Marvel Hired Its Most Important New Actor Without An Audition

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 26 seconds ago

To put it mildly, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a very crowded film. It’s got plenty of good guys, including Spidey himself, Punisher, and the Hulk. But it’s also got plenty of bad guys, including Scorpion, Tombstone, Hand ninjas, and more. Then, there’s one character who’s neither friend nor foe: the mystery character played by Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. The trailers make her out to be an antagonist, one whose telepathic skills are making the city nervous and weaponizing the Hulk. But most fans are convinced that she’s Jean Grey, one of the earliest members of the X-Men.

Regardless of who Sink is playing, we already know that her character is coming back for Avengers: Secret Wars. That means that she’s destined to be one of the bigger movers and shakers in this cinematic universe, and if she really is playing Jean Grey, Sink is about to be the face of the X-Men, the MCU’s hottest new super team. Because of that, you might think she faced a rather grueling audition process, much like costar Tom Holland did. Surprisingly enough, though, Sink was hired for her mystery Marvel role with no audition whatsoever!

Running Up That Hill

Stranger Things provided Sadie Sink with the breakout role of a lifetime. Back when it was the most popular show in the world, this series demonstrated what a great actor she really was. That was especially true in Stranger Things’ controversial final season, where she was effectively acting circles around her young costars. Therefore, it wasn’t much of a surprise that she got scooped up by Marvel, a studio always on the lookout for popular and talented actors. What is a surprise is the identity of her Spider-Man: Brand New Day character. Fortunately, Stranger Things taught Sink how to keep secrets, and she hasn’t spilled the beans on who she’s playing.

However, in a recent interview with Nylon, she offered a few interesting tidbits regarding how she ended up in a Marvel movie. The most fascinating thing was that she was actually hired for Brand New Day without having to audition. Was this just because she was so good in Stranger Things? While her acting skills are undeniable, this was more about having professional connections. The new Spider-Man movie is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and he previously directed Sink in the 2017 film The Glass Castle. He was happy to hire her on the spot, though she didn’t receive a script for Brand New Day until she landed in London for filming.

Is She The Big Bad Or Spider-Man’s Only Hope?

Having previously been a main character in Stranger Things, Sadie Sink knows what it’s like to step into a franchise filled with obsessive fans. However, she admitted in the interview that Marvel is its own beast, and she was shocked at the online fascination with discovering her character’s identity. Fortunately, she found an ally in Spider-Man lead actor Tom Holland, who “could not have been more welcoming…He was just so relaxed and open, and I felt very at ease.” As for Holland, he did have to audition many times, and he got so nervous about his first screen test with Robert Downey Jr. that he drank all the liquor in his hotel’s minibar!

It’s good to know that Sadie Sink and Tom Holland hit it off so well. If she really is playing Jean Grey in the MCU, then these two are likely to get plenty of screen time together, both in Secret Wars and in the inevitable X-Men/Spider-Man crossover movie. Before that, though, she’ll be tangling with Spidey, the government, and just about everyone else in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The movie premieres July 31st, meaning you’ve still got time to start a betting pool with your friends about who she’s actually playing. I’ve got 20 quatloos that say she’s playing Jean!