MOVIE NEWS – Halle Berry says she won’t be back as Storm in Avengers: Doomsday—yet fans suspect she might be bluffing to keep Marvel’s secrets under wraps.

Marvel fans were treated to a marathon livestream for Avengers: Doomsday, which dropped bombshell after bombshell—most notably the inclusion of seven X-Men characters. As speculation mounts that the film is actually a covert Avengers vs. X-Men showdown, the absence of heavyweights like Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), and Halle Berry (Storm) hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Berry Responds, But Leaves the Door Open?

During an appearance at CinemaCon, Halle Berry was approached by a reporter from the Associated Press who asked directly whether she’d be returning as Storm in the new Avengers film. When told that fans were hoping her name would appear on a director’s chair at the next Marvel announcement, Berry laughed off the suggestion with a cheeky reply:

“Well, keep waiting because it’s not going to be there. [Laughs] It’s not going to be there.”

Storm, one of Marvel’s most iconic mutant heroes, first debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1 back in 1975, the brainchild of Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. Halle Berry took on the role in the original 2000 X-Men film and reprised it in two sequels—X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand—as her Hollywood star rose with an Oscar win for Monster’s Ball. Her final appearance as Storm came in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. The role of a younger Storm was later passed on to Alexandra Shipp for Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix.

Just PR Smoke and Mirrors—or the Truth?

Some fans believe Berry’s denial could be classic Marvel misdirection—akin to Andrew Garfield’s repeated claims that he wasn’t in No Way Home. Enthusiasts are hopeful that a surprise announcement will be made during Disney’s upcoming CinemaCon presentation or San Diego Comic-Con in July. Clues to Storm’s reappearance were already teased in What If…? Season 3, where a multiverse version of the character wielding Thor’s hammer joined Captain Carter’s team of Exiles.

Then again, Berry’s blunt answer could be genuine. Marvel Studios recently made headlines for refusing to pay Carrie Coon a higher salary to return as Proxima Midnight in Avengers: Endgame. Given that Doomsday already has a bloated budget, including the salaries of the Russo brothers and Robert Downey Jr., the studio may be cutting costs elsewhere. Berry also had a strained experience filming the X-Men franchise—frequently clashing with director Bryan Singer—and was once tricked into signing on for X-Men: The Last Stand with a misleading script promising a larger role, only for her scenes to be cut down later. That baggage might explain her reluctance to return.

Still, fans can’t help but dream. If Avengers: Doomsday really pits the Avengers against the X-Men, excluding Storm would feel like a massive missed opportunity. Who wouldn’t want to see Halle Berry’s Storm go head-to-head with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor? A reunion of the classic cast—Jackman, Marsden, Janssen, Stewart—wouldn’t be complete without her. Maybe Berry is just playing along with Marvel’s playbook of secrecy, and her return is being kept under wraps until the perfect moment.

Source: Associated Press