Deadpool and Wolverine star explains Marvel villain Cassandra Nova’s mysterious motivations, and how they’re intrinsically linked to Professor X

As everyone knows by now, Deadpool and Wolverine is set to see the titular heroes team up. While Marvel has kept the plot relatively under wraps pre-release, we know that the unlikely duo will be tasked with saving the former’s friends and family from some TVA-related disaster. They’ll also face off against villain Cassandra Nova…

With only the trailers – which don’t feature all that much of the bald baddie – to go on so far, it’s unclear as to how Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) and Logan (Hugh Jackman) get tangled up in the dastardly plans of Professor X’s sinister sibling. Or what said dastardly plans even are for that matter… With that, we couldn’t help but ask actor Emma Corrin just what Cassandra is up to in the movie, and while they couldn’t get into specifics, they noted that the character’s motivations are all fueled by X-Men founder Charles Xavier and their shared dark history.

“When you’re playing a villain, it’s quite hard to find the emotional hook into why they’re doing what they’re doing,” Corrin tells GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film. “Looking back at [Cassandra’s] origin story, and her relationship with her brother, and all the feelings his actions towards her would cause her now is where I found a lot of her motivation. 

“Whether it’s out of revenge, or self-hatred, or a cry for his attention; that feeling that she’ll never be good enough for him or as good as him… So, the only other option is to be the worst version of herself.”

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, Cassandra was killed in the womb by her twin Charles, after he “recognized her evil presence”. Following her stillbirth, Cassandra’s consciousness became telepathically linked with Xavier’s, which led to her gaining some of his powers, along with biomolecular ones too, and creating herself another body. 

In the source material, she’s considered a mummudrai, or Revenant, wraith-like beings who represent the dark side of those they are born alongside. Often condemned to the Astral Plane, otherwise known as the Underworld, many long to reach the physical plane and usurp their counterparts’ place in it.

She’s perhaps best known for bewitching an army of Sentinels to massacre 16 million mutants within their homeland of Genosha in 2001’s New X-Men #114-116.

“You get the sense in this film that Cassandra can go to those places that you see in the comics, she can be that dark, but I think Cassandra chooses very specifically if and when she wants to use her power,” says Corrin. “She’s a huge manipulator. She knows she’s so powerful and she’s so confident that she doesn’t need to prove it, whereas Deadpool and Wolverine wear their powers very openly.”

“We loved that Cassandra Nova has never been presented on screen, and is very powerful as an omega-level mutant,” adds director Shawn Levy. “We also liked her connection to her brother, Charles Xavier, because this movie definitely explores the legacy of the Fox/Marvel era and the fact that this MCU villain is connected to this Fox/Marvel hero is very rich and opened up some cool areas for a story.”

Deadpool and Wolverine lands in UK cinemas on July 25, and a day later in the US. For more, check out all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way, as well as our guide to how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

Listen out for our chats with Corrin and Levy on the upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, which is available on Apple, Audioboom, Spotify, and more.