Everyone loves Keke Palmer, and at this point it’s actively surprising that she hasn’t been snapped up by one of the gajillion superhero franchises currently in production. In other words, she’s catnip for Marvel/DC fan-casting suggestions.
Usually, viral fan-castings connect a specific actor to a specific role—for instance, the campaign for John Krasinski to play Mr. Fantastic, culminating in a cameo role in Doctor Strange 2. However, Keke Palmer is in a slightly different situation, because while she’s a hugely popular actress, fans aren’t exactly sure which superhero she should play.
This question came to a head thanks to a Vogue video where she briefly wears a black leather outfit, commenting about “manifesting a superhero role” because it would make a perfect costume. Commenters suggested various superheroes she could play, but the idea really took hold thanks to a viral TikTok explaining which fan-castings would work best for her strengths as an actress.
@jacobfordridgway #greenscreen #fancast #kekepalmer #nope #xmen #storm #rogue #mcu ♬ original sound – jacob (too niche for main)
Posted by TikToker @jacobfordridgway, this video shoots down a couple of the most popular suggestions: Storm is essentially the go-to casting choice for any Black actress, regardless of personality, and DC’s Bumblebee is unlikely to happen because the Warner Bros./DC franchise is a mess.
“If you want her to deliver a powerhouse lead, she’s got to have room to play in that role,” he explains, showing a screencap of Keke Palmer in Nope, where she was directly involved in developing her role, including lots of improvisation. A character like Storm wouldn’t necessarily showcase her talents like this. Instead, @jacobfordridgway suggests that Palmer should play X-Men’s Rogue, giving her a “fun, boisterous role.”
The idea quickly took off on TikTok and Twitter, to the point where @jacobfordridgway posted an update jokingly calling Twitter out for stealing his idea:
@jacobfordridgway #stitch with @jacobfordridgway ♬ original sound – jacob (too niche for main)
Most importantly though, Keke Palmer herself took notice. After the original TikTok began to spread on Twitter, she quote-retweeted it with the caption, “Come on agentttttttt,” signalling that she’d definitely be up for playing Rogue.
Obviously, this is all just people having fun on the internet, but it really does seem like Keke Palmer is gunning for a superhero role. So don’t be surprised if she does wind up joining the MCU sometime soon—even if the X-Men are still pretty far away from getting their own movie.
