Original reports had Oscar-nominated actress Shohreh Aghdashloo playing Dr. Rao in the upcoming X3 film. Dr. Rao was a character who played a role in Joss Whedon’s first story arc on Astonishing X-Men, someone who had found a “cure” to mutants and who was working with an alien with the incredibly awful name of Ord of Breakworld.
It turns out that the original reports were wrong, and that the truth is slightly more shitty. Aghdashloo has told Entertainment Weekly that she will be playing Dr. Cecilia Reyes, a mutant doctor who can project a small force field around herself, and who was introduced during one of the more awful runs of X-Men comics, and who took part in some of the more awful stories in the books’ history. For some hints on what Reyes could be doing in this film, here is an excerpt from her disheartening Wikipedia entry:
A Puerto Rican American medical doctor, Reyes had no interest in being a superhero, but when Operation: Zero Tolerance, a government-backed anti-mutant task force, targeted her, she was forced to join forces with the X-Man Iceman and other mutants to escape New York City and track down Bastion, Operation Zero Tolerance’s leader.
Afterwards, Reyes reluctantly joined the X-Men but did not find costumed adventuring suitable for her, and left to set up her own medical practice.
Later, she was caught up in the X-Men’s battle with the Neo, a villainous group of mutants who claimed to have evolved beyond the level of other mutants. Reyes was trapped in the Neo’s fortress below New York City and used a street drug called Rave to make her mutant powers more destructive, ensuring her survival. The X-Men rescued her, and the telepathic Professor X helped her kick her addiction to Rave.
There is some good news about the movie which has been filming for a week or two, though. When asked about further details, Aghdashloo said, “To tell the truth, I don’t know because I have not read the script yet. Brett [Ratner] is still working on it." Oh wait, that’s even more shitty news!
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