Sadie Sink Reveals Why Her Jean Grey Debut Felt ‘Surreal’ After ‘Spider-Man’ Release

Sadie Sink finally broke her silence on playing Jean Grey after keeping her Marvel role secret for over a year.

Following the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the Stranger Things actress reflected on fans discovering she had joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as one of the X-Men's most iconic characters.

Sink said, "It’s good. It’s a big relief," after months of speculation surrounding her Marvel debut.

Sink revealed she first became aware of the Jean Grey rumors online before officially meeting with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D'Esposito, who explained their vision for the character.

Sink was drawn to this version because it focused on her struggles before embracing her powers.

"We were meeting her not at a point where she’s a hero, but at a point where she’s just a hurt, young girl who doesn’t know what her relationship to her power is," Sink explained.

She added, "Jean Grey is a hero, she’s a good person, but if it takes more to become that and there’s the struggle of it first, I think that just is so compelling."

Working with director Destin Daniel Cretton, whom she previously collaborated with on The Glass Castle, also made the project more appealing.

Sink said she looked at previous portrayals of Jean Grey but focused on bringing a fresh take to the MCU version, including developing her own approach to the mutant's telepathic powers.

Although Marvel worked to keep her casting under wraps, musician Steve Lacy accidentally revealed Sink's character name during the Spider-Man: Brand New Day red carpet before the film's release.

Rather than being upset, the actress admitted she was excited that he liked her character.

She said, "I’m such a huge fan of his. I was like, 'Oh my G--, he likes my character.' I liked what he said about [Jean], too. I was like, 'He’s right. I agree with everything you said.' And then I was like, 'Oh, wait. Yeah, people aren’t supposed to know that.' But it was a day before it was gonna come out, and so he set me free in a lot of ways."

Sink also opened up about the upcoming X-Men reboot, confirming she has already met with director Jake Schreier.

"There are certain characters that it’s important to establish, like, do you have chemistry with this person? That’s always gonna be a part of the process," she shared.