssen's statement in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
"I am glad that she said it and put it out there," Romijn said. But the Skin Wars host was diplomatic as she continued: "I haven’t thought about it much because they signed us to these movies three at a time, so my contract was for the first three. It’s a contractual thing. I don’t have an opinion on whether or not there is some kind of double standard going with regard to bringing back the older men but not the older women. I’d be happy to go back and reprise that role sometime, but maybe they have moved on. Maybe they just want to keep going younger."
She's right there — not even McKellen and Stewart are in X-Men: Apocalypse.
As for watching Jennifer Lawrence take over for as the blue-skinned character, Romijn was magnanimous. "I could not think of a cooler girl to share that role with. It’s not like I take issue with who has taken over the role of Mystique. She is a solid actress and she’s got an Oscar, so she is doing something right."
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