“X-Men: First Class” shows the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, the tale of secret global events that changed history. As mutants began to emerge from mankind and before Professor Xavier was enemies with Magneto, they were just two young men, the best of friends discovering their powers and how they fit into the world. With characters we have seen in the original X-Men trilogy and many new to the screen, 20th Century Fox is releasing more personal and revealing character trailers that show us more about each mutant than we have learned from the previous TV spots and videos.
Caleb Landry Jones is Banshee (AKA Sean Cassidy) in this character spot. Banshee is capable of producing sonic waves that are able to make him fly — among other things. It starts off by showing us his awkward teenage angst and how he can use the ultrasonic sound waves as a weapon and also as a defense mechanism. Although Charles and the other members of the newly formed X-Men try to help him fly, it doesn’t start off so well.
In what will probably be the third act of the film, Banshee is in full costume jumping out of the X-Jet as he flies across the ocean and lands in the water, taking out a submarine. I’m glad they chose to make his costume design match closely to its origins in the comics, with the glider wings on the side. What I don’t like is that Sean Cassidy is from Ireland and has always had a major Irish accent; I think the choice to make him American is weakening the character as fans are familiar with his background. Another interesting fact is that Cassidy had a long-running romance with Dr. Moira MacTaggert, who appears in the film (played by Rose Byrne), but seeing as there is a major age difference it seems unlikely they will go down this path.
Since this is Banshee’s first time appearing in the movie franchise, they are bound to try to create their own version of him to fit into the storyline. What do you think of this character spot? Does it do the comic book character justice or were you previously unfamiliar with him. Leave a comment and let us know what you think of it.
Starring in “X-Men: First Class” are James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Nicolas Hoult, Zoё Kravitz and Lucas Till.
“X-Men: First Class” opens everywhere June 3.
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Banshee was always one of my favorite side characters in XMEN, I loved the portrayal of him in the 90s cartoon series, sad he wont have an accent in the new movie.
Can’t wait for this movie!